Application: Paradisa
Mar. 6th, 2012 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fanstheflameCHARACTER
CHARACTER NAME: Gale Hawthorne
SERIES: The Hunger Games
CANON POINT: Prior to the end of Catching Fire, during the firebombing of District 12.
LOSS: Upon arrival to Paradisa, Gale will be color blind, specifically red-green color blindness. This will vastly affect his ability to hunt or forage, and while he will eventually be able to adapt to some extent, it will have a HUGE affect on his learning curve in Paradisa ... especially since he will have to familiarize himself with an entirely new landscape and set of flora.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Gale is like the coal that his home district mines for the Capitol: dark and ordinary, but slow and hot to burn when ignited. A life of hardship in District 12 has made him rugged and adaptable in every single way possible ... but not for his own sake. Everything Gale does, he does to also ensure the safety and survival of his family: his mother, sister, and two brothers. At fourteen, he was charged with becoming the man of the house when his father perished in a mining accident ... so he had to grow up fast, and well. He puts everything he has on the line for them, in more ways than one. He crosses the District's borders to poach game and forage for vegetables and berries, and has entered his name into the Hunger Games 42 consecutive times in order to secure extra rations of food for his family, so that they'll have enough to eat. Once he comes of age, and the borders of the District are fortified, he also ventures down into the mine and takes up the job that killed his father.
All of this is endured quietly for his family's sake, and while Gale accepts his burdens, he is hardly pleased with the circumstances that made them necessary. He keeps his anger bottled, lest he be punished for treasonous remarks or actions against the Capitol, but when he is sure that he is in private, he has absolutely no problem telling people what he really thinks of the government of Panem. He isn't an idealist so much as a revolutionary: someone who wants his chance to strike back at the machine that has caused his family and his homeland so much pain. Gale is, however, not an idiot: he knows that he cannot attempt any sort of rebellion on his own. So he saves his ideas and his strategies, waiting for the right chance and the right time, when an uprising begins and he'll have the chance to use his plans and share them with people who can strengthen them to their greatest effectiveness.
In fact, Gale keeps most of his emotions in general bottled as a result of his upbringing. The grief over his father, combined with the Capitol's regime, have made it clear to him that Expressing Himself Is Not A Wise Course of Action. His family looks to him for strength, and the Capitol is constantly monitoring for signs of treason - especially by his canon point, where security in District 12 has been tightened and rebellions have begun in earnest across the country. Canonically, he only truly expresses himself with Katniss when they are alone and unmonitored - when he is sure it is safe to say what he truly feels. In these moments of confidence, he is open, but also very quick to anger, because they are the times when he is at his most raw. If he is provoked during these times, he's apt to cut off the conversation quickly - to cauterize a wound before it forms too deeply. This is most likely because he's known to make rash decisions when in the grip of intense anger or sorrow, and he's trying to protect the people around him from the potential consequences of such actions. Once someone or something does hurt him, though, Gale reacts in a number of ways, depending on the situation. If the person who has wronged him is an old friend, he will generally withdraw from them for a long time, until he is able to sort through and discard his anger. However, if he's upset about someone he doesn't know well, or about something more generalized, he can form grudges that root deep and last long.... especially if they've caused him a great deal of pain.
Amid all the oppression and the bleakness of his home life, the woods are the only place that Gale really feels free, or even relaxed. The sunlight, the colors of nature, the wildlife unbound by rules and regulations - they all act like an instant cure for him, in both body and soul. He hones his skill as a hunter there, and lets his mind wander while he keeps his hands busy. Unlike the dark, crushing tunnels of the Seam, where he has to constantly be aware of danger, in the woods he is at ease - even when on his guard. Because of this, he will most likely spend as much of his time as he can outside the castle until he acclimates to living in Paradisa.
ABILITIES: Gale is a stellar hunter - first and foremost, he is good at setting traps and snares. He is quite good with a bow, but better with a knife... and his tactics aren't anything to sneer at either. In terms of "special" abilities, he has none, however, being a plain old human being.... unless you count the kind of pain tolerance that allows someone to take 30 lashes to the back before passing out.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
They had developed a routine, of sorts. Every other night, after he came home from the mines, Gale would trudge just that little bit farther up the road to the Everdeens' house and watch the Games with Katniss' mother and sister. It helped to keep them company - both for their sakes, and for his own: to know that he wasn't the only one with that much emotion invested in his friend's survival. He'd kept his promise, so far, despite being unable to hunt in the woods as much as he used to: he kept the Everdeens in as much food as he could afford to give up, dividing the reward for his tesserae between his family and Katniss'. On Game nights, they'd huddle around the small, flickering television and share whatever he'd brought, holding hands in a terse half-moon as they watched.
