app for ten_fwd

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Your name or online alias: Bri
Your email: brbsoulnomming at gmail.com
Another preferred means of contact: brbsoulnomming at plurk
Character's Full Name: Sam Wilson
Character's Canon: MCU
Character's Journal Name: sizeofyourbaggage
What would you like your character's tag to be?: Sam Wilson

Answer the following questions in no less than 300 words but no greater than 1000 words put together...
Character's background (their past and present): Sam was raised in Harlem, New York. His father was a minister, and was killed trying to stop a fight when Sam was in his late teens. Not long after that, Sam enlisted in the military. He eventually went the pararescue route. At some point, Sam was offered the test to participate in an experimental program as a test-pilot for the EXO-7 Falcon, a pair of mechanical wings. He jumped at it, excelled at the training, and put them into action along with his wingman Riley.

After Riley was killed in action, Sam had a difficult time continuing to serve. He retired after his second tour, and started working for the VA as a counselor. Sometime later, he ran into Steve Rogers - also known as Captain America - while jogging. Steve made fun of his running, Sam invited him to come to the VA sometime, and they talked a little about being veterans.

Then Steve showed up at his door with Natasha Romanoff, needing somewhere to lie low because of all the people trying to kill them. Turns out S.H.I.E.L.D., who everyone thought were the good guys, had been infiltrated by Hydra, who were definitely the bad guys. Sam offered to help, told them about his wings, and one break in later, he was fighting assassins and superspies.

And getting his car destroyed by Steve's best friend turned brainwashed assassin, which is apparently what happens when you hang out with superheroes.

Character's personality: Sam has had a lot of practice keeping his head and remaining calm in some very stressful, and very dangerous, situations. As a military man he's had to keep his wits enough to provide medical attention to soldiers under far less than ideal circumstances, and working as a counselor for the VA has taught him to remain calm and collected during things like breakdowns and flashbacks. Sam's the kind of guy who rolls with the punches, and it takes a lot to visibly throw him. Case in point, a superhero and a spy show up on his doorstep dirty and bloody, tell him everyone they know is trying to kill them, and his response is to let them in and cook them breakfast. Even if he did feel the need to add a few snarky comments.

He's snarky and sarcastic - and at times casually self-deprecating - no matter what may be happening. He quips over commlinks in the middle of battles, drops one liners and lighthearted questions in the middle of serious conversations, and uses humor to diffuse the tension in a room. He'll poke and tease at just about anyone - even national icons. If sometimes those comments dip into flirting territory, well, he's almost as equal opportunity there as he is about teasing. Sam can definitely be charming, and his levelheaded compassion and casual acceptance can make him come across as a very likeable guy.

Sam is the kind of guy who usually knows when to push someone and when to take a step back, and he isn't afraid to ask the hard questions, though he doesn't expect anyone to have all the answers. He's also not afraid to point out the difficult potential truths, even if someone might not want to hear them. He's easily able to relate to people, always able to find some point of commonality, though obviously that's easier with his fellow soldiers. When Sam trusts someone, he does so completely, and he can be fiercely loyal. Once Sam's on someone's side, there's very little he wouldn't do for them. He was willing to risk his life to help Steve and Natasha, and then pretty much put his life on hold to help track down Bucky.

A vast majority of his life has been devoted to what other people need. He went the pararescue route after enlisting in the military, which is far from an easy branch to join, and their motto is "That Others May Live." It's a motto that sticks with Sam even after he "got out," made obvious by the fact that he became a counselor for other veterans, and even by getting back in when Captain America needed help. His focus is nearly always on other people, whether it be patching them back up physically, helping them cope with their issues and disconnect with the world, or having their back in a massive gunfight.

That's not to say he completely overlooks himself, however. He knows very well that to help people sort their shit out, you have to have your own shit sorted first. He's not always the best at it - he's human like anyone else, and a former soldier to boot. He has his own demons to face, his own struggles with survivor's guilt and feeling out of place in the world. Sam has his good days and his bad days, but he's at the point where his good days are a lot more numerous than his bad. For the most part, he's confident in himself and his own abilities. He's practical, he knows his limitations and isn't above commenting on them, though he does occasionally try to push them.

Character's skills/abilities/powers: Sam' skilled with a variety of weapons, including knives and several different classes of guns, and is very good at hand-to-hand combat, thanks to his military training. And courtesy of his pararescue teaining, his endurance is high, and he has pretty much the best medical training you can get short of being a doctor.

Any special equipment your character is bringing along? This includes weaponry, magic items, etc.: Just this!
Are you bringing your character to ten_fwd from another game? If you are, which game?: Nope!
If you answered yes above, briefly summarize how they were changed by and what challenges they faced in the climate of their previous game(s): N/A
Why do you want to play this character in Ten Forward, and what do you plan to do with them? I'm really excited to play with the combination of counselor, soldier, and fledging superhero that Sam brings, and see how that plays out in Ten Forward's setting. Every ship totally needs good counselors, and I think it'll be fun having Sam try to navigate that.

Writing Sample #1: (sample from another game, I'll be happy to provide a different one if this isn't okay!)
Just when I thought this couldn't get any more like the world's worst reality TV show. You know it's not the first time I've been faced with death, right?

[There's a pause as he rubs one hand over his side, along his ribs, feeling smooth, unbroken skin. Intellectually he knows there's no injury there, but he can't help feeling the ghost of pain.]

'Course, I always thought the first time I actually met him would be the one and only. Apparently we're going to be getting to know each other real well; he better be planning on at least buying me dinner.

[He knows of - and has seen for himself - more than one person that's come back from being supposedly dead, but this is different. This wasn't supposedly, this was definitely, as a doornail, ding-dong the witch is dead. You're not supposed to come back from that. He's not supposed to come back from that. He'd never considered it, not in all the times that he really thought his number was up.

And there's been a few of those. Where he'd let everything go, made peace with dying, and then it didn't happen, and he had to go on living. Sam knows how to get through that; he's done it before. If he works at it, maybe he can convince himself - it's just like that, just like those times before. Better, even, because at least this time he'd been told dying wasn't exactly as permanent as he thought it was, though he hadn't really believed that until now.

Just convince himself, just like that. Easy as pie.

He leans back a little, tosses out a grin. It doesn't matter too much if anyone can see it, he knows making the outward expression is a step towards feeling it on the inside.]

So I'm feeling like I want that dinner. Who's buying?

Writing Sample #2 (optional): Thread with Steve Rogers