BOOMTOWN - application

[magic_fratboy]

Player's Name: Liz/EC
Characters Played Here: Scott McCall - TEEN WOLF

Character: Tommy Karras
Series/Canon: Original Character

From When? N/A

Previous Game(s): Tommy has only previously played in Tenebrae Nostro on LJ, and PSL's outside that.

World Description:

Tommy's world is exactly like ours, with one exception: the myths of Ancient Greece are real, namely the story of Pandora's Box. Tommy's people, the Avatars, are descended from Pandora and Epimetheus, the Titan god of hindsight and brother of Prometheus. In rough strokes, the power they possess is drawn from the primal spark of human life: Hope itself. They use it to do magic by tapping into methods of defying natural law that they have a far better grasp of than humans do. Technically, their power can be taught to others with a great deal of effort and study, but doing so is the one thing they are truly forbidden to do with their gifts.

History:

Pandora was created by the gods to punish man for the sins of Prometheus. Wed to his brother and gifted with a beautiful box she was told never to open, her curiosity doomed Mankind when she disobeyed and unleashed all the world's evils, locking away Hope alone in order to save it, and Man, from destruction.

The myth is true...but there's more to the story.

Pandora freed only one evil, so old and corrupt its true name is unknown. With many facets and untold power, the entity called The Darkness has many Faces, each bearing the name of one of evil's forms: Despair, Greed, Sorrow, and on down the line. To punish Pandora, she was taken from her husband and cursed as Hope's guardian for all time. The virtue was sealed into her flesh, binding her to its power. With it, she was tasked to perpetuate Hope's existence and hold The Darkness at bay. For her own protection, she would live in isolation...for if she died, so would Hope. Without it, Man would cease to be...and The Darkness would own all of creation.

Pandora's saving grace came in the form of her husband, who stood before the gods and begged to have his beloved returned to him. Moved by his devotion, Hera showed the only mercy the gods would offer: he could keep his wife if he shared her burden, and surrendered his soul.

So he did: abandoning his Titan soul, Epimetheus took on a share of Pandora's burden, became animated by Hope alone, and gained access to its power. In this, Epimetheus because the first of the Avatars, beings of Titan descent embodying the best, most basic form of Hope. So it was that Epimetheus and Pandora spent centuries together, their children becoming the Avatars: human shells animated not by souls, but by the power of the virtue itself, living in each of them and giving them power. Through the ages, they have been the shamans and medicine men of ancient tribes, the wizards and sages of legend capable of seemingly inhuman feats...and in the modern age, as their power has faded with the cynicism of Man, they live and breathe under a historical veil of secrecy, a facade of public artistry where they pass off real magic as constructed illusions. The come from every walk of life, and while some live as civilians, doing what good they can, others live by the vows sworn by the father of their military...a secret order known as the Fraternity of Light.

And some, like Tommy Karras, live their entire lives, ignorant of the knowledge of their true nature.

Born in Brooklyn, Tommy moved to Las Vegas when he was ten, and finally migrated to Hollywood when he was eighteen. He was a shy child who was very close to his father. Taught two card tricks by his dad when he was young to help boost his self confidence and help him make friends, a lifelong love affair was born that bonded father and son together. As he grew up, Tommy became fascinated with the life and times of Harry Houdini, unaware of the kinship he shared with the man.

Paying for college with an athletic scholarship, he parlayed it into a solid education, graduating from UCLA with a major in art and a minor in history. After graduation, he obtained a job working as a graphics designer for a firm called Black Saber Studios. In his spare time, he studied martial arts, spent time with friends, and never lost his obsession with the master of escape, or the art form he practiced. His life was simple, quiet, and fulfilling, devoid of darkness or danger.

Until the night he was mugged by an unknown assailant. Shot at point-blank range, thirty one year old Tommy was prepared to become just another statistic...when he caught the bullet in his hand like a modern day Chung Ling Soo.

