asgardeventide application

Dec 04, 2020 12:19



OOC Information;
Name; Hannah
Personal Journal; tinurix
Contact; tinurix@gmail.com; AIM: tinurix; Plurk: Spiritinthenight

Other Characters; None.

IC Information;
Character Name; Tommy Walker
Canon; Tommy (film)
Canon Point; Post-film. After his followers have all deserted him.
Age; 21

House; ...You made this too easy. Freya's house. Tommy is, in his world, a religious figure. Although the romance aspect isn't technically there, he's all about love and being social. He has a song about how much people adore him for crying out loud.
Power; Charmander

Personality; The thing about Tommy as a character is that a clear personality isn't represented in his canon. He spends more than half the movie staring blankly into a mirror or being helpless while all this bad stuff happens to him. As Roger Daltrey (portrays Tommy in the film) himself has said, "He doesn’t say fuck all about anything". And it's true. But there are the fainted glimmers of a personality scattered here and there. I've added some headcanon in italics to beef this section up a little, but these are all based on canon and the undeniable side effects of Tommy's childhood trauma.

As a deaf, dumb and blind boy, Tommy is essentially catatonic. He's blank and emotionless and responds to nothing but the stimulus he receives from his pinball machine and his mirror. He's very accepting of his parents' neglect and the things that happen to him, never putting up a fight. Still, throughout the many musical numbers of the film, Tommy's inner voice butts in on several occasions, always repeating the same words: "see me, feel me, touch me, heal me". This reveals that, while he makes no true effort to do much of anything, he longs desperately to escape from his mental prison. This longing is also important to note when he is freed.

When Tommy gets his senses back, his love of life is undeniable. He becomes an extremely positive individual, almost constantly cheerful. Only for a brief moment does he show any bitterness toward his family. He adores his mother and stepfather and his Uncle Ernie even works at Tommy's holiday camp. This paints Tommy as a very forgiving young man, so enamored with the fact that he can live freely again that he has no need to carry grudges. He has, however, been affected by his past experiences. For instance, he recalls the bad trip induced to him by the Acid Queen and this is why he looks down upon the use of substances, even out of his cult setting.

Even at the film's end, Tommy still maintains that aspect of accepting things easily and moving on. When the mob riots, he mourns his parents, then moves on. He doesn't spend time blaming his ex-followers. Deep in his heart, however, he realizes their deaths were his fault. Due to this, he'll be a little hesitant to speak too readily about many things to people. He would rather not have an accidental repeat of this incident. He'll struggle to maintain his optimistic face at all times, however, but he'll attempt not to actually..help...anyone.

It's important to note that Tommy is an incredibly naive young man. He experienced a miracle: seeing, hearing, and speaking again after ten years, all in a sudden rush. How much does he really know about the world? All he wanted to do was spread a positive message and attempt to teach others to achieve the same mental clarity without the use of substances. He only wanted to spread a message, and it's very likely that he never intended to form a cult or to become a religious figure. Based upon Frank and Uncle Ernie's exploitation of Tommy, the cult is more than likely chalked up to them.

Because he was generally isolated and alone growing up, Tommy is shown to be an incredibly social person. He seemingly feels the need to surround himself with people at all times, no matter who they are or what they intend to use him for. He was always at his happiest when he was surrounded by sound--by the vibrations made in his mind by the pinball machine or by the voices of his cult members and his family. He felt he had something to offer them and because they were willing to listen for a time, he was content and felt wanted around them. However, being surrounded by people and growing close to people are two separate things. Tommy will enjoy the company of others, but likely have a hard time growing close to them after the mob incident. Again, he doesn't blame the mob--he just doesn't want a repeat.

Also due to his long isolation, Tommy is extremely inquisitive. There are several missing years there, and a lot of things he never learned. He can keep himself alive, but he isn't completely self-sufficient. He went from a situation in which it was necessary that he be cared for to a situation in which he was hailed as the new messiah and people volunteered to care for him. Needless to say, cooking for himself is something he's never done.

Samples;
Network Sample;
[The video option flickers to life, giving the network a view of a smiling young man, his face framed by ridiculously curly hair. His eyes are looking anywhere but toward the screen, however. His head is turning from side to side, up, down--anywhere he can take in more of the view around him, until his eyes finally do rest on the screen.]

Oh! Hello to whoever's out there. [He speaks in a pleasant English accent, his smile and air of "ISN'T THAT LOVELY? ISN'T EVERYTHING LOVELY?" never fading.]

A first-person sample in the form of a video, audio, or text post to the network. We're looking for your character's unique speaking voice here, so while [bracket action] is welcome, try to focus on dialogue in this sample. You may link a previous game/musebox/meme thread here.

Log Sample;
Would you believe I have a link?

EXTRA HISTORY WITH COMMENTARY BECAUSE I WORKED SO HARD WOOPWOOP

Strap on your wtf faces. You're in for what might be the strangest history you've heard in awhile.

At some point during World War II, Nora Walker and "Captain Walker", a Royal Air Force Group Captain who clearly doesn't have a first name, conceive together a son. Under a waterfall. In the middle of a war. No wonder your son has issues. Just after his son's conception, Captain Walker is called away from his wife to the war front. His plane is shot down by enemy forces he is presumed dead. For a very long time.

Tommy is born at the war's end to a lonesome but proud Nora. She cares for her son alone for about ten years until she meets Frank Hobbes, a worker at a holiday camp. Somehow this is a top notch job. The two start a relationship, and "Uncle Frank" quickly becomes something of a hero and father figure to the young Tommy, who voices his new dreams of owning his own holiday camp of his own someday. Why can't you be a normal child and want to be an astronaut like everyone else, Tommy?

