App for Piper 90

[fromfryingpantofire]

Character Name: Samuel "Sam" Winchester
Fandom: Supernatural
Character Journal: fromfryingpantofire
Canon, AU, CRAU, or OC? Canon
Canon point: Taken from the end of episode 7.18, "Party On, Garth"
PB: Jared Padalecki


SETTING BACKGROUND

Supernatural is urban paranormal fantasy, set in a world one very much like our own in the modern era. All the trappings of modern life are to be found there, but there are some major differences: monsters and ghosts and the things that go bump in the night are all too real, even if regular folks don't know anything about them. On the opposite side, angels and God are also real, but they're...not really much better in most ways.

Sam Winchester was brought up to be a Hunter, one of the few who know the truth of this darker side of the world. Hunters tend to be fairly scattered and solitary, sometimes working in small groups but not often. Almost all hunters have had terrible things happen to them in their lives, usually a member of their family lost to the darkness that most can't see. There are some who are from specific bloodlines, where the knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next. The show takes place all over the contiguous United States (even if most of it looks a lot like British Columbia, Canada).


HISTORY

• November 2, 1973 - Mary Campbell made a deal with the demon Azazel for the life of John Winchester and a normal life of her own. The cost is permission to enter her home in ten years.


• May 2, 1983 - Sam is born.


• November 2, 1983 - Mary found Azazel in the nursery, feeding Sam demon blood and fought him. Minutes later, John found her on the ceiling of the nursery, dead. She burst into flames. John handed Sam to four-year-old Dean, telling his older son to protect Sammy.


• John started hunting, training Dean as well. However, he kept Sam in the dark. Dean told him the truth when Sam asked at age eight and Sam gave Dean the pendant he would wear for years.


• Sam started training the next year and began hunting at age 12. He often argued with John growing up about wanting to stay in one place and wanting a more normal life. These arguments lead to Sam running away from home several times. Dean always went after him.


• At 18/19, Sam was accepted to Stanford on a full-ride scholarship. John told him that if he wanted to go, he should stay gone. Dean gave Sam a ride to the bus station..


• October 31-November 2, 2005 - Dean arrived in Stanford to ask for Sam's help, as John had gone missing. Sam went with Dean, returning from the hunt to find his girlfriend, Jessica, pinned to the ceiling the way Mary had been. She burst into flame, leaving Sam to join Dean in his own search for vengeance.


• Sam was hiding something from Dean: he was having premonitions. Visions that coincided with things Azazel did or with Azazel's "special children" who, like Sam, had been fed demon blood as babies and developed powers of their own.


• Sam's first death was in Cold Oak, SD, when Azazel brought the Special Children together to fight to lead his demonic army. It came down to Sam and Jake, a soldier with super strength. When Sam turned his back, Jake stabbed him and left Sam to die in Dean's arms. Dean made a deal with a crossroads demon, leaving him one year for Sam's return.


• The next year was spent trying to help Dean while repeated being told that he must let Dean go. Sam was unable to save Dean, with his brother dying in his arms.
  
• Sam spent the next four months trying to find a way to bring Dean back from Hell with no luck.


• Sam joined up with the demon, Ruby, who had been helping the hunters the previous year. Appealing to Sam's desire to help people, she hooked him on demon blood as a way to strengthen his powers. Dean returned from Hell, thanks to the angel Castiel, and they learned that the demons were breaking the Seals holding Lucifer in his Cage. Ruby goaded Sam into killing Lilith, who was the Final Seal and released Lucifer into the world.


• Sam and Dean learned that the Apocalypse was coming and they're destined to say yes to Lucifer and Michael respectively so that the two sides can duke it out on Earth. They also learn that the angels are helping to bring everything about. They find a way to stop everything by putting Lucifer back in his cage. Sam said yes to the former archangel, fought his way to controlling his body again, opened the Cage and jumped, taking Lucifer AND Michael (and half-brother Adam) with him.


• Sam's soul spent eighteen months -- approximately 180 years Hell time -- in the Cage while his body ran around on Earth without a soul. Dean made a deal with Death to get Sam's soul back and into his body. Death put up a wall to keep the memories of Hell out of Sam's brain and keep him safe.


• In order to keep the Winchesters out of his business, Castiel broke Death's wall, sending Sam on a magical mystery tour of his own mind to sort it out. He woke and made it in time to see Castiel taken over by creatures called Leviathans. Sam's faith in his friend allowed Castiel to break free, but Castiel seemed to die in doing so, and many Leviathans go free.


• Sam started seeing hallucinations of Lucifer, slowly eroding his mental health until his mind properly broke. Castiel, returned from the dead, was unable to heal him. Instead, the angel took on the broken parts of Sam's psyche, leaving the memories faded and Sam able to function again, though Castiel cannot.


• One case and one severe hangover later, Sam wakes on the Piper 90.