With the help of his friends, Tommy discovered he wasn't human, but an Avatar. His college buddies, twin brothers Jay and Michael Kellar, were also Avatars, and members of the Fraternity of Light. Explaining Tommy's true nature to him, they soon discovered why he had no knowledge of his origins: his father was a former soldier in the Fraternity, and gave up true magic to marry his mother. Fearing he would pledge and lose his life in battle, his parents kept his true nature secret, as well as his power.

Enlightened, Tommy threw himself into the study of his nature and his people. He learned about the Fraternity, a group of dedicated Avatars pledged to defend Mankind directly from the threat of the Darkness, which stalked humans every single day in hopes of wiping out Hope. Many well known members of the order were, in fact, stage magicians...including Tommy's hero, Harry Houdini himself.

As Tommy's education continued, he discovered that Avatars can do a great deal with magic, in nearly limitless capacity with the facet of true magic they are most deeply connected to. Every Avatar has one, and Tommy soon learned his natural gift was for levitation. However, as Tommy trained to pledge to the Fraternity, he soon began to show a deep connection to another gift: escapology. Along with a form of telekinetic power, Tommy had the natural ability to open any lock and defy any bond, so long as he understood the nature of how it functioned.

Such a thing was unheard of, and as such Tommy pledged to the Fraternity more quickly than planned, his comrades eager to get him into the safety of the brotherhood's protection. It was during the celebration of his successful initiation that the explanation of his power came: during a tour of the Magic Castle, passing through rooms only the Fraternity had access to, he was allowed to lay hands on a pair of cuffs only Houdini himself could ever open...and without realizing this, unlocked them with ease.

On that day, it became known that somehow, an Avatar without a soul...Harry Houdini himself...had been reborn in the body of one Tommy Karras.

It also confirmed that the legend of the Great Father was true...that Epimetheus himself had thrown a curse at the gods before taking his wife home. In their presence, he pledged to reclaim his Titan soul, to bind it to his new power, and forsake eternal rest to look after the generations of his line until the end of time.

And, as Tommy began to reclaim memories of his past life as the King of Cuffs, he slowly grew to realize that Houdini himself had mastery of more than one gift...and the memories of a past life as the Titan who so loved Pandora, he surrendered his soul to protect her...

Personality:

Tommy is the quintessential nice guy. Shy, modest, and friendly in his own way, he often goes out of his way for others, and rarely thinks of himself selfishly. Now in an Avatar, this is hardly unusual: Hope is a virtue, and with no soul to give them free will, Avatars are pure creatures. They behave with good intentions in all things not because it is their character, but because it simply does not occur to them that behaving otherwise is an option.

Tommy, however, is not simply an Avatar: along with the power of Hope, he has the soul of a Titan god, and has as much free choice as any human being. Though his power brings him a kinder nature, and a concern for his fellow man, Tommy is not simply kind. In his heart of hearts, Tommy genuinely loves people, as his previous incarnations did before him. He is kind because he feels those around him deserve it, friendly because he yearns for the companionship of humans despite his shyness, and modest because he truthfully feels that the accomplishments and victories of those around him are worthy of far greater note than his own.

While Tommy shares the love of human beings his past lives had, make no mistake: Tommy is very much his own man. For most of his life, he has lived in hero worship of Houdini, never realizing that the bond he felt was that of memory. Now that he is aware of his past incarnation, he shies away from comparison, as reluctant to be in the spotlight as Houdini was eager to claim it for his own. He is so steadfast in keeping his past lives separate from himself, he will often forget and speak of Houdini in the glowing terms of a fan. He cannot, however, totally separate himself from who he was, and occasionally will forget and speak of Houdini and Epimetheus in the first person.

