App for Monster Truckers
May. 30th, 2025 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
propatriamoriCONTENT WARNING: discussions of depression and suicide in this app
Player: Trystan
Contact: NewKillerStar@plurk, this journal
Age: Yes, I am very old.
Other Characters: N/A
Name: Edward Courtenay
Canon: Downton Abbey
Canon Point: shortly before he gets the news that he’s being moved to a new hospital
Age: Unclear, but an adult. The actor was thirty when he played the part but I tend to play the character a bit younger, in his early to mid-twenties.
Backstory: Edward appears in the WWI season of Downton Abbey. He’s a young lieutenant who was injured in a gas attack and sent to Downton to convalesce. While he’s there, he befriends both Thomas Barrow and Sybil Crawley, who are helping him adjust to being recently blinded. He’s struggling with his injury, as before the war he was an outdoorsman and is coming to grips with the reality that he won’t be able to do those things any longer.
While he seems to be improving while at Downton, he gets word that he is going to be transferred to another hospital, as his injuries have healed. Edward pleads to not be sent away but is denied his request. Both Thomas and Sybil speak up on his behalf, but the Major is insistent that the beds are needed for other injured soldiers. The night before he’s to be moved to another hospital, Edward commits suicide by slitting his wrists.
Personality:
+Default emotional state and temperament: Edward is currently reeling. He was fighting in WWI when a gas attack left him blinded, and he’s desperately trying to find a new equilibrium for himself. His family has been minimally supportive, his younger brother is making a play for his inheritance, and he has all the residual traumas from being in one of the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. He is incredibly fragile, both mentally and physically, at the moment.
All that said, Edward does have a reservoir of strength that he can draw from. With encouragement from his two friends, Edward was learning how to use a cane to navigate. He appeared to take Thomas seriously when Thomas told him to fight with his mind and not let anyone put him in a corner; he also mentioned studying at Oxford before the war, so the man is not stupid or uneducated. When he’s not caught up in despair, Edward is charming and polite, and speaks eloquently.
From what we know of his background, Edward was something of a lad’s lad before the war; he speaks fondly of outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, and farming. This likely means he is someone who benefits from being outside and in the natural world, as well as having an amount of natural athleticism and physical awareness.
+Motivations and goals: In the short term, Edward is focused on survival, and doing what it takes to overcome his blindness. He was also beginning to do what it would take to regain his independence and make a play to keep his inheritance, before he was derailed by the suggested move to another hospital. He knows he needs a great deal of help right now, and doesn’t care for it; he doesn’t like being babied, even going so far as to chastise Thomas for using euphemisms with him and insisting that he’d rather have people tell him the truth.
Long term, Edward would want to be as independent as possible, and to explore the new world he finds himself in.
+Regrets and fears: Edward’s blindness is a great source of fear for him. He knows how helpless he is and he hates it. He also suffers from shell shock (PTSD), and is prone to panicking when explosions or other loud sounds startle him. That said, he can also be the calmest, most take-charge guy in a bad situation, channeling his war experience and using it to his advantage. He’s aware of the difference in these reactions and wishes he could be Cool War Machine Guy at all times, but has no control over which reaction he’ll have. The idea of shutting down completely in the face of a threat terrifies him.
+Breaking points: Feeling helpless and out of control is something that makes Edward shut down. We see this in canon; he’s doing better and starting to improve, but when he’s told he has to move to a new hospital with completely different people, it’s too much for him to handle. He spends large chunks of time feeling like he has no control, so he clings to any independence and control he regains. If that is suddenly snatched away from him, it sends him into despair.
+Values: He admires intelligence and the ability to survive. Realistically, a part of this is the ability to compartmentalise; meeting someone who is able to carry on and set all their trauma aside is very motivating for him, like he can learn to do the same. This is not a healthy reaction and he’s dimly aware of that, but that doesn’t change the fact that he admires it. He also appreciates honesty and people being blunt with him; being lied to or having euphemisms used about his condition annoys him.
+How do they handle change and trauma? Specifically the changes and trauma of turning into a monster? In Edward’s mind, he’s already halfway to being a monster. Public opinion on people with disabilities were not very liberal in 1917, and he knows that he’s viewed as being mentally deficient due to his blindness. Therefore, the idea of an actual transformation would bother him less than you’d think, particularly if the transformation led to him having a way to get around being blind.
+Closing statements: Downton Abbey didn’t dwell too much on WWI, as it’s not that kind of show. To round out Edward’s character, I’ve drawn on my history background and filled in some of the gaps with other readings and shows about the time period.
Powers/Abilities: He has none! He is literally just a guy.
Inventory: He arrives wearing a dark khaki military uniform.
Game Plans: My main goal is to see him come out of his shell a little and find his own worth again. I’m particularly excited to play him getting some kind of transformation that allows him to get around being blinded.
Monster Choice: Randomise me! I’m looking forward to figuring out a way for him to overcome being blind, and I’d like the challenge of having a completely random monster assigned for this.
Vehicle Choice: a WWI era motorcycle, complete with a stretcher attachment. It looks something like this. Its special feature is that it acts like a herd animal and will stay with the rest of the convoy, guiding itself when Edward can’t and not dumping him off.
