APPLICATION

[absolutperfection]

PLAYER INFORMATION
Name: Rory
Age: 27
Contact: notlikely @ plurk or ohrats#5786 @ discord
Characters in Game: Nobody yet!


CHARACTER INFORMATION
Canon Section
Name: TJ Hammond
Age: 30
Canon/Canon History Link: Political Animals
Personality:

Cut Warnings: Suicide, drugs, addiction, alcoholism.

When TJ was young, he was a happy kid. Outgoing and able to see the bright side of life even when circumstances weren't the best. As he got older, having grown in the public eye without any semblance of a private life, he became bitter. Everyone loved his family or they hated them and he always fell somewhere along that short spectrum with no room to be himself. He struggled with his sexuality and what it might mean to come out when his family were all politicians, but he eventually did - this was hard on him. It was a national affair. They had to 'spin it' in a good light. His preferences were suddenly everyone's business and he didn't know how to cope with it. This eventually brought TJ to drugs and alcohol, which let him dull everything that was going on around him. It wasn't a healthy way to handle the stress but it was the only way he knew how.

As time moved forward, he was high or drunk more often than not and had been in and out of rehab a few times. It never stuck. He didn't want it to. In front of the cameras, he can paste on a happy face but he's anything but that - happy. It's not a concept he's familiar with anymore and he doesn't know how he got this way. He's overly emotional and he hates that about himself. His first real breaking point comes after TJ's relationship with Sean ends on a negative note. He loved Sean, so much so that he didn't get high or drunk while they were together. TJ, in his unhealthy codependent way, had latched onto the man he loved and used him as a rock to keep him steady. When Sean left him to go back to his wife, saying the worst things, TJ broke. He attempted suicide. He told his mother he'd never thank her for saving him. The second time, a while later, he overdosed but it was an accident and hadn't meant to do it. He'd had time to move on from Sean and was at a point in his life where he didn't want to die but didn't know how to stop using.

TJ can be manipulative and play on the feelings of the people who care about him. He uses them to get what he wants, but it's not always straightforward. He feels guilty about it and shows that when he's confronted, but he's an addict and he puts himself first. He struggles to trust people, only giving that to his twin Doug and his grandmother. He's self-destructive, troubled, and has flunked out two colleges. TJ doesn't feel as if he has any secrets because there's always a camera pointed his way and the scrutiny is unbearable, suffocating. He falls back on alcohol, weed, sex, and eventually cocaine to get him through rockier times.

However, even with all his flaws, TJ isn't always a horrible guy. He's loyal to his family and they have a good rapport with one another when TJ isn't doing something to screw that up. His relationship with his mother is decent, he supports his brother, and his grandmother is the one person who can always seem to get through to him. He can be selfish but he's friendly, charming, and flirtatious. Most people believe he's easygoing and the life of the party, something that he tries to maintain as time goes on. At the end of the season, TJ has promised his grandmother that he would remain sober and though it won't be easy, wants to try.

✔ Charismatic - TJ is charming and easy to like. He knows people and what makes them tick, which gives him the ability to anticipate another's actions. Having been raised in front of the public, he's developed a keen understanding of how to portray himself so that other's enjoy having him around. It's not always with the other person's best interest first, as he wants to be wanted, and needs to feel as if people care about him. His desire to feel that way trumps theirs, but he doesn't do it maliciously.

✔ Loyal - His family, first and foremost, have his loyalty. The levels vary from person to person, but he does love and care for them. He'd do anything for them. His own well-being and unstable personality cause a lot of trouble with the Hammond's, but he's always there, if he can be. He messes up a lot and doesn't always choose correctly, but he doesn't aim to hurt anyone. TJ wouldn't take anyone else's side over there's, no matter the situation.

✔ Spontaneous - He enjoys a good thrill and is adventurous. TJ acts impulsively without any previous planning and can be the life of the party because of this. He knows how to have a good time and how to help other people have fun. His desire to have constant distractions fuels his unprompted actions, sometimes surprising others with the abrupt suddenness of wanting to do something.

✘ Discontent - TJ is, more than anything, dissatisfied with his life. Growing up in the White House, in front of cameras, and having his own sexuality used as a political maneuver have shaped him into somebody that doesn't know how to be truly happy. He drinks, does drugs, and sleeps around to distract himself from how malcontent he is with his situation. He's resentful of growing up in front of the nation and not ever really knowing the peacefulness that comes with real privacy.

