application to empatheias

[allegations]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Robin
Contact: vikinged
Age: 30
Current Characters: n/a


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Neal Caffrey
Age: 27
Canon: White Collar
Canon Point: after s1e10 Vital Signs

Background: His wikipedia entry.

Personality: When Neal was finally captured by Peter Burke, he was charged with everything from theft to various schemes and cons, his specialty being art forgeries. Hundreds of crimes were tied to his name, even if a lot of those were only rumors. And in the end, only a single charge actually stuck.

Neal is good at what he does. He's highly intelligent, and he's also charming, friendly, disarming when he wants to be and challenging when that suits his needs. He's a con man through and through, someone who has made himself multiple aliases, both for the purpose of his cons and in order to evade arrest. His facade is flawless, and he always knows the right angle to play in order to get what he wants-

Or so say the people who don't know him all that well.

When we first meet Neal, he's hatched a plan to escape prison, which really just involves walking straight out of there, wearing a guard's uniform and his veneer of confidence. And it works, but the fact is he's only got three months left on his sentence. It's not the best time to plan an escape, when a little bit of patience would mean he could walk out of there, free to start over. But Neal Caffrey is entirely ruled by his heart. His girlfriend broke up with him suddenly, and he needed to talk to her to find out why, and to see if he could fix it. And for that, he got his sentence extended for another four years.

And that's Neal. He says image is everything, and he'll dress himself up in $10k suits and a bright smile, facing the world like he's got nothing to fear, but the truth is it's all about the people. He'd do anything for his girlfriend, even after she dumps him (twice). He'd do anything for his friends, and it's notable that whenever someone complains about a problem, his first response is always "what can I do?" Even if it might get him into trouble, even if he'll be arrested or even if it means risking his other friendships. He's always there for those he cares about.

And the other reason he's so willing to do those things is that he never considers potential consequences. He can hatch absolutely ingenious plans for stealing artwork, but the truth is his mind is always on his target and to him those complicated plans are still the easiest solution for getting from point A to point Z. He'll dismiss the things that can go wrong, because you can't make it as a conman if you're not prepared to take a few risks. Risks are fun. If he has to jump off tall buildings to escape, then so be it, he's done it before and it went okay then.

He's also single-minded with his plans, and if any emotions are involved that only strengthens those tendencies. Obviously his plans are always the best ones (his confidence isn't faked), and anyone trying to suggest a different plan will be shot down or ignored. And if the suggested alternative would be slower on top of that, he acts as if that means that plan won't even work at all. That taking the safe route is somehow risking everything.

(Of course, the FBI has been known to give him time limits when his position with them is getting a little rocky: solve this crime within a week or you're back in prison. It's understandable if he gets a little impatient then.)

Neal has survived because he's smart, but also because he's lucky - a luck which inevitably turns on him. And he's composed up until the second where he's completely falling apart. That's Neal: Either/or, always.

But he's a good friend, and fun to hang out with. He likes giving gifts and showing off, he'll pour your favorite drink if you need the company and he'll keep his distance if he senses you want some space. He likes to tease and joke and bicker, more than anything. He rarely gets angry - it takes something big for that, and he usually lets it go again fairly quickly. If he doesn't, that's actually a fairly huge sign of trust.

And speaking of trust: If you're Peter, then forget about his perfect façade. He picks his pockets just to show off, and is disappointed if he isn't caught. He shows up at his house unannounced, inviting himself to breakfast, which means leaving his radius - him going there sets off all sorts of alarms; he doesn't care. It's about attention, because Peter is someone he respects, someone he wants to be friends and partners with, and clearly this is the way to go about that. But thankfully, that kind of behavior is saved mostly for the lucky agent who caught him. Twice. He can consider it an unexpected bonus.

Abilities: Neal has episodic skillsets, depending on what's needed for a case or what the writers thought would be awesome to include in an episode. Which means that after six seasons, the list of what Neal can do is getting a little ridiculous. But here's an overview of the most important ones:

General forgery: Neal is capable of forging paintings, sculptures (clay and marble, at least), booze, diamonds, rubies, stamps, bearer bonds, signatures, IDs, even a dinosaur egg once.
Escape artistry: He can escape most bonds, handcuffs, etc., either through picking the lock or slipping free.
Breaking and entering: Including bypassing alarms, etc.
Con artistry: He's a very capable liar, and is very good at pretending to be other people, and making someone do what he wants. He invents aliases for himself on the spot.
Surveillance and counter surveillance: How to learn about your mark and avoid being caught by the FBI, all in one fell swoop!
Base jumping: Also rappelling, and similar skill sets. No fear of heights detected.
Languages: He speaks eight!
Pickpocketing.
Firearms.
Fencing.
Defusing bombs.

Alignment: Peromei. While trust is an important theme for Neal, hope and despair is what drives him forward. Hope that he'll finally find a solution, hope that he'll find where he belongs, that he'll achieve his dreams - and utter despair as his plans fall apart, and he breaks apart. And that despair driving him to try even more desperate and reckless plans, so that maybe this time he can finally fix it.

Other:


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.

General Sample: TDM

Emotion Sample:
Neal has spent the day wearing his best smile, charming his way across town, getting the feel of this new place he's found himself in. It's something he's often enjoyed, traveling the world - the excitement of a new place, new people to meet and new things to see. He loves the challenge of trying to blend in no matter where he goes. It's almost habit by now, the way he approaches a new city. And it's definitely something he's missed.

But he's finding it difficult to enjoy himself today. Instead he feels unbalanced, like the world is shaking, trying to throw himself off his feet.

He misses New York. He loves New York. He feels the unfinished business he has there like a tether pulling at him, and trying to just let go of his old self and remake himself in this new place feels-- Honestly, the idea of it feels painful. He's had dozens of names and identities, but right now he wants to be Neal Caffrey, CI to the FBI. He doesn't want to lose the man Peter sees in him.

He's making sure not to show his insecurities of course. It wouldn't do to make a bad impression to strangers. He's still smiling, but he pulls himself to the side as he walks, steadies himself with a hand against a nearby wall. It literally feels like the world is shaking -

There are cracks forming beneath his feet. He stares in horror when he notices, and quickly steps back, looks around to see if anyone else has noticed. But it's not happening to anyone else, just him, and now the cracks seem to be following him. The ground is lifting beneath his feet, like a localized earthquake just for him. He keeps moving away, but the pavement just shifts and bucks and then he's falling hard on his ass, his footing literally pulled out from under him. He scrapes his hands trying to break his fall.

And then it stops, and he's just sitting there, dazed. What was that?


Questions: