knightsmods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
knightsmods) wrote2012-04-29 05:58 pm
knightsmods) wrote2012-04-29 05:58 pm
Entry tags:
Fandom Character Application
FANDOM CHARACTER APPLICATION
APPLICATIONS ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED.
TO APPLY FOR A FANDOM CHARACTER:
Post the entire application into comments to this entry. Linking is not allowed.
Put your character name and canon in the subject line of the entry, and also state if you had the character on reserve.
AUs are not allowed, canon or otherwise. The only exception to this rule are customizable protagonists from RPGs. See the FAQ for more information.
Celebrity/RPF applications will not be accepted.
Note that applications are processed every Friday.
To preserve the style and theme of the game, the mods reserve the right to reject any application for a character or series we feel is too humor/crack focused (i.e., many webcomic series or some children's cartoons). They will be weighed on a case-by-case basis, determining whether the character would benefit the game in any way.
As of right now, we do not allow app challenges, but that may change in the future depending on how the game grows and what the playerbase wants.
REMINDER: This game runs on GMT. (Please read the rules page before apping. Seriously.) Just because you put in an app early evening Thursday in an American timezone doesn't mean we'll necessarily be able to process it in the same week, because it would already be Friday for us. So, just in case you put in your app on a Thursday evening and don't understand why you might not hear back for another week, that's why. The reason we do apps this way is because the personal schedules of our mods aren't copacetic. We leave a week for all of us to get a chance to sit down and read apps when we have the time to do so, and then on Friday the votes are tallied and the apps are processed.
FOR REFERENCE, APP PROCESSING BEGINS AT 7:00PM EST ON THURSDAYS
Please fill out the following form for your application:
no subject
Nathan Drake isn't his real name, but it's something that defines him. Raised in an orphanage called St. Francis, Nate spent much of his time with his nose in books about the home's namesake. He was a child drawn to an idea: Greatness from small beginnings. Now, as an adult, he holds onto this stronger than ever. The thing that sets him apart from other people in his life like Chloe, Flynn, and even Sully is that Nate doesn't take the jobs he does for the money. He does it because he needs to prove himself to himself; he feels he needs to earn this name and legacy that he "inherited." His entire life is wrapped up in this lie, in this grand delusion about his relation to Sir Francis Drake, in this person that he created that he's still trying desperately to grow into. Without it, who is he? What is he? By the end of Uncharted 3, he finds some form of acceptance of himself, but even then, it doesn't seem completely convincing.
Deep down, Nate's aware that he can't ever stop being that abandoned, nameless runaway trying to find his place. And that's the most frightening thing in the world for him, so he does everything he can to ensure that he'll never be in that situation again-- alone, homeless, and unwanted by the people who were supposed to love him most. He was already 5 by the time his father gave him up; he likely has memories of that day, of that moment. Because of this and of course the other awful things in his past, Nate's developed a phobia of commitment (though he's trying his hardest to fight it). It's destroyed friendships, ruined business deals, and nearly killed his marriage. It doesn't matter how much he knows he loves his wife, Elena. Nate walked out on her all the same. He even went so far as to avoid all forms of communication with her for a time. In fact, aside from Sully, there don't seem to be any permanent figures in Nate's life. Chloe gets on his case about his disappearing acts early in Uncharted 2, and Flynn makes some allusion to Nate dicking him over at some point in the past as well. Even Sully has to reassure him during Uncharted 3 by saying, "I've had your back for twenty years. I'm not going anywhere. Obviously."
But in spite of all of that, he doesn't just go through his crazy ass career and life out of personal obligation-- he truly does love doing what he does. For him, life is a big game that he needs to win at, and there's simply no way that he would be able to do anything else. You'll never see Nathan Drake work a desk job and be a regular average joe. The Creative Director of the series, Amy Henning, even says that he's great at being the hero, but when it comes to mundane every day activities, he's just kind of lost. Something as simple as going to the grocery store or doing laundry (especially laundry, god Nate, your shirts...) are real hurdles for him, because he was never in an environment where those things were a big part of his life.
