Baedal App
Out of Character Information
Name: Teresa
Username: twilight_rain
Are you over the age of eighteen? Yep
Current characters in Baedal: none
In Character Information
Basics
Character Name: Captain Jack Harkness
Username: capt_greatcoat
Fandom: Torchwood
Played By: John Barrowman
Icon:
Canon Character Section
Physical Description: Jack Harkness is an all-around impressive man, standing at 6'1", bright blue eyes, big, white, shiny matinee idol smile, handsome face, sturdy, muscular build. He's broad-shouldered and built like the military man that he is. He is well-known for being a very handsome, very irresistible man, especially when he's smiling. Not only do his looks attract people, but so do his 51st century pheromones, which smell like everyone's favorite aftershave or cologne.
Sexuality: Jack is pretty much the epitome of sexuality. He doesn't like to restrict who he flirts with or who he's attracted to. If he's attracted to you, you'll know about it, and based on the people he's flirted with on the show (Ianto, Gwen, Chantho; men, women, alien, respectively), he'll probably flirt with you. He's had a lot of time to experiment and perfect a lot of sex acts, but that doesn't mean that it's become boring for him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Jack's in it for his partner, or partners (he's quite open to multiple person relationships as well).
History: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Jack_Harkness
Powers: Jack's special trait is not really a power, therefore is listed in talents/abilities instead.
Talents/Abilities:: Jack can't die. Well. Not really. He can die, he just comes back from the dead. There's nothing that keeps him down for long. He's been killed in almost every way imaginable (falling off of skyscrapers, electrocuted, shot any number of ways and places, buried alive, buried in cement, blown up from the inside out, had a building collapse on him, had his life energy sucked away by Abaddon the Great Devourer, etc.) but none of them killed him for good. Something happened with a friend who looked into the heart of an all-seeing machine and temporarily gained the ability to do anything she wanted, and what gave him was life. Apparently forever. He doesn't age, either. He's what the Doctor calls a fixed point in space and time, and that means that he's forever.
Personality: Jack is quite possibly one of the most complicated characters to understand. He didn't start out his life as a good guy, and sometimes his past comes back and bites him and he hates himself a little for those mistakes. He's got eternity to look forward to, and he'll never really understand what he is or why is is the way he is, and so he's afraid. Plus, he's been thrust into a place of command that he isn't really sure that he deserves, as the leader of Torchwood, but he was literally the only member left alive to take over, so he carried on, the way he does. Because if for nothing else, Jack is resilient.
He's got a guilt complex about a mile wide that started at a very young age when, during a raid on their home planet, he accidentally let go of his brother's hand and consequentially, he blames himself for the fact that his brother was taken away by the aliens. He tried to go back to the way life used to be, but his father was killed in the very same raid, and it's obvious that his mother isn't the same without his father or little brother, and he comes to believe that she blames him for losing Gray as well. Later on, working with Torchwood, he's made a lot of mistakes, and some of them have ended in the deaths of some of the people that he's cared for the most, and so he blames himself for that as well, regardless as to whether they are actually his fault or not.
He's also got abandonment issues. This started with of course losing Gray when he was young, and losing his father on the very same day as well. He then grew up a little and joined in fighting a war, but his best friend was caught and tortured in front of him and he presumably died as well. Then he grew up some more and joined the Time Agency, where things were apparently working well enough until he woke up one day and had lost two years of his memory, without any explanation as to why they were gone or what they were removing, so he left. And then he met the Doctor, who saved him, gave him something to believe in again, and he died fighting for that man, and he thought that that was a good way to go. But then Rose brought him back and he found them again just in time to watch the TARDIS dematerialize without him, leaving him alone in the year 200,100 with apparently only one good jump left in his Vortex Manipulator, which, damaged from the battle, sends him to the nineteenth century instead. From there, he tries to restart his life in that era until he finds out one day, after being stabbed in the chest, that he can't actually die for good. So he goes back to Cardiff to look for the Doctor for real, hanging around the Rift in hopes of finding him, and gets picked up by Torchwood. Torchwood that uses and abuses him for the next century, until New Years Eve, 1999, when the leader of Torchwood 3 looks into the future, doesn't like what he sees, and ends up killing the entire team, including himself, and leaving Jack alone in charge of TW3. And then there are the deaths of Tosh and Owen and eventually Ianto, and the knowledge later on that the Doctor left him behind all those years ago on purpose because he was 'wrong' and the Doctor couldn't handle it, and. Taking into account the fact that he is the only person capable of living forever, and the knowledge that everyone he ever has loved or will love will either leave him because they can't handle what he is or because they will end up dying in some way or another has made him a very guarded person.