PERSONALITY

In pretty much every way, Sam is Dean's foil. He has always been the more independent of the two brothers, often clashing with John over his tendency to order his sons around and expecting those orders to be followed. Sam was the one who left the 'family business' and went off to Stanford with what he could carry and whatever money he'd been able to save up. It's even noted by Dean in their Heavens that Sam's best memories as a kid were of times when he was away from the family and trying to be as normal as he could be while Dean's were always about the two of them together.

Which isn't to say that Sam doesn't love his brother. If anything, both brothers love each other too much. A fact that has been pointed out by many recurring protagonists, with one even going so far as to call the two 'erotically codependent'. After all, they've both run themselves into the ground trying to protect the other, offering themselves to keep the other safe. And Dean was the one who could get through to Sam when Lucifer was in control, giving him a chance to get out from under the former archangel's control and open the Cage to trap them both, along with Michael (and poor Adam).

Sam is considered the more intelligent of the two. Dean has the hands-on knowledge, able to create things they need on the fly. As the flipside to that, Sam is the research guru. If there's a book or website with the information that they need, Sam will be the one to find it. It's a job that he really enjoys, though. He has occasionally talked about taking over the role that Bobby Singer used to play for various hunters, being a clearing house for information and help when it's needed.

Where Dean is emotionally constipated, Sam is more likely to wear his heart on his sleeve. He's more empathetic, more likely to be the one that people grieving people will talk to. Dean gives him stick over it, usually in the form of denying any 'chick flick moments', but Sam doesn't mind so much. Still, he does play along a bit with his brother, as evidenced by the fact that the Winchester version of 'I love you' is calling each other names. Also, Sam is more likely than Dean to empathize with the 'monsters' or to give them a chance. He spent a long time being hunted by other hunters and considered a monster by them to not want to give others a chance.

Which isn't to say that Sam is all sunshine and roses. He has one hell of a temper, as evidenced by the fights that he and his father would get into when he was younger. It can also lead Sam to putting his life on a single track, such as when he spent months tracking down the Trickster after Mystery Spot, even going so far as to kill the man who had been more of a father to him than John had been. It had been an illusion, but he hadn't hesitated. It's also seen during the time when Sam's body is soulless, without his better angels to guide him, especially when he realized that Dean and Bobby were going to try to get his soul back. He would easily have killed Bobby at the time, though he wouldn't have felt bad about it until after the soul was back.

The final thing is that Sam can be absolutely selfless, nearly to a fault. Only nearly because most of the time when it has to be laid on the line, it's because the world is ending and somebody has to. He's willing to sacrifice his body and soul to keep the world safe, whereas Dean is more likely to sacrifice everything to keep Sam himself safe. A lot of it comes from the fact that Sam still feels the need to atone for letting Lucifer out of his Cage, an act that came from his anger over Lilith killing Dean. When somebody needs to take one for the team, it's likely to be Sam at the front of the line.


CANON POWERS
VISIONS - Visions of the future that began about six months before Jessica's death. Originally came to him only in dreams but later could happen to him while awake as well. Usually accompanied by a severe headache. As he hasn't had one since the death of Azazel, though, they appear to have been tied entirely to the demon.

TELEKINESIS - Ability to lift and throw things, for the most part. He can also hold people and keep them from moving or using their powers. Didn't manifest fully until after he'd started using demon blood and hasn't been seen since season 5. Ruby said that this power was dormant until she helped him access it, so it's possible that it's simply dormant again.

EXORCISM - Sam could force a demon out of its host through sheer force of will. Initially would cause headaches and nosebleeds, but with practice he was able to do this without the physical stresses. Another power that came about after Ruby and, again, has not been seen since season 5.

IMMUNITY - Sam developed an immunity to demon and demon-related powers after he and Dean ran into the Croatoan virus. He proved to be immune to that, then to most mental abilities by demons. Immunity from demonic telekinesis and other demonic physical attacks, however, didn't come until after he started drinking demon blood. Again, hasn't been seen since season 5.

SUPERNATURAL SENSE - Sam can occasionally get impressions or a sense of supernatural presences around him. This is NOT related to drinking demon blood, but was only rarely shown in the show.

POWER SELECTION

NOOSPHERIC POWERS - Sam has two driving forces in his life: a desire to protect and a desire to learn. The reason Ruby was able to get so close to him and convince him that drinking her blood or the blood of other demons was a GOOD idea (when, really, how could it EVER have been a good idea?) was because he was tired of the killing. He wanted to help people, be able to get demons out of folks without killing them. To keep demons and other creatures from harming innocents. The desire to learn was what drove him away from hunting in the first place and even now, he would rather take up a position like Bobby Singer had: being a clearing house for the information hunters need to know to keep themselves and others alive.

