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Boomtown app!
Mar. 16th, 2013 11:25 pmPlayer's Name: Ans
Are you over 16? Yup
Characters Played Here: N/A
Character: Hal Yorke
Series/Canon: Being Human (BBC)
From When? Just after series 5 episode 3 (Pie and Prejudice!)
History: http://beinghuman.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Yorke
Personality:
Most of the time, Hal appears to be a stuffy, obsessive-compulsive prat who is averse to interacting with others, women in particular. It's important to note that this is only one side of his personality, and more importantly, the side he clings to because the other one terrifies him.
Hal describes his own personality as cyclic, confessing to Leo that since becoming a vampire he has undergone periods of extreme sadism and periods of relative kindness. The final episode of series 5 supports the theory that it was becoming a vampire that caused this schism: after he becomes human, he remarks that he is neither 'good Hal' nor 'bad Hal' but “both.” The situation seems akin to multiple personality disorder; although Hal does remember what he's done as Lord Harry, he switches between personalities as if he's being possessed, and often implies the switch is a complete replacement, like “night following day.” In other words, he can't be good 'Hal' and 'bad Hal' at the same time, but each side must take turns. The Hal Yorke of the last half-century has resolved to remain kind as long as possible, though he always fears the return of his darker side (what the other vampires call 'Lord Harry') and sees it as inevitable.
What keeps Hal kind? He's had to renounce blood entirely, because in the Being Human series drinking blood is treated more as an addiction than a requirement for vampires. Any return to blood will result in Hal craving it and running the risk of reverting to his vampiric personality. So to keep his mind off blood, he and Leo devised a series of rituals and routines to keep Hal busy-- and therefore, in his own words, sane. One of the most important rituals for him is to set up a box of dominoes, but then take it down piece by piece instead of knocking the chain down. Not only does it occupy his time, but it teaches him to control his desire.
Whether it's because of the training with Leo, or something that's just always been present in his personality, Hal seems to have expanded his rituals into a nigh-obsessive-compulsive requirement for order and stability of all kinds, including cleanliness, routine, and creature comforts such as 'central heading, carpets and Radio 4'. He schedules his activities hour to hour and can't abide by disorganization, even going so far as to order eggs by size and turn all the matchsticks in a box to face the same way.
Hal has been a vampire for at least 500 years, which not only makes him an Old One but also an irrepressible dork. Spending the last 55 or so years with Leo and Pearl in a barber shop hasn't really gotten him much more up-to-date with the ways of the world. Hal prefers more refined activities and entertainment, such as listening to Bach, taking dates to museums, and playing the lute. One noted exception is his love for Motown, probably due to Leo's influence. In general Hal is happily clueless when it comes to modern politics and technology.
You can imagine Hal's quirks don't make him a lot of friends. Don't worry; he prefers it that way. Staying away from people is another method he employs to make sure he stays on the straight and narrow. If he doesn't get close to humans he can't attack them. When he does interact with people he tends to be socially awkward and almost timid, as if he's trying to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. This is especially true for women, because Hal hasn't had the best history with them. As a child he was raised by prostitutes and never knew who his parents were. When he became a vampire he tended to take a misogynistic approach to women, seducing them and then killing them. Now that he makes a habit of avoiding temptation, they pose a serious threat to him. When he's first introduced, it's clear Hal hasn't had a date in a very long time.
As 'Lord Harry' he was a formidable force. Most vampires were afraid of him, even the Old Ones. He wasn't just vicious but actively sadistic, interested in breaking the spirit of others and forcing them to be as cruel and broken as he was. For example, after turning his lawyer Cutler, he 'mentored' him by forcing him to drink his own wife's blood and then revealing her dead body to him directly afterward. The potential for him to revert to his old ways is there even after Leo's help; at one point we see an alternate future where Hal became “quite literally, their poster boy” for the vampire coup and apparently has become just as terrifying as ever.
It can be argued, though, that Lord Harry isn't always cruel, and in some ways is a more complete person than Hal allows himself to be. His attitude in the flashbacks when dealing with Lady Catherine and the Devil, as well as in the final episode of series 5, is more of a snarky, self-absorbed realist than a complete monster. He proposes a truce with the werewolves, and even gives Tom a glimmer of hope about his fantasy of becoming human, telling him he's already there by virtue of trying. He's less fussy about a mess. He even sings and dances freely, as opposed to Hal's shame whenever he's caught doing so. But he is not one for self-sacrifice, and ultimately doesn't seem to form strong attachments to anyone. For example he refuses, twice, to stick his own neck out to destroy the Devil in a ceremony, instead opting to use the blood of one of his minions. He doesn't appear to lie as a rule, enjoying inflicting brutal truths on others instead and remaining unapologetic for what he really is. Like most other vampires, he considers his status considerably higher than that of humans and werewolves.