✘ Careless - His impulsiveness contributes to actions that can seem careless and irresponsible. He does things that he can't take back, stealing or sleeping with the wrong people, to get what he wants or to sidetrack his mind from what truly bothers him. TJ is extremely negligent with his own health and well-being, putting that as far from his thoughts as he possibly can at all times.

✘ Hedonistic - TJ is extremely sensually self-indulgent. The more opulent and extravagant, the better. Pleasure dulls the senses, drugs make his mind fuzzy, and alcohol glazes over heartache and pain. His inability to cope healthily or deal with the issues that plague him, give him little options as to what he can do to feel better - this attitude leads to unrestrained use of drugs, alcohol, and sexual partners. Even though he promises to do better, his previous behavior implies that he won't stick to it for long.

Abilities:

TJ has no abilities that are beyond that of the average human. He can play the piano real well though.

In-Game Section
In-Game Name: TJ Hammond
Meta/Non-Meta: Meta; student (oldest student ever. he's going to register with guardian but has no idea how to use his abilities.)
Abilities/Powers:

Illusion Manipulation

He can create, shape and manipulate illusions, causing targets to see, hear, touch, smell and/or taste things which do not actually exist or cause them to perceive things differently from what they truly are. With practice he can create complex and detailed worlds.

- Death by Illusion: If the illusion is powerful enough, it can literally convince the brain to copy anything that happens to the victim within the illusion, making it possible to kill the target with illusions.

- Illusion of Death: Target thinks they are being killed over and over again. This may lead to insanity.

- Decoy Creation (another him to distract with), Feign Damage (pretend that he's hurt), Illusionary Environment (fake environment that is believable), Illusive Appearance (change the way he looks)

In-Game History/Memories:

- tj was born to wealthy parents who had political aspirations
- his dad held a higher political position and supported Guardian, but only for the fact that they kept metahumans away from humans
- his mom was less rigid in her anti-meta beliefs and focused on a political career of her own
- he learned that he had abilities the same night that he realized he was gay
- a few months later his dad outed him and used that for a publicity stunt
- tj hid his abilities from everyone because he knew how his father would react. he didn't want anyone to know and punish him
- he went to three different colleges but dropped out of each of them, unable to find direction
- his addiction to drugs, alcohol, and pretty boys was a big problem for him
- he got clean a few times. had his heartbroken. hurt someone with his abilities and then shut down for a while
- tj's grandma helped him get sober, told him she knew he was meta because he was like his grandpa
- he found out he had a slightly older half-brother ( bucky )
- moved to the city he lived in to be closer and get to know him better
- he's currently registering with guardian while living in a small apartment near the pier

Any Differences in Personality in-game:

His personality would be exactly the same. No major changes!

SAMPLE

one and two

He misses his goddamn Nana. Doug, too. It's only been a week on the damn moon but it's long enough without any steady entertainment to distract him from the fact that he's alone here. No family, as annoying as they might be, to keep his mind from circling the drain. He's going to spiral again. He can feel it. The familiar itch to get high or drink until he can't see straight, to block out anything that's remotely close to a real emotion - expressing his feelings in a healthy way is off the table - is creeping up on him and he's not sure he wants to stop it this time.

If you go out that door, it's your choice and nobody else's.

His Nana, always telling him exactly what she's thinking whenever the fuck she's thinking it. The words had stung. Cut. A reminder that he's an addict and an alcoholic and he can't blame that on anyone else anymore. He couldn't before but it'd been a crutch he'd been more than happy to lean on. So he misses her the most, then all the rest of those losers and the cramped quarters of his room aren't helping him any. He wants the normality of his life back, as much as he'd hated it at times, because it was expected, the same.

Asking for a distraction on the network was a possibility but he couldn't decide if he wanted to fuck or be fucked or just get high until it all melted away. Healthy, his middle name. Each memory flashes through his mind like a pieced together home movie, titled Thomas Hammond's Life - a never-ending shitshow.

I was lonely. And yeah, it felt good especially if I kept my eyes closed and it was fine when it was happening but I always left here feeling disgusted with myself.

No. TJ rolls over on the bed, covering his head with his pillow and pressing down. Thinking of his Nana and the way she shook as she told him not to leave, that was hard enough, but thinking of Sean, that rejection and everything that came after - no. Fucking. Way. Reaching for the device he'd been given, he sends out a 'distress signal'. Anyone with booze or coke or hell a couple of pills and he'll spend the night. He'll make it worth their while. Maybe someone will talk him out of it. Maybe they won't. It doesn't matter at this point.