OOC: Application
Out of Character Information
Name: Ros
Username: (if applicable) N/A
Are you over the age of eighteen? Yes
Current characters in Baedal: N/A
In Character Information
Basics
Character Name: Edward Brock, Jr., aka Venom
Username: symbiotastic
Fandom: Spider-Man 3
Played By: Topher Grace
Icon: HI
Canon Character Section (disregard if applying for an original character)
Physical Description: Eddie Brock is a fairly nondescript white guy (blond hair, green eyes) in his early- to mid-twenties. At 5'10", he's of average height and appears to be in good shape. With clothes on, he looks like he's on the slight side, but he's actually packing some muscle thanks to the symbiote. He has a boyish look to him owing to the fact that he's Topher Grace, which he tries to compensate for with a great deal of swagger, smarm, cologne and hair gel. When he's at work, he prefers to dress to catch the eye, often in dress shirts with stripes or grids, along with colorful or patterned ties. When he's out of a work element and not looking to impress anybody, he dresses pretty plainly: hoodies, t-shirts, jeans.
When the symbiote's active/not hiding under his clothing, Eddie's appearance changes to something more monstrous. He's bulkier, more athletic and muscular, and his entire body's covered in a black, formfitting 'suit' with a spiffy gray spider symbol on it. Thin black tendrils cling to his face and hair, and his teeth become jagged and sharp. When the symbiote extends so far as to cover his head, he looks like he's just wearing a black Spider-Man mask... with a xenomorph's mouth.
Sexuality: Heterosexual and not as experienced with the opposite sex as he pretends to be, as his attitudes regarding relationships/dating point to somebody who's got a childish and immature outlook. With women, he overcompensates to try to appear more desirable and he overinvests in relationships that don't exist, which indicates that he's insecure and possessive. He has coffee with Gwen Stacy once and thinks that it means they're dating-- without ever confirming this with her-- and regards her as "[his] girl," which makes him flip his shit when he sees Peter Parker taking Gwen out on a date (since CLEARLY IT MEANS PETER STOLE HIS GIRLFRIENNNND who's not really his girlfriend).
I am open to some sexual fluidity with this character, provided there's some real chemistry and it unfolds (from his end) as organic and true to his character-- BUT THIS IS ALSO EXTREMELY UNLIKELY, because he's super annoying, so why would anybody want to date him. However, if this were the case, there would be major hurdles, such as some knee-jerk homophobia and loads and loads of denial of any attraction whatsoever if Eddie were to feel any. So, in the event that he was to feel attracted to another man, there would have to be a lot of self discovery and coming to terms with things and... making sure he's genuinely attracted and not living out some manifestation of his various issues concerning his need for approval and adoration.
History: [No history in the film, so I'm going to infer what I can from here and here.]
Eddie was born in San Francisco to two awesome, loving parents-- or, at least, that was the life he could have had. Instead, his mother died from complications due to his birth, leaving his once warm, loving father a cold, closed-off shell of a man. While not physically abusive, his father was emotionally negligent and a difficult person to live with. As a result, Eddie had a rough childhood. He always tried to win his father's support and approval, but he never did, leaving him mostly on his own. Still, he ended up excelling in school against the odds, and developed a passion for journalism after studying Watergate as a kid. Once he graduated from high school, he went off to the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU with the intent of getting into investigative journalism, but ultimately found himself more invested in photojournalism, which he proved to be quite talented at.
Once he graduated, he decided he was going to strike it big with the major NY newspapers. He landed a freelance gig with The Daily Bugle, snagged some awesome pictures of Spider-Man and MAN, things were starting to look up!
And then Peter Parker destroyed his life.
Powers: Eddie's an average human dude.
...
Oh yeah, and he's bonded with the Venom symbiote. I GUESS THAT'S IMPORTANT. So let's get some background. [Additional info on the symbiote's abilities taken from here. I'm only going with the ones inferred in the film.]
The symbiote is an extraterrestrial, amorphous life-form that basically finds a host, bonds with it, and becomes a "living costume." Not only does the creature grant its host massively increased strength, durability, agility, speed and healing (it can even halt, but not cure, the progression of terminal illnesses), but it also has a genetic memory that allows it to gain characteristics and abilities from its host. Because this particular symbiote first bonded with Peter Parker, it shoots webbing and allows its host to stick to walls-- plus, it bypasses the Spidey Sense. And it grants its host some capacity to sense the presence of others nearby.
The symbiote is also capable of shape-shifting, appearing as normal clothing when it wants to, mimicking Spider-Man's costume, and even altering its host's appearance (in Eddie's case, he gets some delightful fangs even when the "mask" is off). It can also weaponize itself-- in the comics, it can shape shift into blades and tendrils, but in the film, it just sticks with its iconic MOUTH FULL OF HUGE FANGS. And claws. Since Eddie was only bonded to it for about a day, it's likely that he simply wasn't practiced enough to utilize the symbiote's weaponizing capabilities to their full potential. The symbiote can alter its size, growing up to over 7 ft. tall at one point and taking on a humanoid form, and shrinking to a small, squid-like blob of goo at another. It also makes an adorable screeching sound, like a baby dinosaur.