That isn't to say that Jack doesn't know how to have fun. He's from the 51st century, where sexuality is a lot freer than it is nowadays, and as such, so is Jack's. He doesn't discriminate who he'll flirt with--man, woman, alien, any combination thereof, he doesn't care. So long as he finds you attractive, you're it. Through the whole of Doctor Who and Torchwood, though, Jack is seen flirting with and kissing all sorts of people, but there is only one person that he's ever been caught sleeping with more than once, and that's Ianto. Ianto is something special to him, a special that he doesn't want to define both because he thinks that labels cheapen what there is and also because he's afraid that if he admits Ianto's something extra special to him, and dare I say it, that he might actually love him. That whatever powers that be that are controlling the universe will come down and take him away that much faster, because for once he's happy in a relationship with a partner that understands him, as much as a partner can understand someone like Jack, which is to say not a lot.
Despite all that having been said, Jack is a good captain, and a good man, no matter how much he may doubt himself on each front. He puts the needs of others above the needs of himself, regrets poor decisions of the past but carries on, doing what is necessary in order to save the day, regardless as to what people might think of him afterwards. Anything that they might judge him on, he can guarantee that he's probably already thought many times over about himself anyway. Jack has a problem with running away when things get tough, however. Rather than admitting things to himself or dealing with his situation or his emotions, he'd much rather run off and pretend that none of the problems ever existed. He's claustrophobic from having been buried alive for around 1000 years, and sometimes just going to stand on roofs under the open sky makes him feel better about his life, helps clear his mind and collect himself whenever he's stressed or hurting or melancholy. Despite this running away, though, he is a responsible person, and he always comes back. His own issues with abandonment and guilt lead him to try to never inflict the same things on others.
Object: Aside from everything Jack always has with him/everything he's always wearing, the one thing that will come with him is his box of memories. It contains random photographs and knickknacks from over the years that he's collected that have some sort of sentimental value to him. Everything from his very old wedding photos to any sorts of war medals he might have won to baby pictures of his daughter and grandson, you name it. There isn't a lot in there, but what there is is extremely valuable to him.
Reason for playing: I like to play Jack because his character is probably one of the most complex of anyone out there, and he is both a challenge and a blast to write. My playing style is largely character-driven, and I like to have plotlines going on with other people, rather than just doing my own thing. I play for the character interactions, and the relationships formed between the characters, their eccentricities between each other, because I think that those sorts of things are fascinating. I hope to get a lot out of this community, in that regard.
Gods: The god to probably take the most interest in Jack would be Eliandre, Goddess of Death and Justice, because...well. She is said to watch over the dying, and Jack dies all the time. He also comes back from death all the time. He's the one character that death will never really be able to claim. Moreover, Jack is, or was, the leader of an organization that seeks to defend the Earth against alien threats, and since she is also known to take an interest in dedicated hunters and investigators, of which Torchwood members are both, she should definitely be interested in him. He's probably the number one interest as far as she's concerned, because if ever there were someone to be interesting in both Death and Justice, it would be Jack.
Writing Samples
For two of the four samples, applicants may substitute links to previously written roleplaying threads of no less than eight substantial replies. We reserve the right to ask for an additional sample if more information is required.
First-Person Network Post:
Hey there, guys. A little bird told me that it looks like it's gonna pour again today. If by little bird, you mean a certain impeccably dressed Welshman, and I do. I tell you what, if I wanted it to rain every day I would have stayed in Cardiff. Hope you remembered your umbrellas. Speaking of remembering, though. If someone sees Ianto out and about on the streets before I find him, tell him that umbrellas really only keep you dry if you remember to actually take them with you, rather than leaving them by the door after you've forgotten something else. Not that I mind going out to look for him, but he's making me feel like some sort of housewife like this, and believe me, I do not look good in pearls.