Tonight, however, was Gale's night to stay at home with his own family ... and as selfish as it was, he couldn't help but be glad that he wasn't sitting beside Primrose that night. Neither she nor her mother would understand the look of vague discomfort as Katniss tended to Peeta's wounds on screen. It wasn't so bad, really - the only thing saving him was how the broadcast would cut back to other conflicts in the Arena - the last of the Career tributes from the other districts battling it out. Reflexively, Gale analyzed their movements, critiqued them - weighed them against what he would have done if he, with his forty-three raffle slips, had been chosen for the Games and competing in Katniss or Peeta's place. That was something he could stand - the steady, methodical analysis of prey, the work of a hunter. He could watch the kills, the fights, the traps - all of it - with something approaching detachment, cultivating that attitude in the event that he might need to use it, someday.
Katniss and Peeta, though - the relationship that had been building between the two of them ever since Caesar Flickerman's interview? That turned his stomach more than any other part of the games. When the baker's boy had confessed his love, Gale had scoffed it away, treated it as a ploy - but now that the two of them seemed to be looking out for each other, tending each other's wounds and sicknesses ... when the rules were that only one tribute could survive? It twisted his insides to knots. Long days in the Seam, below the ground, had given him plenty of time to think about it as he pounded away at the rock, hoping it yielded coal... and finally he'd come to the conclusion that he hated Peeta for putting her in the kind of position where she could care for him - and then later be forced to kill him. It was like nursing a sick animal back to health only to kill it later for its pelt - completely irrational. Peeta was weak, he had been dying - he could have been merciful to Katniss and told her to let him die. But he'd instilled some form of compassion in her, and watching the whole drama draw out was more than he could bear. It reminded him of the time that he had been up in a tree, watching his traps. A rabbit had become caught in one trap, and wrenched its leg, unable to free itself or flee. Gale had just been about to climb down and deal the death blow, to twist its neck, when a pair of wild dogs crashed into the clearing, snarling, caught up in a fight. Unable to move, Gale had had to stay hidden in the branches as the dogs fought, oblivious to the struggles and the keening of the dying rabbit. This was worse.
He was so lost in thought at the memory, the comparison, that he missed what led up to the moment. All he knew was that one moment he was wishing that it could be as simple as breaking a rabbit's neck - and then Katniss was kissing Peeta. And from where he sat, it sure as hell looked genuine.
Gale had been fine with it, at first - it was a survival tactic, plain and simple, something he understood. So when the reporters had come, asking "Katniss' cousin" what she thought of Peeta, he'd played along, for her sake. But to see the lie turn into something genuine before his eyes was a little more than he could take. Without even excusing himself, he took his little sister Posy off his lap, set her beside Vick, and got up.
The next few minutes were a blur - by the time Gale came back to mindfulness, he was in the woods, past the fence, quiver slung on his shoulder and bow in hand. A loaf of bread - day-old and hard - perched on a nearby rock, and he focused in on it, intently. When his mother found out that it was gone, he wasn't quite sure what he'd say. It was a waste, maybe, he thought, as he sighted up his shot. But that thought was shoved quickly to the back of his mind and turned to ash in the fire of his anger. As the bolt hit home, skewering the loaf neatly in the center, Gale let out a huff of a sigh, and found the perfect answer: perfect, because it was true.
I haven't got the stomach for it, right now.
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE:
[it's too cold and snowy out for an extended tromp in the woods - at least for a boy who doesn't trust wishing for warmer clothing, so Gale is holed up in the gym, pounding away at one of the punching bags. after a moment's abuse, he stops to get a drink of water, and glances down at the journal he's set off to the side.]
I've been thinking. I heard something from people about there being journals that go five years back into the past, about this place. Is there one somewhere I could take a look at? The more time I spend here, the more I think it's a good idea to learn as much as I can about it. And it's not because I like it here. I don't even remember where the saying comes from - it's old, older than Panem - but it goes something like: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
And whatever's behind all of this? ... Let's just say I want to get real close.
INTENT:
I have ... a lot of little reasons that I want to play Gale that all add up to one big "yes please". It's been a while since I played anyone genuinely, actively in complete hatred of systems and corruption (ahem ahem Rorschach). Mark talks a big game, but in the end he likes order and peace as much as the next person. Gale's got a lot of anger issues to work out - and some trust ones, as well - and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out in a place that's pretty much the exact opposite of Panem culturally. He'll still feel oppressed by the castle, but the population will be a lot more welcoming, and that might help him to open up. There's also the huge draw of having a substantial HG cast ... I admit to never having been a player in a large canon cast (not counting Doctor Who because they're so far spread out), and if there were any group of muns I would want to try that sort of thing out with, it would be the group here in Para. All in all, I just think that Gale would be a lot of fun, and easy to maintain because he's generally a quiet loner sort of guy.