The symbiote doesn't change its host's personality completely, nor does it compel the host to do anything he/she doesn't want to do. Instead, it amplifies the feelings and impulses that are already present-- particularly aggression. Prior to bonding with the symbiote, Eddie already hated Peter Parker and wanted to see him suffer; bonding with it only makes him act on the impulse. The symbiote is similar to a drug in that it can become addictive and produce feelings of happiness/euphoria in the host. Possible side-effects may include dancing around like a total douche, aggressively playing the piano, accidentally hitting ex-girlfriends and a sudden onset of emo hair. If you're Peter Parker, anyway.
The symbiote is weak to intense fire and loud noises. When confronted with intense noises, it freaks out and tries to escape from it, even going so far as to release its host. It can be trapped in a "cage" of sound, and it can be destroyed with explosives, fire, etc.
If Eddie's ever separated from the symbiote, he loses all abilities granted by it immediately. Although it's difficult to remove, loud noises will make it try to flee, even if it means detaching from the host.
Talents/Abilities:: Photography, photoshop, smarm and lying. He should really stick to photography, though, as he's not too great with the others. Also, once he's bonded with the symbiote, he displays proficiency in hand-to-hand (AND ARIAL) combat.
Personality: Eddie Brock is something of a tremendous failure of a human being. Although he comes across as nice, polite and eager-to-please when he wants to, he's basically an obnoxious creep who thinks he's a lot cooler and more likable than he really is. He's essentially Peter Parker's foil-- where Pete's a bit awkward but lovable, Eddie tries too hard to impress and comes across as both awkward and worthy of a punch in the face. Likely, this comes from a genuine desire for acceptance and respect, but Eddie's so good at shooting himself in the foot that he rarely wins either. He's ambitious, and he's willing to put himself out there to get ahead, even if he's not always willing to put in the work for it (but more on that later). The problem is that although he's certainly talented (his genuine photos of Spider-Man are regarded as being better shots than Peter's) and intelligent and could easily go far in life, he maintains such a phony exterior that he tends to puts people off.
Eddie is a smarmy bastard, and he seems to consider himself a lot more important and likable than he comes across. Around his superiors-- older men, especially-- he's an unabashed sycophant. He'll "casually" drop compliments and transparently suck up in order to get what he wants. He will also be very polite and try to fashion himself as a wholesome boy who just wants to please his superiors and get ahead and-- gosh-- settle down with the right girl and start a family. When it comes to women, he thinks he's some kind of awesome Lothario, and he tries waaaaay too hard to "casually" flirt with them and thinks that walking up to a woman and going HAY BEAUTIFUL C: in the workplace is totally respectable. This tends to put women off almost entirely because he just comes across as desperate and immature-- not to mention a little misogynistic. Thanks to his massive ego, he doesn't really realize that he's more of a pest with the ladies than anything else, and he just assumes that they like him just as much as he seems to like them. All that aside, however, when he sets his mind to it, he can be very manipulative, and he knows which emotional strings to pull to get what he wants-- especially after he bonds with the symbiote and loses a lot of his inhibitions along with his last semblances of morality. As Venom, he retains this trait, telling Sandman exactly what he wants to hear in order to get a team-up going (he pulls the "OHHH Spidey won't let you help your poor daughter :cccc Let's kill him :V" strings).
Coupled with his charming smarm, Eddie's got a massively inflated sense of self and ego-- which is another reason why he has such a deluded perception when it comes to, well, himself and how cool he is. On the plus side, it makes him come across as very confident in himself and his abilities. However, it also makes him pretty much outright dismissive of his competitors and rivals. Like many (budding) supervillains, he frequently has the fatal flaw of underestimating his enemies, assuming that he's better/stronger/smarter than them-- and this trait only gets worse after the symbiote bonds with him. Prior to that, however, he's still a dismissive jerk with regards to competitors, and he doesn't really try to hide it. When he first encounters Spider-Man, he outright criticizes Peter's pictures of him, revealing (all buddy-buddy BECAUSE THEY'RE TOTALLY FRIENDS NOW, RIGHT?) that they make Spidey look, y'know, just a little chunky-- BUT NOT TO WORRY, because now Eddie's here and he can correct all of that. When he first meets Peter (well, AS Peter, anyway), he's superficially friendly, but totally condescending. He openly scoffs at Peter's techniques, writing him off as a total amateur (AND WHY WOULDN'T HE? EDDIE'S THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER IN TOWN) and putting Peter down in order to prop himself up in J. Jonah Jameson's eyes. An opportunist, Eddie will take whatever opportunities he can get to make himself look better than everybody else. He's sort of a walking "LOVE EDDIE BROCK" PR campaign.
Eddie is ambitious, which isn't a bad trait in and of itself; however, this ambition is coupled with a very "ME FIRST" attitude, which leads to disastrous effects. While Eddie does try to legitimately get ahead-- granted, with smarm and sucking up, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that-- he also has no problems resorting to lying and cheating to get what he wants. When he realizes that he can't get the picture JJ wants (exposing Spidey for the crook JJ figures he is), he resorts to doctoring a picture to make it LOOK like Spidey's robbing a bank. However, it's worth noting that he does this only after Spidey acts like a total dick to him and breaks his camera for no reason (well, no reason that Eddie knows of), so it could also be his way of getting revenge. In any case, it doesn't say a lot for his professional credibility. Once he's bonded with the symbiote, he goes to even greater extremes to achieve his goals, such as... putting MJ in a ridiculous death trap just to draw Spider-Man out and make him suffer publicly. He couldn't just string her up in webbing, nope. It had to be webbing PLUS a ridiculous death trap.
Beneath his smarmy and overconfident exterior, however, Eddie is a pretty vulnerable and sensitive person. This isn't to say that he's even remotely empathetic towards others, so much as he's wounded easily, emotionally. He seems to want approval and respect, but he never achieves it. Eventually, this builds up into a bit of a breakdown as he loses his job, his credibility and his (perceived) girlfriend to one man: PETER PARKER. Once his projected demeanor is cracked, he reveals himself to be pretty spineless, quickly resorting to begging Peter to keep quiet about his fake photo. He also drops his charming nice guy act pretty much immediately after Peter calls him trash, shooting between anger and humility. He takes humiliation very badly, clinging to it and holding grudges when he sees himself as being wronged. It's something he fixates on to the point where it causes him to nearly cry a few times, and to him, humiliation is worth retaliating against with uhhhh... murder.
He's also cut deeply by rejection. For the majority of the film, Eddie considers Gwen Stacy his girlfriend. According to Gwen, it was "just coffee," but to Eddie it seems to be something more. Likely, he knew her before their coffee "date" as a friend (as it really doesn't make sense for him to be THAT attached to her if she was just some chick he had coffee with once)-- after all, if he's Peter Parker's foil, Gwen would be sort of like his Mary Jane. It's Gwen's ultimate rejection of him-- choosing instead to go out with Peter Parker-- that causes Eddie to snap. As Venom, he targets Mary Jane, specifically so that Peter would know what it feels like to lose "his" girl. Likely, this has less to do with Gwen herself, as a person, and more to do with the fact that Eddie's spent most of his life ignored or rejected (if we go by his comics backstory, anyway, which, since he doesn't have one in the films, I am). Growing up in a household devoid of a mother, with a cold, emotionally distant father who never supported him, Eddie's desperate to have somebody to accept him. His daddy issues (spending his entire childhood trying to impress his father) are the most likely roots of his terrible handling of rejection and his approval-seeking tendencies.
Once he's exposed to the symbiote, Eddie takes to it easily. Where Peter was ultimately horrified by the aggression and nastiness the symbiote brought out in him, Eddie revels in it. He derives genuine enjoyment out of being bad, and as a result, he seems to have more control over the symbiote than Peter did-- acting as a vicious "equal partner" with the symbiote, rather than a decent guy who just got on the wrong side of some alien space drugs. When Peter tries to appeal to his better nature, explaining that Eddie will lose himself to the symbiote, he doesn't even have one moment of regret or concern. He just smiles and says that he likes being bad because it makes him happy. THEN HE TRIES TO KILL PETER SOME MORE. Thanks to the symbiote's addictive properties, Eddie is, well, an addict. Having had its power, he doesn't want to go back to life without it. He feels dependent on the symbiote, and he throws himself back at it despite his best interests. Even though the symbiote's about to get blown up at the end, Eddie can't bear parting with it, and so he flings himself in harm's way so that they die together.
As Venom, Eddie's sadistic, cruel and merciless. He's driven by the desire to make Peter experience what he experienced... to the 100th degree. And so, rather than simply humiliate him, rather than even kill him, Eddie plays with his food. He sets up ridiculous death traps to keep Mary Jane in constant peril while he and Sandman brutally torture Spider-Man. He also enjoys snarking, calling Peter ~Tiger~ in a mockery of MJ and making snide references to Spider Senses. Also, he pretty much entirely lacks empathy. Not only does he attack Mary Jane, an innocent woman just to get to Peter, he also regards her screaming with exasperation, pausing and throwing a slightly irritated look back whenever it interrupts his VILLAINOUS GLOATING.