At his core, Tommy is the sum of his parts, a solid balance of the two men he's been previously. Like Epimetheus, he is dedicated to his loved ones, and knows a depth of loyalty and passion few can touch. He fights for what he believes in, and he is relentless, even vicious, when those he cares for are at risk. Like Houdini, he is endlessly creative and can be quite charming, not to mention determined to see his goals to their absolute end. In a perfect world, Tommy would continue working the job he loves, and perhaps showcase some of his own personal art with a little extra time to work. He would spend time with his friends, travel back to Vegas more often to see his father, and use his new power to help humanity more often.

However, being the newest incarnation of the first Avatar, Tommy understands that a certain responsibility comes with it. Buried in his memory is the true history of his people, greater power than most Avatars have access to...and a deep-seated bitterness for the gods that brought him where he is. Quite possibly, his greatest shortcoming is the pride he cannot shed, in any lifetime. He will always be driven to be greater, to be stronger, to stand on his own and protect what is his, without aid from others and regardless of anyone's approval. As Epimetheus, he stood in the shadow of his older brother and the will of the gods, as Harry Houdini he fought to escape the shadows of all who came before and the poverty from which he came...and as Tommy Karras, he stands in the shadow of the greater men he was before, dead set on separating himself from them with a legacy of his own...one that includes leading his people in safeguarding the human race for good.

For this reason, Tommy will do well in New Dodge. Having seen some fantastic feats and been responsible for fantastic feats in his day, he will be enchanted with the notion of intergalactic travel, residing on another planet...and faced with those who don't know who he is, Tommy will enjoy the anonymity. What's more, he will find genuine joy in spreading his gifts across not just time, but space, using his power to influence those from other races and other worlds to embrace the gift of Hope.

Does your character have any close ties to existing canon characters? N/A

Why do you think your character would work in this setting? Tommy will flux into New Dodge. He will probably be a little overwhelmed initially by his situation, but will acclimate swiftly and be endlessly curious about his new home. In the end, he will choose to stay, feeling a responsibility to protect the denizens of New Dodge from the primal Darkness that not even intergalactic travel can let them run from.


How do you plan to expand their CR? Very simple: Tommy needs extended CR to survive. Avatars are creatures that not only produce hope, but feed on it. Interacting with as many people as he can will be a means of staying alive. He's shy, so it will be slow at first, but his nature as an Avatar and his status as a member of the Fraternity back home...a defender of human beings, in other words...will also drive him to interact with others who may be in need of his help.

What will your character do for work? Tommy is an artist, so he may seek out some form of creative employment. However, he's no stranger to manual labor, either, and as he remembers more and more of his past lives, his skill base will grow. He may even pursue an ultimate goal of opening a store of his own, dealing in magic or possibly even as a locksmith.

Inventory:

- the clothes on his back (one pair of boxer briefs, one Affliction t-shirt, one pair of jeans, one leather jacket, one pair of men's sandals)
- one crystal-encrusted necklace shaped like a pair of handcuffs
- one sterling silver skull ring
- one deck of playing cards
- one heavy silver wristwatch
- two pairs of cubic zirconia studs
- one wallet containing his ID, various credit cards and rewards club cards, and approximately $50.00 in cash

Samples:

Third-Person Sample:

The night Tommy learned about his nature

First-Person Sample:

From the journal of Tommy Karras...

I used to keep a journal when I was still answering to "Harry." Started up again after things came to light--after I figured out who and what I am. Back home, it felt kinda weird, but here? I think it's gonna come in handy.

The bulk of my journals were burned after I died. Bess did it for me, bless her heart. There were things in there no eyes were ever meant to see, especially not my brothers and sisters in the Fraternity...my grandchildren a dozen times over.

In this place, the Fraternity has no power. I have no ear I can turn to here, no one else who understands what it is to be outside the human race and yet such a vital part of it. Every day, I stand beside them, I watch them live and breathe...

Sometimes it hurts, it's so good. They're beautiful and dark and full of so much potential it hurts. I'm enchanted, I'm obsessed, and I'm hopelessly in love with all of them.

And I can't talk to anyone about it. All I can do is write about it.

I just hope this doesn't turn into something that another sweet girl like Bess will have to burn in twenty years.