application for eastbound

[cholesterol]

PLAYER NAME: Brandon
CONTACT: cholesterol
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GAME?: I've seen it on friends' timelines. Emily has graciously offered her invite slot.

CHARACTER: Dean Winchester
CANON: Supernatural
CANON POINT: Season 15, Episode 20 "Carry On" as he lays dying. Except, upon arrival, he can receive medical treatment. I am perfectly alright with playing out a realistic healing process to such a mortal wound should there not be a cleric or some such magic or alchemy involved or available. This both helps me because I wanted to apply but I'm going on a cruise shortly after, so it could give him reason to lay very low and recover or recover enough Should the means of transportation between arcs not have a sufficient way of keeping him alive, I can also take him from his fight with Sam and the vampires, but before he bites it, or after, in Heaven with Bobby. He's dead, but the dead in Supernatural are still -- you know, living their heaven lives. It's a thing.

BACKGROUND: Here!

ABILITIES | POWERS:

Dean was trained at a very young age in combat and marksmanship. He's an expert in hand to hand, a plethora of firearms, knives, swords, and most weaponry.

He has a wealth of supernatural knowledge (pertaining to his world), including wards and sigils (like devil traps) that keep demons and angels in or out and the incantation to force a demon out of a possessed vessel. . He knows basic Enochian by heart. Even though he wasn't chosen as Rowena's protege, he does have knowledge of very basic spells and can perform them.

He carries with him a wealth of semi-useless pop culture knowledge. (He would find this to be an ability, or else I wouldn't list it.)

He is quite the distinguished chef, having singlehandedly provided for a spa retreat while on a hunt.

He is also quite the functional alcoholic. Often fighting and driving after having a few. (I'm not encouraging this, just using it as an example...).

When Chuck removes his "god armor" he's lived with for the last who knows how long, he's still a better than average fighter who uses his environment to his advantage.

PERSONALITY:

Mentally, Dean Winchester perseveres. He is doggedly determined when he has a goal in mind. He very rarely gives up. And, when he does let himself, he always pulls himself back together. When he falls apart, he falls apart completely, but it's what happens after that counts. He moves forward. Always.

He is adaptive and good at adjusting to his circumstances. Even when he doesn't belong, he's good at joining the crowd. He's always been the brother with a role to play and a mission to fulfill.

He's the brother that carries out his orders. When he doesn't have doubts about the task at hand, he will complete it. Dean also has very strong morals that have greyed over the years - for the better. One of his friends is a werewolf, and she married a werewolf, and he sees past the 'monster' label now. As long as that monster isn't chowing down on the locals. He's disciplined, too. He will stick to the routine. He'll be the one cleaning his guns and doing the maintenance. He's become much more domestic.

Dean's humor is unmatched. His sarcasm is both a weapon and a masterclass in deflection. He will drop a pop culture reference at the top of the hat. While Dean may feign not being interested in something, Dean is actually a closet nerd. He's read every book on the shelf even if he doesn't advertise it, likewise his dad's journal. He has a very wide range of likes genre-wise and it gives him usable knowledge in his real world.

He is also very, very charming to the point of being flirtatious.

Dean is great at improvisation, often inserting himself into a town while on a case. He and his brother identify themselves as FBI agents often, in order to gain access.

On the flip-side from improvisation, when actually asked to act, Dean is stilted, does not have the talent, and is too focused on how he looks.

Mentally, he also has a very high pain tolerance. He's been tortured before. He's beaten to an inch of his life. On any given day he deals with ten more things than anyone else should plus guilt from any one thing in his head and he holds all that together. Dean makes it look effortless.

...It's anything but effortless.

Dean's emotional and mental weaknesses far outweigh his positive attributes. While he can be flirtatious, that flirtation can turn sexual and over the top on a dime. Dean can dip into the extra side. He's the himbo on Tinder you swiped right on, but that you won't meet again. Over the years, that side definitely hardened over in favor of being more of a "family man," and he's hardly had a single (arguable) love interest in years.

Dean shuts down very easily. He will hold a grudge. He will give someone the silent treatment. If he feels trust has been broken or like his broken moral code has been bent, he has to take time to process.

Dean's anger issues are borderline clinical. He will rage. He will go off, violently. He will destroy the hood of a car, he will punch a wall. He needs to put that energy somewhere else. He is a furious man. When everything hits the fan anything he holds in explodes. It's one of his constants. Recently, he believes Chuck (their God from their canon) messed with his anger management, but even without Chuck's meddling, Dean flies off the handle.

While Dean isn't naturally expressive, he does not have a good poker face if he's not trying. He will grumble, he will gripe, and he might even whine if he's not trying to conceal what he's thinking.