Frank and Nora marry, but Captain Walker returns one night. Yes. Ten. years. later. Tommy awakens and, in his own curiosity, follows his real father to the bedroom. The Captain grows angry when he discovers Nora one another man's arms even though Nora waited ten whole year. Frank kills Captain Walker by smashing a lamp against his head because somehow that can kill you, and Tommy sees it all. Both his mother and stepfather then attempt to convince him that he "didn't hear it, didn't see it, never heard it, not a word of it". Tommy takes their words literally and becomes unresponsive due to the shock, leading people to believe that he is deaf, mute and blind. Now in a semi-catatonic state, Tommy's subconscious manifests as a figure dressed in silvery robes who guides him on a journey of enlightenment. As the years pass, Tommy begins to interpret physical sensations and vibrations as music in his head.

Ten years later, Tommy is a young man played by Roger "oblivious trout king" Daltrey and still completely unreceptive of his surroundings. His mother and stepfather continue to struggling to find cures for him, going so far as to take him to a religious cult centered around Marilyn Monroe. They do this before taking him to the docotr, guys. When this inevitably fails, Frank takes him to the Acid Queen, an LSD-dealing prostitute. She gives Tommy a large dose of acid which only results in a bad trip and fails to reawaken his senses, but he does appear half naked throughout the scene which Pete Townshend surely requested himself.

Feeling that the situation is hopeless and that their son is tying them down, Tommy's parents begin to neglect him in favor of their social lives. Despite Nora questioning whether or not "it's alright", she and Frank leave him the hands of other family members. First they leave him with his CRAAAAZY cousin, Kevin, who states that Tommy "won't be much fun being blind, deaf and dumb", but he physically tortures him.

None the wiser to the treatment Tommy received from his cousin, Tommy's parents soon leave him with his wicked Uncle Ernie, who takes note that no matter what he does, Tommy won't see or hear him and takes the opportunity to molest him. Ridiculously. This time, Frank catches on and he and his wife no longer leave Tommy alone. They continue to be bad parents, however, allowing him to stand and stare into a large mirror all day--his only stimulus. It's implied that through this mirror, Tommy can somehow see himself.

One evening when neither of his parents are paying him any attention, Tommy sees a vision of himself in the mirror. This vision leads Tommy alone into a junkyard, causing him to stumble upon a used pinball machine. Despite his inability to see, it is revealed that he plays incredibly well, presumably due to the fact that he can't become distracted by the lights and sounds of the machine. Tommy is entered into a competition and beats the local pinball champion Elton John, boosting the deaf, dumb and blind boy into surprisingly great fame and fortune.

Despite all the fine things she has been able to buy with her son's stardom, Nora is still upset that Tommy can't respond to her and enjoy the family's new luxurious lifestyle. She and Frank strike up their search for a cure yet again and FINALLY take their son to a doctor. Upon close inspection, the doctor confirms that there isn't actually anything physically wrong with Tommy. After all that time, nothing is wrong with him. All of the boy's symptoms are in his own mind, a sort of mental block that no medical care can remove.

Tommy returns home after the doctor visit, but simply returns to his habit of staring blankly into the mirror for hours on end. Nora's frustration is newly sparked, as Tommy doesn't seem to see her, but she believes he can see himself. As her temper rises, she pushes him through the mirror, shattering it and accidentally throwing her son into the sea below. Real good mother, eh?

As Tommy plummets into the water and finds his way to the surface, he discovers that his mother's violent act has finally healed and awakened him, allowing him to regain all his senses. After a quick (and incredibly odd) run down the beach to celebrate his freedom, Nora manages to track her son down ten billion years later. When he sets eyes on her, Tommy flashes back to all the terrible things that his parents have put him through, but then settles upon the realization that they do love him and immediately forgives. His mother tells him of all the amazing things he's achieved via pinball--"you're a hero, you're famous, you're a champion of the young". Pinball is a big deal in this world, really.

Tommy's healing becomes big news and he decides that he wants to use his newfound awareness to bring enlightenment to those who already adore him. He gives speeches and gathers followers (and screaming fangirls) by FLYING ABOUT ON A HANG-GLIDER. Within a year, Tommy has become a very Jesus-esque figure, having a profund impact on people just by nearing them. As he approaches a fighting motorcycle gang and a group of gamblers, they stop their immoral activies. Followers begin to gather at Tommy's home and he essentially creates a cult with himself as the leader and pinball as a basis for enlightenment.

In need of more room due to the influx of followers, Tommy sets up holiday camps all over the world, finally fulfilling his childhood dream in a skewed sort of way. As Tommy becomes a worldwide religious figure, Frank and Ernie begin to financial exploit his followers in order to make money.

In his camps, Tommy bans the use of illicit substances, such as marijuana and alcohol, as he believes it is impossible to follow him in these ways. Tommy, you prick. Each follower is given a pinball machine and a piece of headgear that blocks the eyes, covers the ears, and plugs the mouth. The followers, however, soon get fed up and bored with Tommy's policies and begin rioting. They destroy their machines and set fire to the camp, killing Frank and Nora in the process. The mob is quickly scared off by police sirens, trampling Uncle Erie in their stampede. Tommy is left only injured and after a brief moment of mourning for his parents, quickly flees the camp before it is completely engulfed in flame. He escapes safely and arrives in the same place he was presumably conceived. Despite being alone, Tommy achieves a greater sense of self-awareness and the film ends.

Yes, the film ends.

Thank you Ken Russell.

application

Previous post
Up