Application @ somarium.

[geekling]

[Player name] Emma
[Age] 26
[Personal Journal] captainstark
[Other characters currently played] James "Bucky" Barnes / Marvel Cinematic Universe / notwithoutyou

[Character name] Theodore "Teddy" Altman
[Age] 16
[Canon] Young Avengers
[Point in time taken from canon] Post-Children's Crusade

[Background]
[1] | [2]

[Personality] Out of all of the Young Avengers, Teddy is the one character who slowly progresses in terms of personality throughout the comics. At the beginning of the series, Teddy didn't really appear to know who he was, a lost young man with abilities that didn't really know where to fit in or even if he ever truly could without cheating. He used his shape-shifting abilities in school to become best friends with Greg Norris, a popular boy who was captain of the basketball team, and, who we later learn he had a bit of a crush on. As a small thing, Teddy made himself appear taller, broader in the shoulders department, and good enough to be on the team, which caught Greg's attention. Greg knew of what he could do and he seemed to accept that, but only to use it to his own advantage, talking Teddy into impersonating celebrities in order to get them into places they otherwise wouldn't be able to enter. But, despite being pressured into doing this, when it came down to it and Greg wanted to break into the old Avengers Mansion to steal what was left inside, Teddy refused and instead ended their friendship because he felt that some lines, even with the capabilities that his powers offer, aren't worth crossing lines for, especially not ones that intrude upon heroes who once protected the people of the city. This shows that he knows right from wrong, and that he's willing to lose something he really wanted, a place where he belonged and to fit in amongst his peers, in order to do the right thing.

In fact, as Teddy appears throughout the comics, we learn that he is far from selfish. He's incredibly loyal, fiercely so at times, as we see whenever Billy, especially, is threatened with danger, and he is brave, more than willing to put his own life on the line in order to protect his friends and family, to keep the people that he loves safe and out of harm's way. He starts out as quiet, which never really changes, a stoic character, but he does have plenty to contribute when he feels it's worth saying something, and the longer that the team of Young Avengers remain together, the more that Teddy finally realises that there is a place in the world for him, people he belongs to, and that he can be himself with them and still be accepted without having to pretend to be something or someone that he isn't. It's all he's ever truly seemed to want and with them he finds it. This isn't difficult to place, though, as we come to discover along with him that he isn't human, he isn't even a mutant as first thought, but he is actually a Skrull/Kree hybrid, two races that were always known for their wars with one another.

He discovers much about himself and his routes, which alter him very little in character, but also explain why he never quite feels as if he belongs anywhere or fits in. He's neither one thing nor the other, and the woman that raised him turned out not to be his mother but someone from her world who swore to take care of him. The thing is that Teddy discovers that he has a mother and a father after her death, but he only comes to lose them as well, as both of his birth parents are long dead. He does get to meet his dad, though, as he takes a trip from the past to Teddy's future, but it's a brief encounter, and despite the promise of a return visit before leaving back through the timeline, Teddy never does seem him again. It makes him angry, frustrated, and it leaves him broken, feeling the shattered pieces of who he is and knowing he'll never quite get to realise where he came from or the parents he was born to.

But despite being called Hulking because of the green skin one of his two natural forms takes, Teddy is very rarely prone to anger, not unless he's hurt or upset to the extreme or if one of his friends, especially Billy, is being threatened. In fact, Teddy is cool and calm, and he's the voice of reason within the group, the one who realises when it's time to draw the line. He keeps the others in check, especially Billy who is quick to act first and think later, and who is also prone to mood swings that lead to rash decisions. It's because of Billy that he eventually came out of his shell and felt able to simple be himself, and as the series goes on we see that their friendship, as close as he is with all of the team, the trust and loyalty there, the fun that they have together and the risks that they take as they watch each other's backs, is something deeper, that they have a unique bond that nothing or no one could ever come close to. They're very different people, where Teddy is calm and reasonable Billy can be hyperactive and reckless, but together they balance each other out, they're two halves of a whole, and as a team that works wonderfully, both of them covering each end of the spectrum with the others in between. The two of them are very much in love, and towards the end of Children's Crusade, after the team have dismembered and their world has fallen around them, Billy struggles the most to bounce back from it to the point where Teddy puts his foot down after nothing seems to work, after weeks of trying to snap him out of it, and so he proses to him, Billy, of course, accepting, offering him a future and showing to him that just because they are no longer the Young Avengers their lives aren't a complete loss, that they still have each other and a bright future, and that Teddy still loves him even if he's not a superhero anymore.

One of Teddy's main traits is his big heart and kindness. He's caring and considerate, and when he feels that something will affect those around him he protects them from it. He's also polite and smart, and he loves to be a big dork, a fanboy who loves movies and games and comics, and who looks up to superheroes despite becoming one. We not only watch him rediscover himself and learn to accept who he is for himself and not just his abilities, but we get to experience it with him, to see him mature into a well-rounded young man with a lot of potential. He's reliable with a gentle nature, takes the serious role when someone needs to step into it, but he knows how to have fun, to let down his hair and enjoy himself, and he can be quite funny when he wants to be, the usual teenage sarcasm, cracking one-liners here and there in a fond mocking of his friends when it's called for. But he's also brave and strong, and he's not afraid to take a stand and boldly say what needs to be said if something needs pointing out, which in the beginning he wouldn't have done, standing out to the side and being far too agreeable, adapting to the needs and wants of the others in the earlier days because he wanted so desperately to fit in, to be part of the young superhero team, but in the end it was being himself that made him part of the team, that helped him to truly fit in, and without them, his friends at his side, he would never have had the chance to learn who he is beneath the layers of masks, the faces that don't quite fit, and he became better for it in the end, stronger as a person.