Oh yeah, and Eddie's a Roman Catholic. He's an idle practitioner of his religion, rather than a devout believer. He probably went to Mass for those SUPER IMPORTANT ones-- you know, Easter, Christmas, Palm Sunday. And when he's upset, he likes to pray to God to smite his enemies. As you do.
It should be noted that since he'll be under the influence of the symbiote pretty much all the time, Eddie will always have a slightly creepy/sadistic/sarcastic edge to him, even when he's trying to appear normal. THAT'S WHAT ALIEN DRUGS DO TO YOU. He's on a downward trajectory, so although he'll be trying to act like himself from the first half of the movie, he won't be entirely successful, and his identity will become more entangled with the symbiote's as time goes on, merging into a "we" identity that he'll try to keep at bay when he's pretending to be MILD MANNERED EDDIE BROCK.
Object: Nothing.
Reason for playing: He's a character I've played before that I truly have a lot of fun with, but the problem was that the last time I played him, he was in a very confined setting that hindered his ability to scheme and play off the "nice guy" routine (because he was outed as Venom in like two weeks :V). So, I think a setting that's larger and more open would be much more conducive towards playing up his two-faced nature, giving him the opportunity to be a sort of creepy bogeyman monster at night while playing upstanding (sleazy) citizen by day. I really, really want to play with his dependency on the symbiote, the way their identities will begin to intertwine (and turn into "we" instead of "I/me"), etc.
Gods: Vell, since Eddie sees himself as tragically wronged (Peter Parker ruined his liiiife) and has basically devoted himself to vengeance.
Writing Samples
Players may choose to write three of the four writing samples. Additionally, for two of the three 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: Both samples are from other games, so I'll happily write new ones if necessary!
As ~nice guy~ Eddie:
Is there some kind of an announcement at the ends of these things? I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but these heartfelt confessions are getting kind of old. [He holds up his hands.] Don't get me wrong, they're great gossip material, but other than that? [He shrugs one shoulder.] Let's just say I'm getting waaaay more than I ever wanted to know about a bunch of strangers. [Which is actually awesome. HE LIKES DIRT. Still, Eddie lets out a totally phony laugh.] I mean, come on, guys. TMI. You know what I'm saying?
Also? You should probably... all seek counseling on your various mommy/daddy/child/and other assorted family issues. Just saying.
Anyway, there was a real point to this post. [He picks up his camera, holding it up to show the folks at home.] Would it be too much to ask for a darkroom here? Digital's great and all, but I really like the old-fashioned process best. Makes you feel more connected to your work. I mean, photography? It's an art. And it's not just about-- about composition, framing, getting the right angle... How you develop it matters. It's the entire process, from start to finish, that really makes that final piece something special.
[Yes, that's all genuine. Holy crap, Eddie actually cares about something. He looks at the camera and grins "charmingly." THE SMARM IS BACK.]
So, come on, what's a guy gotta do to get a darkroom installed on this boat? Because I gotta tell you-- [Another phony laugh.] I'm getting desperate here.
As Venom:
[Eddie's half-Venomed right now, and he's lounging on a makeshift web hammock along the roof of the greenhouse... where the glass is conspicuously missing. Anyway, he's holding the camera up, grinning fangily at it.]
Is it Easter already? [He makes the sign of the cross, chuckling deep in his throat.] Hey, guess that means I don't have to abstain from having a good time anymore. Now, hmmm... what did I give up for Lent again...?
Oh, yeah. Right. [He snaps his fingers.] I remember now. Blood. Specifically? [He cranes his neck to look back at something, then shifts the camera so you can see a FANCIFUL DEATH TRAP that consists of shards of broken glass jutting up from a mass of black webbing.] Yours.
[Then he pulls the camera up so you can see his hostages strapped to the sides of the above-deck area, hiiigh up out of reach. He's obviously going to start dropping them onto the glass.] Or theirs. I'm really not picky. [He giggles to himself, a high kind of craaaazy person laugh, then pulls the camera back to his face.]
Come out, come out, wherever you are, heroes.
[He grins, then the symbiote pulls over his face and lets out a triumphant shriek.]
First-Person Journal Post:
[In frantic, scribbled handwriting:]
We're alive
We're safe
We're--
We
So, it turns out: you eat a few explosives and wake up in the Land of Oz. OK. We I can handle this. It's a big, wide playground out there, full of new blood people. And there's no spider here to mess everything up.
It's time to have a little fun. Teach these people the meaning of fear.
But first: We're hungry. Getting blown up sure takes a lot out of a guy.
--Edward Brock, Jr.
note to self: DO NOT sign with real name.
Third-Person Arrival Post: A post describing your character's arrival in Baedal. At least two paragraphs.
Third-Person Action Post: Eddie getting fear gassed and then fighting Batman. (And losing.)