First-Person Journal Post:
Thought I saw him today. In the city. The Doctor. Don't know whether I'm glad it wasn't him or not. I think I am. I'm starting to like not always having to look behind my back to watch for him. Don't have to worry whether I've got his approval or not. Don't know what that really means for me. Not sure I ever want to find out.
Third-Person Arrival Post:
"I'm heading in now," Jack said into his earpiece, before he tapped the line silent for then, hearing and only vaguely registering Ianto's affirmation of said fact from the other side of the line. He'd left him back at the SUV to monitor on the equipment the position of the Weevil that they'd been tracking for the better part of an hour now. It took them long enough not only to locate where it was, but also force it into an area that was more convenient for a pickup. When they'd told Gwen that they were going out on a Weevil hunt, Jack hadn't actually anticipated doing that. It was definitely a running joke between the three of them that going Weevil hunting was really a euphemism for Jack and Ianto going out and well. Doing other things. Which Gwen seemed to be fine with, even possibly was amused by, in some way. And sometimes, yes. An alert came up and they had to change plans. But he'd hoped that this time wouldn't be the case. Ah, well. Next time, he supposed. Or maybe he could convince Ianto to stay over at the Hub after they brought this one in. They hadn't done anything with the stopwatch for a while...
Gun in hand, Weevil spray and anti-Weevil clamps in his coat pockets, Jack steeled himself before stepping forward and around the corner into the next section of the sewer-way. At least, that's what it was supposed to be. Instead, however, he found himself in a room. A room with a door, but on the opposite side of the room from where he'd entered. Jack whirled in his spot, staring at the solid wall from whence he'd came, eyes narrowing as he raised his gun and tapped his comm. "Ianto?" he asked, cautiously. The line was silent. "Ianto, can you hear me?" No answer. "Damn it..." He turned, glancing around the room for some sort of exit, but finding none, turned to the table, where there sat some sort of communication device, a fairly ordinary looking pamphlet, and...his memory box. The one that he knew was in the secure archives under some of the highest security possible. "...what the hell?" Something definitely fishy was going on, there.
Third-Person Action Post:
Jack hadn't seen the man drawing a gun until it was far, far too late. And when faced with the choice of Ianto getting shot and potentially dying, or himself dying and Ianto getting the other man back while he was down, there was absolutely no question. As he found the bullet arching towards his head, he decided that he was okay with this. He'd had gunshot wounds to the head before. Not the worst way to go. Hell of a headache after he woke up, but in terms of the actual death suffered from one, not really all that bad at all. Quick and merciful, none of that drawn-out sputtering and clinging to life. One minute he was there, throwing himself in front of a bullet aimed at someone he cared about, the next minute his body was crumpling to the ground and his mind somewhere different entirely.
In the first few years after finding out about his unique ability, Jack had liked to think that some day he would get used to the sensation, that next time wouldn't be so bad. That eventually he'd become desensitized to the sensation of dying and just roll with it as nonchalantly as someone dealt with something as minor as a paper-cut or a stubbed toe. When imagining becoming able to do this, Jack had forgotten to factor in one very important point. Dying was supposed to happen only once. There was no getting used to it, there was no preparing yourself for it. It happened, and however horrifically it did, it always ended the same--in the dark. Alone in the dark with that presence. There was nothing but the dark and that fear that something was coming to get him and there was nothing to stop that. There was no Jack, in the dark. There was no Torchwood and no immortality and no sexuality and no anything but that presence and that darkness and the fear. That paralyzing fear that grabbed him by the heart and left him breathless.
As breathless as he was when he gasped for air, suddenly thrust back into life and his body and light and sounds and emotion and the sensation of it all was like being dragged over broken glass. His eyes flew open and he looked around frantically, flailing a little as he tried to grab hold of not only where he was, but who as well. A split-second later, the information was suddenly there again, and he looked up into the concerned blue eyes of his companion and knew. It'd worked. Again. And he was back, to live and die another day.