Leo makes the mistake of telling Hal all vampires are inherently afraid of death. But Hal chose to be a vampire because his entire life he'd been alone and driftless, and he felt he should strive for a greater destiny rather than simply die. His human life made him bitter enough to reason that he deserved more, even at the expense of others. Aside from his nasty turns as Lord Harry, Hal's language is often haughty and he considers himself more intelligent and refined than others around him. Part of this is holdover from being an Old One, a high-ranking vampire, but part of this also stems from inherent insecurity and a need to prove himself.
Hal is not afraid of dying so much as abandonment. It is important to remember that based on the prequel, Hal approached Leo. He spent time with the werewolf and seemed to find his opinion important. This is because Hal was hoping someone could find worth in him, as well as the ability to be saved. He would not be able to give himself a fresh start on his own; he needed the confidence and love of another to gain the courage and resolve. We see this pattern begin again when Hal acquires new flatmates: he openly considers Tom as his new Leo, and we can see how devastated he is at the thought Annie might lose confidence in him in “A Spectre Calls”. It is hinted that the alternate future where Hal becomes Lord Harry again occurred in a timeline where Hal never met Annie and Tom, thus lacking the support and influence of his new friends. When Alex refuses to believe in him and Tom becomes an enemy near the end of Series 5, Hal reverts to his Lord Harry personality almost immediately, telling Alex there is “no point” if she thinks him incapable of change.
Why do you think your character would work in this setting? Hal needs constant work in order to stay dry. Boomtown would definitely provide this. In addition, the community is small and on the outskirts of civilization, which keeps him out of a larger population and thus less likely to go on a rampage and become the Poster Boy for all Vampire-kind. He considers it a sort of monastery-like arrangement, self-imposed isolation as a form of meditation. The conditions might be more rustic than he's used to nowadays, but he's survived worse during the Renaissance and Victorian eras. Now as for what Hal can offer Boomtown, how about 500+ years of life experience? He's in a unique position to have personally witnessed and contributed to five centuries of progressive civilization-building. He's also highly organized and has managerial experience!
Inventory: What items is your character bringing with them into the game? Box of dominoes, small collection of poetry books, one of Tom's stakes
Samples:
Third-Person Sample:
http://maisondeportes.dreamwidth.org/261791.html?thread=14347935
First-Person Sample:
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/5674947.html
Are you over 16? Yup
Characters Played Here: N/A
Character: Hal Yorke
Series/Canon: Being Human (BBC)
From When? Just after series 5 episode 3 (Pie and Prejudice!)
History: http://beinghuman.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Yorke
Personality:
Most of the time, Hal appears to be a stuffy, obsessive-compulsive prat who is averse to interacting with others, women in particular. It's important to note that this is only one side of his personality, and more importantly, the side he clings to because the other one terrifies him.
Hal describes his own personality as cyclic, confessing to Leo that since becoming a vampire he has undergone periods of extreme sadism and periods of relative kindness. The final episode of series 5 supports the theory that it was becoming a vampire that caused this schism: after he becomes human, he remarks that he is neither 'good Hal' nor 'bad Hal' but “both.” The situation seems akin to multiple personality disorder; although Hal does remember what he's done as Lord Harry, he switches between personalities as if he's being possessed, and often implies the switch is a complete replacement, like “night following day.” In other words, he can't be good 'Hal' and 'bad Hal' at the same time, but each side must take turns. The Hal Yorke of the last half-century has resolved to remain kind as long as possible, though he always fears the return of his darker side (what the other vampires call 'Lord Harry') and sees it as inevitable.
What keeps Hal kind? He's had to renounce blood entirely, because in the Being Human series drinking blood is treated more as an addiction than a requirement for vampires. Any return to blood will result in Hal craving it and running the risk of reverting to his vampiric personality. So to keep his mind off blood, he and Leo devised a series of rituals and routines to keep Hal busy-- and therefore, in his own words, sane. One of the most important rituals for him is to set up a box of dominoes, but then take it down piece by piece instead of knocking the chain down. Not only does it occupy his time, but it teaches him to control his desire.
Whether it's because of the training with Leo, or something that's just always been present in his personality, Hal seems to have expanded his rituals into a nigh-obsessive-compulsive requirement for order and stability of all kinds, including cleanliness, routine, and creature comforts such as 'central heading, carpets and Radio 4'. He schedules his activities hour to hour and can't abide by disorganization, even going so far as to order eggs by size and turn all the matchsticks in a box to face the same way.