Misc
Other: N/A
Name: Ros
Username: (if applicable) N/A
Are you over the age of eighteen? Yes
Current characters in Baedal: N/A
In Character Information
Basics
Character Name: Edward Brock, Jr., aka Venom
Username: symbiotastic
Fandom: Spider-Man 3
Played By: Topher Grace
Icon: HI
Canon Character Section (disregard if applying for an original character)
Physical Description: Eddie Brock is a fairly nondescript white guy (blond hair, green eyes) in his early- to mid-twenties. At 5'10", he's of average height and appears to be in good shape. With clothes on, he looks like he's on the slight side, but he's actually packing some muscle thanks to the symbiote. He has a boyish look to him owing to the fact that he's Topher Grace, which he tries to compensate for with a great deal of swagger, smarm, cologne and hair gel. When he's at work, he prefers to dress to catch the eye, often in dress shirts with stripes or grids, along with colorful or patterned ties. When he's out of a work element and not looking to impress anybody, he dresses pretty plainly: hoodies, t-shirts, jeans.
When the symbiote's active/not hiding under his clothing, Eddie's appearance changes to something more monstrous. He's bulkier, more athletic and muscular, and his entire body's covered in a black, formfitting 'suit' with a spiffy gray spider symbol on it. Thin black tendrils cling to his face and hair, and his teeth become jagged and sharp. When the symbiote extends so far as to cover his head, he looks like he's just wearing a black Spider-Man mask... with a xenomorph's mouth.
Sexuality: Heterosexual and not as experienced with the opposite sex as he pretends to be, as his attitudes regarding relationships/dating point to somebody who's got a childish and immature outlook. With women, he overcompensates to try to appear more desirable and he overinvests in relationships that don't exist, which indicates that he's insecure and possessive. He has coffee with Gwen Stacy once and thinks that it means they're dating-- without ever confirming this with her-- and regards her as "[his] girl," which makes him flip his shit when he sees Peter Parker taking Gwen out on a date (since CLEARLY IT MEANS PETER STOLE HIS GIRLFRIENNNND who's not really his girlfriend).
I am open to some sexual fluidity with this character, provided there's some real chemistry and it unfolds (from his end) as organic and true to his character-- BUT THIS IS ALSO EXTREMELY UNLIKELY, because he's super annoying, so why would anybody want to date him. However, if this were the case, there would be major hurdles, such as some knee-jerk homophobia and loads and loads of denial of any attraction whatsoever if Eddie were to feel any. So, in the event that he was to feel attracted to another man, there would have to be a lot of self discovery and coming to terms with things and... making sure he's genuinely attracted and not living out some manifestation of his various issues concerning his need for approval and adoration.
History: [No history in the film, so I'm going to infer what I can from here and here.]
Eddie was born in San Francisco to two awesome, loving parents-- or, at least, that was the life he could have had. Instead, his mother died from complications due to his birth, leaving his once warm, loving father a cold, closed-off shell of a man. While not physically abusive, his father was emotionally negligent and a difficult person to live with. As a result, Eddie had a rough childhood. He always tried to win his father's support and approval, but he never did, leaving him mostly on his own. Still, he ended up excelling in school against the odds, and developed a passion for journalism after studying Watergate as a kid. Once he graduated from high school, he went off to the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU with the intent of getting into investigative journalism, but ultimately found himself more invested in photojournalism, which he proved to be quite talented at.
Once he graduated, he decided he was going to strike it big with the major NY newspapers. He landed a freelance gig with The Daily Bugle, snagged some awesome pictures of Spider-Man and MAN, things were starting to look up!
And then Peter Parker destroyed his life.
Powers: Eddie's an average human dude.
...
Oh yeah, and he's bonded with the Venom symbiote. I GUESS THAT'S IMPORTANT. So let's get some background. [Additional info on the symbiote's abilities taken from here. I'm only going with the ones inferred in the film.]
The symbiote is an extraterrestrial, amorphous life-form that basically finds a host, bonds with it, and becomes a "living costume." Not only does the creature grant its host massively increased strength, durability, agility, speed and healing (it can even halt, but not cure, the progression of terminal illnesses), but it also has a genetic memory that allows it to gain characteristics and abilities from its host. Because this particular symbiote first bonded with Peter Parker, it shoots webbing and allows its host to stick to walls-- plus, it bypasses the Spidey Sense. And it grants its host some capacity to sense the presence of others nearby.
The symbiote is also capable of shape-shifting, appearing as normal clothing when it wants to, mimicking Spider-Man's costume, and even altering its host's appearance (in Eddie's case, he gets some delightful fangs even when the "mask" is off). It can also weaponize itself-- in the comics, it can shape shift into blades and tendrils, but in the film, it just sticks with its iconic MOUTH FULL OF HUGE FANGS. And claws. Since Eddie was only bonded to it for about a day, it's likely that he simply wasn't practiced enough to utilize the symbiote's weaponizing capabilities to their full potential. The symbiote can alter its size, growing up to over 7 ft. tall at one point and taking on a humanoid form, and shrinking to a small, squid-like blob of goo at another. It also makes an adorable screeching sound, like a baby dinosaur.