Name: Teresa
Username: twilight_rain
Are you over the age of eighteen? Yep
Current characters in Baedal: none
In Character Information
Basics
Character Name: Captain Jack Harkness
Username: capt_greatcoat
Fandom: Torchwood
Played By: John Barrowman
Icon:
Canon Character Section
Physical Description: Jack Harkness is an all-around impressive man, standing at 6'1", bright blue eyes, big, white, shiny matinee idol smile, handsome face, sturdy, muscular build. He's broad-shouldered and built like the military man that he is. He is well-known for being a very handsome, very irresistible man, especially when he's smiling. Not only do his looks attract people, but so do his 51st century pheromones, which smell like everyone's favorite aftershave or cologne.
Sexuality: Jack is pretty much the epitome of sexuality. He doesn't like to restrict who he flirts with or who he's attracted to. If he's attracted to you, you'll know about it, and based on the people he's flirted with on the show (Ianto, Gwen, Chantho; men, women, alien, respectively), he'll probably flirt with you. He's had a lot of time to experiment and perfect a lot of sex acts, but that doesn't mean that it's become boring for him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Jack's in it for his partner, or partners (he's quite open to multiple person relationships as well).
History: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Jack_Harkness
Powers: Jack's special trait is not really a power, therefore is listed in talents/abilities instead.
Talents/Abilities:: Jack can't die. Well. Not really. He can die, he just comes back from the dead. There's nothing that keeps him down for long. He's been killed in almost every way imaginable (falling off of skyscrapers, electrocuted, shot any number of ways and places, buried alive, buried in cement, blown up from the inside out, had a building collapse on him, had his life energy sucked away by Abaddon the Great Devourer, etc.) but none of them killed him for good. Something happened with a friend who looked into the heart of an all-seeing machine and temporarily gained the ability to do anything she wanted, and what gave him was life. Apparently forever. He doesn't age, either. He's what the Doctor calls a fixed point in space and time, and that means that he's forever.
Personality: Jack is quite possibly one of the most complicated characters to understand. He didn't start out his life as a good guy, and sometimes his past comes back and bites him and he hates himself a little for those mistakes. He's got eternity to look forward to, and he'll never really understand what he is or why is is the way he is, and so he's afraid. Plus, he's been thrust into a place of command that he isn't really sure that he deserves, as the leader of Torchwood, but he was literally the only member left alive to take over, so he carried on, the way he does. Because if for nothing else, Jack is resilient.
He's got a guilt complex about a mile wide that started at a very young age when, during a raid on their home planet, he accidentally let go of his brother's hand and consequentially, he blames himself for the fact that his brother was taken away by the aliens. He tried to go back to the way life used to be, but his father was killed in the very same raid, and it's obvious that his mother isn't the same without his father or little brother, and he comes to believe that she blames him for losing Gray as well. Later on, working with Torchwood, he's made a lot of mistakes, and some of them have ended in the deaths of some of the people that he's cared for the most, and so he blames himself for that as well, regardless as to whether they are actually his fault or not.
He's also got abandonment issues. This started with of course losing Gray when he was young, and losing his father on the very same day as well. He then grew up a little and joined in fighting a war, but his best friend was caught and tortured in front of him and he presumably died as well. Then he grew up some more and joined the Time Agency, where things were apparently working well enough until he woke up one day and had lost two years of his memory, without any explanation as to why they were gone or what they were removing, so he left. And then he met the Doctor, who saved him, gave him something to believe in again, and he died fighting for that man, and he thought that that was a good way to go. But then Rose brought him back and he found them again just in time to watch the TARDIS dematerialize without him, leaving him alone in the year 200,100 with apparently only one good jump left in his Vortex Manipulator, which, damaged from the battle, sends him to the nineteenth century instead. From there, he tries to restart his life in that era until he finds out one day, after being stabbed in the chest, that he can't actually die for good. So he goes back to Cardiff to look for the Doctor for real, hanging around the Rift in hopes of finding him, and gets picked up by Torchwood. Torchwood that uses and abuses him for the next century, until New Years Eve, 1999, when the leader of Torchwood 3 looks into the future, doesn't like what he sees, and ends up killing the entire team, including himself, and leaving Jack alone in charge of TW3. And then there are the deaths of Tosh and Owen and eventually Ianto, and the knowledge later on that the Doctor left him behind all those years ago on purpose because he was 'wrong' and the Doctor couldn't handle it, and. Taking into account the fact that he is the only person capable of living forever, and the knowledge that everyone he ever has loved or will love will either leave him because they can't handle what he is or because they will end up dying in some way or another has made him a very guarded person.