Sample: There's a SECOND world war?!
Player: Trystan
Contact: NewKillerStar@plurk, this journal
Age: Yes, I am very old.
Other Characters: N/A
Name: Edward Courtenay
Canon: Downton Abbey
Canon Point: shortly before he gets the news that he’s being moved to a new hospital
Age: Unclear, but an adult. The actor was thirty when he played the part but I tend to play the character a bit younger, in his early to mid-twenties.
Backstory: Edward appears in the WWI season of Downton Abbey. He’s a young lieutenant who was injured in a gas attack and sent to Downton to convalesce. While he’s there, he befriends both Thomas Barrow and Sybil Crawley, who are helping him adjust to being recently blinded. He’s struggling with his injury, as before the war he was an outdoorsman and is coming to grips with the reality that he won’t be able to do those things any longer.
While he seems to be improving while at Downton, he gets word that he is going to be transferred to another hospital, as his injuries have healed. Edward pleads to not be sent away but is denied his request. Both Thomas and Sybil speak up on his behalf, but the Major is insistent that the beds are needed for other injured soldiers. The night before he’s to be moved to another hospital, Edward commits suicide by slitting his wrists.
Personality:
+Default emotional state and temperament: Edward is currently reeling. He was fighting in WWI when a gas attack left him blinded, and he’s desperately trying to find a new equilibrium for himself. His family has been minimally supportive, his younger brother is making a play for his inheritance, and he has all the residual traumas from being in one of the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. He is incredibly fragile, both mentally and physically, at the moment.
All that said, Edward does have a reservoir of strength that he can draw from. With encouragement from his two friends, Edward was learning how to use a cane to navigate. He appeared to take Thomas seriously when Thomas told him to fight with his mind and not let anyone put him in a corner; he also mentioned studying at Oxford before the war, so the man is not stupid or uneducated. When he’s not caught up in despair, Edward is charming and polite, and speaks eloquently.
From what we know of his background, Edward was something of a lad’s lad before the war; he speaks fondly of outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, and farming. This likely means he is someone who benefits from being outside and in the natural world, as well as having an amount of natural athleticism and physical awareness.
+Motivations and goals: In the short term, Edward is focused on survival, and doing what it takes to overcome his blindness. He was also beginning to do what it would take to regain his independence and make a play to keep his inheritance, before he was derailed by the suggested move to another hospital. He knows he needs a great deal of help right now, and doesn’t care for it; he doesn’t like being babied, even going so far as to chastise Thomas for using euphemisms with him and insisting that he’d rather have people tell him the truth.
Long term, Edward would want to be as independent as possible, and to explore the new world he finds himself in.
+Regrets and fears: Edward’s blindness is a great source of fear for him. He knows how helpless he is and he hates it. He also suffers from shell shock (PTSD), and is prone to panicking when explosions or other loud sounds startle him. That said, he can also be the calmest, most take-charge guy in a bad situation, channeling his war experience and using it to his advantage. He’s aware of the difference in these reactions and wishes he could be Cool War Machine Guy at all times, but has no control over which reaction he’ll have. The idea of shutting down completely in the face of a threat terrifies him.
+Breaking points: Feeling helpless and out of control is something that makes Edward shut down. We see this in canon; he’s doing better and starting to improve, but when he’s told he has to move to a new hospital with completely different people, it’s too much for him to handle. He spends large chunks of time feeling like he has no control, so he clings to any independence and control he regains. If that is suddenly snatched away from him, it sends him into despair.
+Values: He admires intelligence and the ability to survive. Realistically, a part of this is the ability to compartmentalise; meeting someone who is able to carry on and set all their trauma aside is very motivating for him, like he can learn to do the same. This is not a healthy reaction and he’s dimly aware of that, but that doesn’t change the fact that he admires it. He also appreciates honesty and people being blunt with him; being lied to or having euphemisms used about his condition annoys him.
+How do they handle change and trauma? Specifically the changes and trauma of turning into a monster? In Edward’s mind, he’s already halfway to being a monster. Public opinion on people with disabilities were not very liberal in 1917, and he knows that he’s viewed as being mentally deficient due to his blindness. Therefore, the idea of an actual transformation would bother him less than you’d think, particularly if the transformation led to him having a way to get around being blind.
+Closing statements: Downton Abbey didn’t dwell too much on WWI, as it’s not that kind of show. To round out Edward’s character, I’ve drawn on my history background and filled in some of the gaps with other readings and shows about the time period.
Powers/Abilities: He has none! He is literally just a guy.
Inventory: He arrives wearing a dark khaki military uniform.
Game Plans: My main goal is to see him come out of his shell a little and find his own worth again. I’m particularly excited to play him getting some kind of transformation that allows him to get around being blinded.
Monster Choice: Randomise me! I’m looking forward to figuring out a way for him to overcome being blind, and I’d like the challenge of having a completely random monster assigned for this.
Vehicle Choice: a WWI era motorcycle, complete with a stretcher attachment. It looks something like this. Its special feature is that it acts like a herd animal and will stay with the rest of the convoy, guiding itself when Edward can’t and not dumping him off.
Sample: There's a SECOND world war?!