The symbiote doesn't change its host's personality completely, nor does it compel the host to do anything he/she doesn't want to do. Instead, it amplifies the feelings and impulses that are already present-- particularly aggression. Prior to bonding with the symbiote, Eddie already hated Peter Parker and wanted to see him suffer; bonding with it only makes him act on the impulse. The symbiote is similar to a drug in that it can become addictive and produce feelings of happiness/euphoria in the host. Possible side-effects may include dancing around like a total douche, aggressively playing the piano, accidentally hitting ex-girlfriends and a sudden onset of emo hair. If you're Peter Parker, anyway.
The symbiote is weak to intense fire and loud noises. When confronted with intense noises, it freaks out and tries to escape from it, even going so far as to release its host. It can be trapped in a "cage" of sound, and it can be destroyed with explosives, fire, etc.
If Eddie's ever separated from the symbiote, he loses all abilities granted by it immediately. Although it's difficult to remove, loud noises will make it try to flee, even if it means detaching from the host.
Talents/Abilities:: Photography, photoshop, smarm and lying. He should really stick to photography, though, as he's not too great with the others. Also, once he's bonded with the symbiote, he displays proficiency in hand-to-hand (AND ARIAL) combat.
Personality: Eddie Brock is something of a tremendous failure of a human being. Although he comes across as nice, polite and eager-to-please when he wants to, he's basically an obnoxious creep who thinks he's a lot cooler and more likable than he really is. He's essentially Peter Parker's foil-- where Pete's a bit awkward but lovable, Eddie tries too hard to impress and comes across as both awkward and worthy of a punch in the face. Likely, this comes from a genuine desire for acceptance and respect, but Eddie's so good at shooting himself in the foot that he rarely wins either. He's ambitious, and he's willing to put himself out there to get ahead, even if he's not always willing to put in the work for it (but more on that later). The problem is that although he's certainly talented (his genuine photos of Spider-Man are regarded as being better shots than Peter's) and intelligent and could easily go far in life, he maintains such a phony exterior that he tends to puts people off.
Eddie is a smarmy bastard, and he seems to consider himself a lot more important and likable than he comes across. Around his superiors-- older men, especially-- he's an unabashed sycophant. He'll "casually" drop compliments and transparently suck up in order to get what he wants. He will also be very polite and try to fashion himself as a wholesome boy who just wants to please his superiors and get ahead and-- gosh-- settle down with the right girl and start a family. When it comes to women, he thinks he's some kind of awesome Lothario, and he tries waaaaay too hard to "casually" flirt with them and thinks that walking up to a woman and going HAY BEAUTIFUL C: in the workplace is totally respectable. This tends to put women off almost entirely because he just comes across as desperate and immature-- not to mention a little misogynistic. Thanks to his massive ego, he doesn't really realize that he's more of a pest with the ladies than anything else, and he just assumes that they like him just as much as he seems to like them. All that aside, however, when he sets his mind to it, he can be very manipulative, and he knows which emotional strings to pull to get what he wants-- especially after he bonds with the symbiote and loses a lot of his inhibitions along with his last semblances of morality. As Venom, he retains this trait, telling Sandman exactly what he wants to hear in order to get a team-up going (he pulls the "OHHH Spidey won't let you help your poor daughter :cccc Let's kill him :V" strings).
Coupled with his charming smarm, Eddie's got a massively inflated sense of self and ego-- which is another reason why he has such a deluded perception when it comes to, well, himself and how cool he is. On the plus side, it makes him come across as very confident in himself and his abilities. However, it also makes him pretty much outright dismissive of his competitors and rivals. Like many (budding) supervillains, he frequently has the fatal flaw of underestimating his enemies, assuming that he's better/stronger/smarter than them-- and this trait only gets worse after the symbiote bonds with him. Prior to that, however, he's still a dismissive jerk with regards to competitors, and he doesn't really try to hide it. When he first encounters Spider-Man, he outright criticizes Peter's pictures of him, revealing (all buddy-buddy BECAUSE THEY'RE TOTALLY FRIENDS NOW, RIGHT?) that they make Spidey look, y'know, just a little chunky-- BUT NOT TO WORRY, because now Eddie's here and he can correct all of that. When he first meets Peter (well, AS Peter, anyway), he's superficially friendly, but totally condescending. He openly scoffs at Peter's techniques, writing him off as a total amateur (AND WHY WOULDN'T HE? EDDIE'S THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHER IN TOWN) and putting Peter down in order to prop himself up in J. Jonah Jameson's eyes. An opportunist, Eddie will take whatever opportunities he can get to make himself look better than everybody else. He's sort of a walking "LOVE EDDIE BROCK" PR campaign.