His main focus remains on his research and his work. Ever since he got lost in his studies as a young child, he hasn't ever found his way out of the books. Nate is extremely well-read to a point that's almost absurd. (Jason Dante calls him "the walking encyclopedia" in Golden Abyss.) He has an incredibly large cache of information readily available at the forefront of his brain concerning ancient history, different cultural practices, and world geography-- enough to probably put most dedicated scholars to shame. This is to say nothing of the array of different languages that he can read and understand, including dead ones such as 13th century Latin and 16th century Spanish. Verbally, his linguistics aren't so great; he can speak English, Latin, and Spanish, but only knows bits and pieces of others, including but not limited to Indonesian, Arabic, and Tibetan. And on top of all of that, he was also born a gifted artist. Anything he sees during his travels that he deems important, he copies down in an intensely realistic and detailed drawing. Even his idle sketches are outstanding.
Without a doubt, Nate's the best at what he does. It's because he genuinely loves it and has fun with it, despite his terrible childhood and troubled state. That, in essence, is what makes him such a compelling protagonist. He's a professional who's so incredibly unprofessional, breezing through jobs with a stupid grin on his face, because he's having the time of his life. In some ways, he comes off as childish and immature, especially in the earlier installments of the series, because he takes to his work with reckless enthusiasm and wide-eyed wonder. Only recently has he been able to see just how much he's lost along the way and how his life has panned out as a result. By the time of Uncharted 3, his excitement has begun to dim, and his work has become more personal and intellectual rather than fun for the experience. Regardless, Nate has an enormous heart and tries desperately to just do the right thing whenever he can. Though he's a thief who lives his life outside the law, he has a strong sense of a cosmic right and wrong, and a protective streak that leads him to mother hen the people he cares about. That is, when his own stupid ego isn't getting in the way.
And because he does have a strong moral compass and incredible skill, he’s really a force to be reckoned with. When someone screws him over, he fights to get even. When he smells foul play, he crafts a plan to make sure that he remains on top. And when he feels like the safety of the entire world is in danger, he’s the world’s Knight in Shining Armor. Betrayal isn’t something he takes lightly, and he has a mean jealousy streak. Karma is his close friend, and he works with it to make sure that people get their just desserts. He’s a master of split-second decisions and improvisation, and he can change his entire agenda at a moment’s notice should the need arise.
It should come to no surprise, then, that his adaptability comes from a very high level of intelligence (though you’d never know it from some of the shit that comes pouring out of his mouth sometimes. Again, he likes to think he’s so funny). Nate’s mind seems to be working constantly, faster than most people can keep up with. Every so often, he has the habit of going off in his own little world while the gears in his head keep turning, leaving the rest of his party wondering while he wanders away to make sense of what his brain is working out. It’s during these times that he’s most consistently serious and even authoritative. In fact, it catches him off guard if anyone else gives him orders, because he normally has everything worked out in his head already.
Though he has no supernatural or superhuman powers, Nate is kind of a one-man army and borderline superhero regardless. It comes with the whole "protagonist of a video game" thing. He's proficient in the use of damn near every type of firearm created after the 1920s, from handheld semi-automatic pistols to huge fucking gatling guns to RPGs. He once shot down a helicopter from a tank. True story. Not only that, but he's deadly in various forms of unarmed combat, although he's also well-versed in (and more willing to perform) different methods of non-lethal takedowns.
When people meet Nate, what they see is a confident, outgoing, wise-cracking smartass who's a huge adrenaline junkie and just wants to see people smile. And, for the most part, that's not a disingenuous view of him. He's someone who gets by in life by his natural charisma, by his smiles and handshakes and his ability to adapt and think on his feet. But he's also someone who is consumed and can get overwhelmed by his passions in life, and there's far more to him than just a thief and a grave-robber who spouts terrible one-liners. The long and short of it is that he yearns to be successful, and he constantly struggles to remain relevant in the history and overall story of the world. More than anything, he wants to impress, and he wants not only to be loved but to feel like he's worthy of that love. He's constantly at war with himself and the unfair standards and expectations he sets for himself, and he'll continue going at a thousand miles per hour until he finds exactly what he's looking for in life. He just needs to find a way to move away from "Drake" and closer to "Nate."