He has a dry sense of humour, leaning slightly towards sarcastic, but that's because underneath the superhero title, which he doesn't really boast about, modest in his abilities and intentions and just happy to be with his friends, he's nothing more than a teenage boy. He's a fanboy at heart, along with Billy, and pop culture references tend to get thrown back and forth between them, which is one of the reason why they get on so well. He doesn't think of himself as anything special, he's a sixteen year old with the usual teenage angst, the loss of his foster mother, never getting to meet his birth mother, and only getting to briefly meet his father, and struggling to find a place and his way in the world.

[Abilities] Hulking.

[Other important stuff]

[Sample post]
[First Person]
[ Video ]
[ The image on the screen is shaking, up and down, as Teddy's face appears, blond hair hanging loose and slipping into his face, and his cheeks are rosy, a healthy glow of happiness. He's not always the most confident young man, but he does love to wind certain people up when the need calls for it. ]

Hey, Som, can you guys back me up? [ He goes out of shot for a second as a second pair of hands try to grab at the device, giggling and whining flooding over the speakers to go with it, and when he comes back into view he's looking to someone at his side. ] You're not gonna get it, I'm taller than you, now get - hey, that's cheating.

[ He looks back to the Dreamberry, the rosy turning crimson, but he's overcoming his shyer side despite looking sheepish. ] Sorry about that! My idiot boyfriend - [ There's another interruption, some muttering, and Teddy heaves a long-suffering sigh, as if put upon, but there's a fondness just beneath it. ] - my idiot fiancé thinks we should get a dog since we're stuck here, can someone talk some sense into him? He killed a plant once and revived it with magic, and he still thinks I don't know about it.

[ There's some high-pitched protesting. ] This's not even the worst idea he's ever had, you should hear some of the-- [ Trying to keep a straight face as he's clearly nudged aside, not that he minds too much. ] Fine, fine, I won't tell everyone that you love-- [ There's a hand temporarily over his mouth. ] Okay, I promise, I won't tell anyone about the time--

[ Teddy topples over from where he's sitting on the floor, arms wrapping around him and batting around near the device, and the last thing that can be seen before the feed cuts off is Teddy's usually cool and neutral face lit up with utter contentment, laughing his heart out. ]

[Third Person]
The afternoon at the Somarium version of the Avengers Tower is nice, welcoming, but he’s the kind of person who sometimes needs to step back from a situation, to catch his breath, which is why he’s standing to the side, leaning back against one of the walls content to watch for a while instead of joining in. It’s chaos, of course, the Avengers and the Young Avengers, plus their honorary members, but it offers them a nice sense of family, even if the superheroes that they know and love from home aren’t quite the same here, alternate versions, and others fictional characters from pages of books or on the screens of televisions everywhere, all brought to life here from their home dimensions where their lives are very much real and not at all fictitious. He’s not asked so far, but he wonders if in one or two of these alternate dimensions if he’s real or if he’s merely a character from a children’s story.

It’s been a few weeks, now, since Billy and Teddy arrived in the city, but it’s still a strange place, taking some adjusting to. They’re doing all right, though, especially Billy; he’s always been the more outgoing one of the two, the more sociable and easy to get on with, and even easier to love. He smiles at the thought. He used to envy kids like that, who were popular, even the ones who didn’t need to try, but he knows that Billy’s come along way and that’s not come easy for him, that he was bullied at school once upon a time and kept to himself. He feels his blood boil beneath the surface at the mere thought of anyone hurting him, but that’s okay, he thinks, because no one will ever get to hurt him again.

Before coming here, the Young Avengers suffered a loss, Cassie, one of their friends and what came to be their second family – or, for Teddy, his only family – and it hurts to think about. He tries not to, if he can, but then he feels guilty for moving forward, terrified of forgetting. He misses her, every day, she was a sister to him, a friend, and they both had superheroes for a father, ones that they had lost. He tries not to let himself dwell on it here, watching Billy as he saunters around, loud and happy, and he smiles instead. His mourning comes at night, lying awake, tossing and turning, thinking too much, and when he does sleep it comes in the form of nightmares. But he doesn’t mention it, not to Billy, not unless he brings it up first; he knows he feels the guilt more than anyone, blames himself, and he doesn’t want to encourage that, to add to it. Nothing can bring Cassie back to them, but they can live and love and be happy, taking their memories with them and doing it for her, in honour of her, because she died helping them.

Back home, their group is no longer together, friends scattered, but not forgotten. He wonders if their Steve and Tony are taking care of Tommy, Billy’s twin brother – well, it’s complicated, but they share souls and faces even if not birth parents – and he wonders how Eli is getting on with Kate. They can take care of themselves, though, and while he’s stuck here there’s not much he can do even if the thought kills him. He’s got Billy to worry about here, to keep safe, and he intends to do it. But for now he’s happy to stand back and watch, to smile when he smiles, to laugh when he does, because he’s finally found where he belongs, with who he belongs with, and it’s Billy, it’s always been him.

He’s home as long as Billy is with him and nothing else really matters.


[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] I've played Teddy on and off for a while, but never had the confidence to find him a home, or at least not until a Billy player said that they would go to a game with me. A fellow player who I know from playing Bucky in the game also mentioned that several people would love to see them around, which is why Som seemed like the perfect place.
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] Be nice to other players, I think, and this is a game that I know lacks drama.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] Originally, from a friend who plays here, and obviously from already being a player here this time around.
[Any questions?] None that I can think of!