That isn't to say that Jack doesn't know how to have fun. He's from the 51st century, where sexuality is a lot freer than it is nowadays, and as such, so is Jack's. He doesn't discriminate who he'll flirt with--man, woman, alien, any combination thereof, he doesn't care. So long as he finds you attractive, you're it. Through the whole of Doctor Who and Torchwood, though, Jack is seen flirting with and kissing all sorts of people, but there is only one person that he's ever been caught sleeping with more than once, and that's Ianto. Ianto is something special to him, a special that he doesn't want to define both because he thinks that labels cheapen what there is and also because he's afraid that if he admits Ianto's something extra special to him, and dare I say it, that he might actually love him. That whatever powers that be that are controlling the universe will come down and take him away that much faster, because for once he's happy in a relationship with a partner that understands him, as much as a partner can understand someone like Jack, which is to say not a lot.
Despite all that having been said, Jack is a good captain, and a good man, no matter how much he may doubt himself on each front. He puts the needs of others above the needs of himself, regrets poor decisions of the past but carries on, doing what is necessary in order to save the day, regardless as to what people might think of him afterwards. Anything that they might judge him on, he can guarantee that he's probably already thought many times over about himself anyway. Jack has a problem with running away when things get tough, however. Rather than admitting things to himself or dealing with his situation or his emotions, he'd much rather run off and pretend that none of the problems ever existed. He's claustrophobic from having been buried alive for around 1000 years, and sometimes just going to stand on roofs under the open sky makes him feel better about his life, helps clear his mind and collect himself whenever he's stressed or hurting or melancholy. Despite this running away, though, he is a responsible person, and he always comes back. His own issues with abandonment and guilt lead him to try to never inflict the same things on others.
Object: Aside from everything Jack always has with him/everything he's always wearing, the one thing that will come with him is his box of memories. It contains random photographs and knickknacks from over the years that he's collected that have some sort of sentimental value to him. Everything from his very old wedding photos to any sorts of war medals he might have won to baby pictures of his daughter and grandson, you name it. There isn't a lot in there, but what there is is extremely valuable to him.
Reason for playing: I like to play Jack because his character is probably one of the most complex of anyone out there, and he is both a challenge and a blast to write. My playing style is largely character-driven, and I like to have plotlines going on with other people, rather than just doing my own thing. I play for the character interactions, and the relationships formed between the characters, their eccentricities between each other, because I think that those sorts of things are fascinating. I hope to get a lot out of this community, in that regard.
Gods: The god to probably take the most interest in Jack would be Eliandre, Goddess of Death and Justice, because...well. She is said to watch over the dying, and Jack dies all the time. He also comes back from death all the time. He's the one character that death will never really be able to claim. Moreover, Jack is, or was, the leader of an organization that seeks to defend the Earth against alien threats, and since she is also known to take an interest in dedicated hunters and investigators, of which Torchwood members are both, she should definitely be interested in him. He's probably the number one interest as far as she's concerned, because if ever there were someone to be interesting in both Death and Justice, it would be Jack.
Writing Samples
For two of the four samples, applicants may substitute links to previously written roleplaying threads of no less than eight substantial replies. We reserve the right to ask for an additional sample if more information is required.
First-Person Network Post:
Hey there, guys. A little bird told me that it looks like it's gonna pour again today. If by little bird, you mean a certain impeccably dressed Welshman, and I do. I tell you what, if I wanted it to rain every day I would have stayed in Cardiff. Hope you remembered your umbrellas. Speaking of remembering, though. If someone sees Ianto out and about on the streets before I find him, tell him that umbrellas really only keep you dry if you remember to actually take them with you, rather than leaving them by the door after you've forgotten something else. Not that I mind going out to look for him, but he's making me feel like some sort of housewife like this, and believe me, I do not look good in pearls.