CHARACTER NAME: Gale Hawthorne
SERIES: The Hunger Games
CANON POINT: Prior to the end of Catching Fire, during the firebombing of District 12.
LOSS: Upon arrival to Paradisa, Gale will be color blind, specifically red-green color blindness. This will vastly affect his ability to hunt or forage, and while he will eventually be able to adapt to some extent, it will have a HUGE affect on his learning curve in Paradisa ... especially since he will have to familiarize himself with an entirely new landscape and set of flora.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Gale is like the coal that his home district mines for the Capitol: dark and ordinary, but slow and hot to burn when ignited. A life of hardship in District 12 has made him rugged and adaptable in every single way possible ... but not for his own sake. Everything Gale does, he does to also ensure the safety and survival of his family: his mother, sister, and two brothers. At fourteen, he was charged with becoming the man of the house when his father perished in a mining accident ... so he had to grow up fast, and well. He puts everything he has on the line for them, in more ways than one. He crosses the District's borders to poach game and forage for vegetables and berries, and has entered his name into the Hunger Games 42 consecutive times in order to secure extra rations of food for his family, so that they'll have enough to eat. Once he comes of age, and the borders of the District are fortified, he also ventures down into the mine and takes up the job that killed his father.
All of this is endured quietly for his family's sake, and while Gale accepts his burdens, he is hardly pleased with the circumstances that made them necessary. He keeps his anger bottled, lest he be punished for treasonous remarks or actions against the Capitol, but when he is sure that he is in private, he has absolutely no problem telling people what he really thinks of the government of Panem. He isn't an idealist so much as a revolutionary: someone who wants his chance to strike back at the machine that has caused his family and his homeland so much pain. Gale is, however, not an idiot: he knows that he cannot attempt any sort of rebellion on his own. So he saves his ideas and his strategies, waiting for the right chance and the right time, when an uprising begins and he'll have the chance to use his plans and share them with people who can strengthen them to their greatest effectiveness.
In fact, Gale keeps most of his emotions in general bottled as a result of his upbringing. The grief over his father, combined with the Capitol's regime, have made it clear to him that Expressing Himself Is Not A Wise Course of Action. His family looks to him for strength, and the Capitol is constantly monitoring for signs of treason - especially by his canon point, where security in District 12 has been tightened and rebellions have begun in earnest across the country. Canonically, he only truly expresses himself with Katniss when they are alone and unmonitored - when he is sure it is safe to say what he truly feels. In these moments of confidence, he is open, but also very quick to anger, because they are the times when he is at his most raw. If he is provoked during these times, he's apt to cut off the conversation quickly - to cauterize a wound before it forms too deeply. This is most likely because he's known to make rash decisions when in the grip of intense anger or sorrow, and he's trying to protect the people around him from the potential consequences of such actions. Once someone or something does hurt him, though, Gale reacts in a number of ways, depending on the situation. If the person who has wronged him is an old friend, he will generally withdraw from them for a long time, until he is able to sort through and discard his anger. However, if he's upset about someone he doesn't know well, or about something more generalized, he can form grudges that root deep and last long.... especially if they've caused him a great deal of pain.
Amid all the oppression and the bleakness of his home life, the woods are the only place that Gale really feels free, or even relaxed. The sunlight, the colors of nature, the wildlife unbound by rules and regulations - they all act like an instant cure for him, in both body and soul. He hones his skill as a hunter there, and lets his mind wander while he keeps his hands busy. Unlike the dark, crushing tunnels of the Seam, where he has to constantly be aware of danger, in the woods he is at ease - even when on his guard. Because of this, he will most likely spend as much of his time as he can outside the castle until he acclimates to living in Paradisa.
ABILITIES: Gale is a stellar hunter - first and foremost, he is good at setting traps and snares. He is quite good with a bow, but better with a knife... and his tactics aren't anything to sneer at either. In terms of "special" abilities, he has none, however, being a plain old human being.... unless you count the kind of pain tolerance that allows someone to take 30 lashes to the back before passing out.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
They had developed a routine, of sorts. Every other night, after he came home from the mines, Gale would trudge just that little bit farther up the road to the Everdeens' house and watch the Games with Katniss' mother and sister. It helped to keep them company - both for their sakes, and for his own: to know that he wasn't the only one with that much emotion invested in his friend's survival. He'd kept his promise, so far, despite being unable to hunt in the woods as much as he used to: he kept the Everdeens in as much food as he could afford to give up, dividing the reward for his tesserae between his family and Katniss'. On Game nights, they'd huddle around the small, flickering television and share whatever he'd brought, holding hands in a terse half-moon as they watched.