Hal has been a vampire for at least 500 years, which not only makes him an Old One but also an irrepressible dork. Spending the last 55 or so years with Leo and Pearl in a barber shop hasn't really gotten him much more up-to-date with the ways of the world. Hal prefers more refined activities and entertainment, such as listening to Bach, taking dates to museums, and playing the lute. One noted exception is his love for Motown, probably due to Leo's influence. In general Hal is happily clueless when it comes to modern politics and technology.
You can imagine Hal's quirks don't make him a lot of friends. Don't worry; he prefers it that way. Staying away from people is another method he employs to make sure he stays on the straight and narrow. If he doesn't get close to humans he can't attack them. When he does interact with people he tends to be socially awkward and almost timid, as if he's trying to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. This is especially true for women, because Hal hasn't had the best history with them. As a child he was raised by prostitutes and never knew who his parents were. When he became a vampire he tended to take a misogynistic approach to women, seducing them and then killing them. Now that he makes a habit of avoiding temptation, they pose a serious threat to him. When he's first introduced, it's clear Hal hasn't had a date in a very long time.
As 'Lord Harry' he was a formidable force. Most vampires were afraid of him, even the Old Ones. He wasn't just vicious but actively sadistic, interested in breaking the spirit of others and forcing them to be as cruel and broken as he was. For example, after turning his lawyer Cutler, he 'mentored' him by forcing him to drink his own wife's blood and then revealing her dead body to him directly afterward. The potential for him to revert to his old ways is there even after Leo's help; at one point we see an alternate future where Hal became “quite literally, their poster boy” for the vampire coup and apparently has become just as terrifying as ever.
It can be argued, though, that Lord Harry isn't always cruel, and in some ways is a more complete person than Hal allows himself to be. His attitude in the flashbacks when dealing with Lady Catherine and the Devil, as well as in the final episode of series 5, is more of a snarky, self-absorbed realist than a complete monster. He proposes a truce with the werewolves, and even gives Tom a glimmer of hope about his fantasy of becoming human, telling him he's already there by virtue of trying. He's less fussy about a mess. He even sings and dances freely, as opposed to Hal's shame whenever he's caught doing so. But he is not one for self-sacrifice, and ultimately doesn't seem to form strong attachments to anyone. For example he refuses, twice, to stick his own neck out to destroy the Devil in a ceremony, instead opting to use the blood of one of his minions. He doesn't appear to lie as a rule, enjoying inflicting brutal truths on others instead and remaining unapologetic for what he really is. Like most other vampires, he considers his status considerably higher than that of humans and werewolves.
Leo makes the mistake of telling Hal all vampires are inherently afraid of death. But Hal chose to be a vampire because his entire life he'd been alone and driftless, and he felt he should strive for a greater destiny rather than simply die. His human life made him bitter enough to reason that he deserved more, even at the expense of others. Aside from his nasty turns as Lord Harry, Hal's language is often haughty and he considers himself more intelligent and refined than others around him. Part of this is holdover from being an Old One, a high-ranking vampire, but part of this also stems from inherent insecurity and a need to prove himself.
Hal is not afraid of dying so much as abandonment. It is important to remember that based on the prequel, Hal approached Leo. He spent time with the werewolf and seemed to find his opinion important. This is because Hal was hoping someone could find worth in him, as well as the ability to be saved. He would not be able to give himself a fresh start on his own; he needed the confidence and love of another to gain the courage and resolve. We see this pattern begin again when Hal acquires new flatmates: he openly considers Tom as his new Leo, and we can see how devastated he is at the thought Annie might lose confidence in him in “A Spectre Calls”. It is hinted that the alternate future where Hal becomes Lord Harry again occurred in a timeline where Hal never met Annie and Tom, thus lacking the support and influence of his new friends. When Alex refuses to believe in him and Tom becomes an enemy near the end of Series 5, Hal reverts to his Lord Harry personality almost immediately, telling Alex there is “no point” if she thinks him incapable of change.
Why do you think your character would work in this setting? Hal needs constant work in order to stay dry. Boomtown would definitely provide this. In addition, the community is small and on the outskirts of civilization, which keeps him out of a larger population and thus less likely to go on a rampage and become the Poster Boy for all Vampire-kind. He considers it a sort of monastery-like arrangement, self-imposed isolation as a form of meditation. The conditions might be more rustic than he's used to nowadays, but he's survived worse during the Renaissance and Victorian eras. Now as for what Hal can offer Boomtown, how about 500+ years of life experience? He's in a unique position to have personally witnessed and contributed to five centuries of progressive civilization-building. He's also highly organized and has managerial experience!
Inventory: What items is your character bringing with them into the game? Box of dominoes, small collection of poetry books, one of Tom's stakes
Samples:
Third-Person Sample:
http://maisondeportes.dreamwidth.org/261791.html?thread=14347935
First-Person Sample:
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/5674947.html