First-Person Journal Post:
Thought I saw him today. In the city. The Doctor. Don't know whether I'm glad it wasn't him or not. I think I am. I'm starting to like not always having to look behind my back to watch for him. Don't have to worry whether I've got his approval or not. Don't know what that really means for me. Not sure I ever want to find out.
Third-Person Arrival Post:
"I'm heading in now," Jack said into his earpiece, before he tapped the line silent for then, hearing and only vaguely registering Ianto's affirmation of said fact from the other side of the line. He'd left him back at the SUV to monitor on the equipment the position of the Weevil that they'd been tracking for the better part of an hour now. It took them long enough not only to locate where it was, but also force it into an area that was more convenient for a pickup. When they'd told Gwen that they were going out on a Weevil hunt, Jack hadn't actually anticipated doing that. It was definitely a running joke between the three of them that going Weevil hunting was really a euphemism for Jack and Ianto going out and well. Doing other things. Which Gwen seemed to be fine with, even possibly was amused by, in some way. And sometimes, yes. An alert came up and they had to change plans. But he'd hoped that this time wouldn't be the case. Ah, well. Next time, he supposed. Or maybe he could convince Ianto to stay over at the Hub after they brought this one in. They hadn't done anything with the stopwatch for a while...
Gun in hand, Weevil spray and anti-Weevil clamps in his coat pockets, Jack steeled himself before stepping forward and around the corner into the next section of the sewer-way. At least, that's what it was supposed to be. Instead, however, he found himself in a room. A room with a door, but on the opposite side of the room from where he'd entered. Jack whirled in his spot, staring at the solid wall from whence he'd came, eyes narrowing as he raised his gun and tapped his comm. "Ianto?" he asked, cautiously. The line was silent. "Ianto, can you hear me?" No answer. "Damn it..." He turned, glancing around the room for some sort of exit, but finding none, turned to the table, where there sat some sort of communication device, a fairly ordinary looking pamphlet, and...his memory box. The one that he knew was in the secure archives under some of the highest security possible. "...what the hell?" Something definitely fishy was going on, there.
Third-Person Action Post:
Jack hadn't seen the man drawing a gun until it was far, far too late. And when faced with the choice of Ianto getting shot and potentially dying, or himself dying and Ianto getting the other man back while he was down, there was absolutely no question. As he found the bullet arching towards his head, he decided that he was okay with this. He'd had gunshot wounds to the head before. Not the worst way to go. Hell of a headache after he woke up, but in terms of the actual death suffered from one, not really all that bad at all. Quick and merciful, none of that drawn-out sputtering and clinging to life. One minute he was there, throwing himself in front of a bullet aimed at someone he cared about, the next minute his body was crumpling to the ground and his mind somewhere different entirely.
In the first few years after finding out about his unique ability, Jack had liked to think that some day he would get used to the sensation, that next time wouldn't be so bad. That eventually he'd become desensitized to the sensation of dying and just roll with it as nonchalantly as someone dealt with something as minor as a paper-cut or a stubbed toe. When imagining becoming able to do this, Jack had forgotten to factor in one very important point. Dying was supposed to happen only once. There was no getting used to it, there was no preparing yourself for it. It happened, and however horrifically it did, it always ended the same--in the dark. Alone in the dark with that presence. There was nothing but the dark and that fear that something was coming to get him and there was nothing to stop that. There was no Jack, in the dark. There was no Torchwood and no immortality and no sexuality and no anything but that presence and that darkness and the fear. That paralyzing fear that grabbed him by the heart and left him breathless.
As breathless as he was when he gasped for air, suddenly thrust back into life and his body and light and sounds and emotion and the sensation of it all was like being dragged over broken glass. His eyes flew open and he looked around frantically, flailing a little as he tried to grab hold of not only where he was, but who as well. A split-second later, the information was suddenly there again, and he looked up into the concerned blue eyes of his companion and knew. It'd worked. Again. And he was back, to live and die another day.