Tonight, however, was Gale's night to stay at home with his own family ... and as selfish as it was, he couldn't help but be glad that he wasn't sitting beside Primrose that night. Neither she nor her mother would understand the look of vague discomfort as Katniss tended to Peeta's wounds on screen. It wasn't so bad, really - the only thing saving him was how the broadcast would cut back to other conflicts in the Arena - the last of the Career tributes from the other districts battling it out. Reflexively, Gale analyzed their movements, critiqued them - weighed them against what he would have done if he, with his forty-three raffle slips, had been chosen for the Games and competing in Katniss or Peeta's place. That was something he could stand - the steady, methodical analysis of prey, the work of a hunter. He could watch the kills, the fights, the traps - all of it - with something approaching detachment, cultivating that attitude in the event that he might need to use it, someday.
Katniss and Peeta, though - the relationship that had been building between the two of them ever since Caesar Flickerman's interview? That turned his stomach more than any other part of the games. When the baker's boy had confessed his love, Gale had scoffed it away, treated it as a ploy - but now that the two of them seemed to be looking out for each other, tending each other's wounds and sicknesses ... when the rules were that only one tribute could survive? It twisted his insides to knots. Long days in the Seam, below the ground, had given him plenty of time to think about it as he pounded away at the rock, hoping it yielded coal... and finally he'd come to the conclusion that he hated Peeta for putting her in the kind of position where she could care for him - and then later be forced to kill him. It was like nursing a sick animal back to health only to kill it later for its pelt - completely irrational. Peeta was weak, he had been dying - he could have been merciful to Katniss and told her to let him die. But he'd instilled some form of compassion in her, and watching the whole drama draw out was more than he could bear. It reminded him of the time that he had been up in a tree, watching his traps. A rabbit had become caught in one trap, and wrenched its leg, unable to free itself or flee. Gale had just been about to climb down and deal the death blow, to twist its neck, when a pair of wild dogs crashed into the clearing, snarling, caught up in a fight. Unable to move, Gale had had to stay hidden in the branches as the dogs fought, oblivious to the struggles and the keening of the dying rabbit. This was worse.
He was so lost in thought at the memory, the comparison, that he missed what led up to the moment. All he knew was that one moment he was wishing that it could be as simple as breaking a rabbit's neck - and then Katniss was kissing Peeta. And from where he sat, it sure as hell looked genuine.
Gale had been fine with it, at first - it was a survival tactic, plain and simple, something he understood. So when the reporters had come, asking "Katniss' cousin" what she thought of Peeta, he'd played along, for her sake. But to see the lie turn into something genuine before his eyes was a little more than he could take. Without even excusing himself, he took his little sister Posy off his lap, set her beside Vick, and got up.
The next few minutes were a blur - by the time Gale came back to mindfulness, he was in the woods, past the fence, quiver slung on his shoulder and bow in hand. A loaf of bread - day-old and hard - perched on a nearby rock, and he focused in on it, intently. When his mother found out that it was gone, he wasn't quite sure what he'd say. It was a waste, maybe, he thought, as he sighted up his shot. But that thought was shoved quickly to the back of his mind and turned to ash in the fire of his anger. As the bolt hit home, skewering the loaf neatly in the center, Gale let out a huff of a sigh, and found the perfect answer: perfect, because it was true.
I haven't got the stomach for it, right now.
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE:
[it's too cold and snowy out for an extended tromp in the woods - at least for a boy who doesn't trust wishing for warmer clothing, so Gale is holed up in the gym, pounding away at one of the punching bags. after a moment's abuse, he stops to get a drink of water, and glances down at the journal he's set off to the side.]
I've been thinking. I heard something from people about there being journals that go five years back into the past, about this place. Is there one somewhere I could take a look at? The more time I spend here, the more I think it's a good idea to learn as much as I can about it. And it's not because I like it here. I don't even remember where the saying comes from - it's old, older than Panem - but it goes something like: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
And whatever's behind all of this? ... Let's just say I want to get real close.
INTENT:
I have ... a lot of little reasons that I want to play Gale that all add up to one big "yes please". It's been a while since I played anyone genuinely, actively in complete hatred of systems and corruption (ahem ahem Rorschach). Mark talks a big game, but in the end he likes order and peace as much as the next person. Gale's got a lot of anger issues to work out - and some trust ones, as well - and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out in a place that's pretty much the exact opposite of Panem culturally. He'll still feel oppressed by the castle, but the population will be a lot more welcoming, and that might help him to open up. There's also the huge draw of having a substantial HG cast ... I admit to never having been a player in a large canon cast (not counting Doctor Who because they're so far spread out), and if there were any group of muns I would want to try that sort of thing out with, it would be the group here in Para. All in all, I just think that Gale would be a lot of fun, and easy to maintain because he's generally a quiet loner sort of guy.