Eddie is ambitious, which isn't a bad trait in and of itself; however, this ambition is coupled with a very "ME FIRST" attitude, which leads to disastrous effects. While Eddie does try to legitimately get ahead-- granted, with smarm and sucking up, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that-- he also has no problems resorting to lying and cheating to get what he wants. When he realizes that he can't get the picture JJ wants (exposing Spidey for the crook JJ figures he is), he resorts to doctoring a picture to make it LOOK like Spidey's robbing a bank. However, it's worth noting that he does this only after Spidey acts like a total dick to him and breaks his camera for no reason (well, no reason that Eddie knows of), so it could also be his way of getting revenge. In any case, it doesn't say a lot for his professional credibility. Once he's bonded with the symbiote, he goes to even greater extremes to achieve his goals, such as... putting MJ in a ridiculous death trap just to draw Spider-Man out and make him suffer publicly. He couldn't just string her up in webbing, nope. It had to be webbing PLUS a ridiculous death trap.
Beneath his smarmy and overconfident exterior, however, Eddie is a pretty vulnerable and sensitive person. This isn't to say that he's even remotely empathetic towards others, so much as he's wounded easily, emotionally. He seems to want approval and respect, but he never achieves it. Eventually, this builds up into a bit of a breakdown as he loses his job, his credibility and his (perceived) girlfriend to one man: PETER PARKER. Once his projected demeanor is cracked, he reveals himself to be pretty spineless, quickly resorting to begging Peter to keep quiet about his fake photo. He also drops his charming nice guy act pretty much immediately after Peter calls him trash, shooting between anger and humility. He takes humiliation very badly, clinging to it and holding grudges when he sees himself as being wronged. It's something he fixates on to the point where it causes him to nearly cry a few times, and to him, humiliation is worth retaliating against with uhhhh... murder.
He's also cut deeply by rejection. For the majority of the film, Eddie considers Gwen Stacy his girlfriend. According to Gwen, it was "just coffee," but to Eddie it seems to be something more. Likely, he knew her before their coffee "date" as a friend (as it really doesn't make sense for him to be THAT attached to her if she was just some chick he had coffee with once)-- after all, if he's Peter Parker's foil, Gwen would be sort of like his Mary Jane. It's Gwen's ultimate rejection of him-- choosing instead to go out with Peter Parker-- that causes Eddie to snap. As Venom, he targets Mary Jane, specifically so that Peter would know what it feels like to lose "his" girl. Likely, this has less to do with Gwen herself, as a person, and more to do with the fact that Eddie's spent most of his life ignored or rejected (if we go by his comics backstory, anyway, which, since he doesn't have one in the films, I am). Growing up in a household devoid of a mother, with a cold, emotionally distant father who never supported him, Eddie's desperate to have somebody to accept him. His daddy issues (spending his entire childhood trying to impress his father) are the most likely roots of his terrible handling of rejection and his approval-seeking tendencies.
Once he's exposed to the symbiote, Eddie takes to it easily. Where Peter was ultimately horrified by the aggression and nastiness the symbiote brought out in him, Eddie revels in it. He derives genuine enjoyment out of being bad, and as a result, he seems to have more control over the symbiote than Peter did-- acting as a vicious "equal partner" with the symbiote, rather than a decent guy who just got on the wrong side of some alien space drugs. When Peter tries to appeal to his better nature, explaining that Eddie will lose himself to the symbiote, he doesn't even have one moment of regret or concern. He just smiles and says that he likes being bad because it makes him happy. THEN HE TRIES TO KILL PETER SOME MORE. Thanks to the symbiote's addictive properties, Eddie is, well, an addict. Having had its power, he doesn't want to go back to life without it. He feels dependent on the symbiote, and he throws himself back at it despite his best interests. Even though the symbiote's about to get blown up at the end, Eddie can't bear parting with it, and so he flings himself in harm's way so that they die together.
As Venom, Eddie's sadistic, cruel and merciless. He's driven by the desire to make Peter experience what he experienced... to the 100th degree. And so, rather than simply humiliate him, rather than even kill him, Eddie plays with his food. He sets up ridiculous death traps to keep Mary Jane in constant peril while he and Sandman brutally torture Spider-Man. He also enjoys snarking, calling Peter ~Tiger~ in a mockery of MJ and making snide references to Spider Senses. Also, he pretty much entirely lacks empathy. Not only does he attack Mary Jane, an innocent woman just to get to Peter, he also regards her screaming with exasperation, pausing and throwing a slightly irritated look back whenever it interrupts his VILLAINOUS GLOATING.