Dean represses years of trauma, disappointment and insecurity at all times. A lot of why Dean the way he is, is how his father treated him, and never believing he was enough for the guy. He always wanted to be his dad's favorite. He feels things deeply, but, expressing them is another issue entirely. It takes nearly dying one of the many times he did for him to say what's on his mind. Castiel gives him a declaration of love and Dean can barely process what's been said before it's too late. And, still, he focuses on 'the goodbye' part of it. Dean believes everyone leaves and everyone dies. He also believes that eventually, between his brother and him, he's the one who will die young. He also lives with the guilt of his actions, from not being there enough for Sammy, for things he did in Hell after dying, for failing Jack the first time.

Dean suffers from depression and PTSD. Often, he's the brother that will not hesitate to sacrifice himself. As far back as the second season, he has a suicidal streak and this never really breaks. Dean does not take care of himself. He's often seen eating burgers, fries, meats, and take out for almost every meal. Dean also has deep, deep issues with alcoholism, often drinking a whole six pack on his own, sometimes alone in his room. Whereas Sam goes for a run, Dean sleeps in. Dean uses alcohol, violence, and getting the job done as his crutches for ignoring everything else. One of his other vices, one night stands, has since decreased over the course of the series. Sex was a vice and a coping mechanism for him, but he's moved past that now. His eye is always on the end of the road, whether that ends bloody - or not. He's just now processing that maybe he has something to contribute, that's he's not as broken as he thinks. He's not daddy's blunt instrument. He loves. Dean does love, but he will express that love in different ways, more in a physical hug or gestures. Acts of kindness and physical touch would be his love languages. But, good luck with getting them. Despite that, he does not have a healthy view of himself and hasn't in a very long time.

A montage in the last episode does prove that Dean is capable of changing his habits, bettering himself, and making good choices. He's just too deep in the darkness for years to see what he's capable of. Even with Lisa by his side back in season 6, he's unable to live that life and have the normal job, because he doesn't feel like he deserves it. And, ultimately, because it puts Lisa and her kid, Ben in danger.

Finally, flip a coin on whether it's a negative or a positive, Dean is greatly self-sacrificing. He will sell his soul for his brother, erase the memories of his chosen family, or downright kill himself if it saves one person he loves. (Hell, one person he doesn't.) But, he will also fight tooth and nail to the death against insurmountable odds.

SAMPLE:

Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3

And for good measure, Sample 4

( They always come to with a gasp.

Maybe it's the drama of a near-death experience, or actually dying in Dean's case, that propels his chest upward as he comes to. His body's attempt at sitting up ends as abruptly as it began as a surge of pain travels up his spine and settles right where he remembers he was struck. He remembers it secondhand in pieces. He remembers the sweeping monologue, the vampire Jenny, the shittiest excuse for a pie festival and he swears to himself there was an underscore of music as he said his goodbye to Sam. As far as endings go, he went out poetically. But, he has a bone to pick with the 'how' and 'why.'

He doesn't get the luxury that other newcomers get. Answers from people in the same boat - or in this case, train - because he's in recovery sequestered away from whoever else is on board. He hurts himself on night one, passing out from the pain of an attempt at an escape. Night five he rips his stitches.

Having been to Hell itself with a capital H, he knows that's not what this is. But, having been to Heaven, he also knows this isn't that. If he were dead he'd be dead and if he were in Hell, he'd be tortured or doing the torturing. He deserves both.

He spends a day calling his caretaker Chuck, probably to their chagrin. But, he knows they depleted Chuck's magic. He knows Jack is now God. The next day, he's quiet, almost scared to call out to Jack or Cas.

Eventually, he has to accept his explanation at face value. He becomes a better patient. He makes progress within an acceptable time frame. He has something to live for, even if he doesn't know what it is.

In hindsight, it feels like the five stages of grief. He finally reaches acceptance. He wishes for Sam to find love. Dean can see it now: Sam settles down and doesn't devote his life to finding or resurrecting his brother. They've both been there and done that and had the literal book written about them. Dean knows Sam'll keep their hunter network going. He knows he'll take care of Miracle. He knows Sam will be okay.

Dean Winchester doesn't know what he is or how he feels. He knows there's a part of him that's at peace with his end, with his existence. Quips his caretaker doesn't understand fly as he clobbers his sense of humor back together brick by brick. He makes an inappropriate comment about being followed to the bathroom. He becomes the obnoxious but not impossible patient.

And then one day, he's up. He's maneuvering around. It hurts, but that just reminds him he can feel it hurt. Well, now. Time to meet the locals, isn't it?, he thinks. It can't get worse than being impaled on rebar. )

INVENTORY:

| one bloody machete
| one bloody hand-print stained green jacket
| John Winchester's journal

NOTES: The above sample is only one scenario, I'm completely open to others.

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? So, normally, a plot heavy introduction would be my jam, but this has come around at a crazy time and I'm inching toward a vacation at the end of the week. That said, if he's accepted and he can recover, I wouldn't at all be opposed to a plot-heavy introduction once he's up and moving around. I am totally free to discuss up until Saturday. I am back on the 17th and will be around the 18th on.