Oh yeah, and Eddie's a Roman Catholic. He's an idle practitioner of his religion, rather than a devout believer. He probably went to Mass for those SUPER IMPORTANT ones-- you know, Easter, Christmas, Palm Sunday. And when he's upset, he likes to pray to God to smite his enemies. As you do.
It should be noted that since he'll be under the influence of the symbiote pretty much all the time, Eddie will always have a slightly creepy/sadistic/sarcastic edge to him, even when he's trying to appear normal. THAT'S WHAT ALIEN DRUGS DO TO YOU. He's on a downward trajectory, so although he'll be trying to act like himself from the first half of the movie, he won't be entirely successful, and his identity will become more entangled with the symbiote's as time goes on, merging into a "we" identity that he'll try to keep at bay when he's pretending to be MILD MANNERED EDDIE BROCK.
Object: Nothing.
Reason for playing: He's a character I've played before that I truly have a lot of fun with, but the problem was that the last time I played him, he was in a very confined setting that hindered his ability to scheme and play off the "nice guy" routine (because he was outed as Venom in like two weeks :V). So, I think a setting that's larger and more open would be much more conducive towards playing up his two-faced nature, giving him the opportunity to be a sort of creepy bogeyman monster at night while playing upstanding (sleazy) citizen by day. I really, really want to play with his dependency on the symbiote, the way their identities will begin to intertwine (and turn into "we" instead of "I/me"), etc.
Gods: Vell, since Eddie sees himself as tragically wronged (Peter Parker ruined his liiiife) and has basically devoted himself to vengeance.
Writing Samples
Players may choose to write three of the four writing samples. Additionally, for two of the three 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: Both samples are from other games, so I'll happily write new ones if necessary!
As ~nice guy~ Eddie:
Is there some kind of an announcement at the ends of these things? I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but these heartfelt confessions are getting kind of old. [He holds up his hands.] Don't get me wrong, they're great gossip material, but other than that? [He shrugs one shoulder.] Let's just say I'm getting waaaay more than I ever wanted to know about a bunch of strangers. [Which is actually awesome. HE LIKES DIRT. Still, Eddie lets out a totally phony laugh.] I mean, come on, guys. TMI. You know what I'm saying?
Also? You should probably... all seek counseling on your various mommy/daddy/child/and other assorted family issues. Just saying.
Anyway, there was a real point to this post. [He picks up his camera, holding it up to show the folks at home.] Would it be too much to ask for a darkroom here? Digital's great and all, but I really like the old-fashioned process best. Makes you feel more connected to your work. I mean, photography? It's an art. And it's not just about-- about composition, framing, getting the right angle... How you develop it matters. It's the entire process, from start to finish, that really makes that final piece something special.
[Yes, that's all genuine. Holy crap, Eddie actually cares about something. He looks at the camera and grins "charmingly." THE SMARM IS BACK.]
So, come on, what's a guy gotta do to get a darkroom installed on this boat? Because I gotta tell you-- [Another phony laugh.] I'm getting desperate here.
As Venom:
[Eddie's half-Venomed right now, and he's lounging on a makeshift web hammock along the roof of the greenhouse... where the glass is conspicuously missing. Anyway, he's holding the camera up, grinning fangily at it.]
Is it Easter already? [He makes the sign of the cross, chuckling deep in his throat.] Hey, guess that means I don't have to abstain from having a good time anymore. Now, hmmm... what did I give up for Lent again...?
Oh, yeah. Right. [He snaps his fingers.] I remember now. Blood. Specifically? [He cranes his neck to look back at something, then shifts the camera so you can see a FANCIFUL DEATH TRAP that consists of shards of broken glass jutting up from a mass of black webbing.] Yours.
[Then he pulls the camera up so you can see his hostages strapped to the sides of the above-deck area, hiiigh up out of reach. He's obviously going to start dropping them onto the glass.] Or theirs. I'm really not picky. [He giggles to himself, a high kind of craaaazy person laugh, then pulls the camera back to his face.]
Come out, come out, wherever you are, heroes.
[He grins, then the symbiote pulls over his face and lets out a triumphant shriek.]
First-Person Journal Post:
[In frantic, scribbled handwriting:]
We're alive
We're safe
We're--
We
So, it turns out: you eat a few explosives and wake up in the Land of Oz. OK. We I can handle this. It's a big, wide playground out there, full of new blood people. And there's no spider here to mess everything up.
It's time to have a little fun. Teach these people the meaning of fear.
But first: We're hungry. Getting blown up sure takes a lot out of a guy.
--Edward Brock, Jr.
note to self: DO NOT sign with real name.
Third-Person Arrival Post: A post describing your character's arrival in Baedal. At least two paragraphs.
Third-Person Action Post: Eddie getting fear gassed and then fighting Batman. (And losing.)
Misc
Other: N/A