TELEKINESIS - While Sam has used telekinesis in the past, it has always been offensive. There's a part of him that half expects to have telekinesis after having used it for so long, but this time it's more defensive, out of Sam's general desire to help and protect people. He won't have any fine control over it and likely never will, but things like shielding a group against a volley or keeping debris off of them if a building falls on them will be the easiest uses of the ability.

WIFI HOTSPOT - Weirdly, Sam has never had trouble finding wifi, even in places that he really shouldn't have been able to get any. It's not that he generates wifi signal or anything like that. It's just better around him.


ABILITIES

Sam was taught to fight by his father, a former Marine. He's proficient in the uses of firearms, shotguns and various melee weapons, as well as a fairly decent hand-to-hand combatant and wrestler. He knows how to pick locks, hack some computer systems, running a con in a disguise and hotwiring cars. He has fantastic recall of things he's read and a mental library of Latin incantations, usually used to summon, bind or exorcise demons. He knows how to make hex bags to cloak himself from angels and demons in his own world (as long as he has the materials). He's good at reading people's body language and facial expressions and has also displayed a great sense of time and direction, including finding his way back to a vampire's nest he'd been taken to while blindfolded by keeping track of time and turns.

He's pretty much fluent in Latin and Enochian, though the latter can be a bit of a trigger considering it comes from about a hundred and eighty years spent in the Cage.

SETTING/SUITABILITY

➤ How do you expect your character to respond to the setting? Even if they plan to rebel in the long term, will they be able to at least obey enough to not get shocked to death?
Sam's been through a lot, especially recently. He'll rebel, eventually, to help to protect people. But he's far more likely to keep his head down to begin with. The shocks don't really bother him (see: one hundred and eighty years in Hell), but he wouldn't want to get others into trouble. He'll go into information gathering mode, trying to find out more about who has them and what is really going on.

➤ What do you hope to do with your character long-term?
Working with people other than Dean and Castiel, getting to trust people more outside of his comfort zone, would be a good thing for Sam to learn. Not that he doesn't, to an extent, back home. But being without Dean can be a rough thing for him when he's not certain how his brother is doing. So this will be a good thing for him in the end.

➤ Does your character currently have skills that would allow them to adapt, survive, and do the heroic things being asked of them? If your character doesn't, do you think they'd have the capacity to learn quickly?
Sam's never really known a time when he really got to have a normal life. College was the closest, but he never entirely left hunting behind. Things like salt lines were still happening when he lived with Jessica, after all. An entire life in hunting probably means he can handle what's going to be thrown at him. Especially now that he's on a more even mental keel than he was.

➤ If they're not used to cooperating with others, what makes you think they'll be able to adapt to cooperating with the group?
Sam's always worked well in groups. While it was mostly him and Dean for most of his life, he has worked with others from time to time. Just not as steadily as his working with Dean.

➤ Will your character have long-term plans to rebel against Jorgmund? If so, how? Will they betray the other PCs and cooperate with Jorgmund? If so, how do you plan to handle the negative CR that might arise?
Sam doesn't always handle being told what to do very well. His entire relationship with his father is testament to that. So he'll definitely be joining up with the rebels.

SAMPLES

Network Sample
[The camera clicks on to a very bemused Sam, strapped up to the polygraph machine. The looks down at it, then back up at the interviewer.]

You guys know these things are terribly unreliable, right? It's pretty easy to beat this if you know what you're doing.

[The interviewer doesn't sound impressed. Or worried. They're just here to ask the questions, after all. What is your least favorite thing about humanity?]

Oof, ask a harder one, huh?

[Sam grimaces, considering.] How blind we are to the things we don't want to see. Or the things that don't fit into our world view. The blindness to the people who fall between the cracks and can't get a head up, or the way people disappear without a trace and seem to be forgotten the next day except by the ones closest to them. [A pause.] Or just the people who think power is everything. They're kinda assholes.

[Some scratching to the side as somebody notes the answers down. Then the next question: What are the qualities you like least and most in your parents?]

[A huff as Sam repositions himself.] Well, my mom died when I was six months old, but that's probably not a trait and I can't hate her for being dead, you know?

[There's a buzzing to the side. That's a lie, Mr. Winchester.]

It's not the dead part I hate. It's the fact that she let herself be used in order for a bunch of folks to get their way. Which...she didn't know about the plans, so I still come off badly for not being happy about it. [It's not like he knew her, after all. Just knew things about her.] But I know she loved Dean and she loved me. And I had a lot of times, as a kid and an adult, where I haven't felt very loveable. So, you know. Things to like.

As for Dad? [This one's a lot harder and it shows on his face.] I hate that he let Mom's death rule everything for him. That he let it become his everything for so long. That he let it blind him to so much around him. [Like how much his sons were both hurting and needed him to be their dad.] But...he protected us as best he could. And maybe that was the most important thing at the time.

[More scratching. Then the last question: What is the one thing that you believe to be true that very few others do?]

[Sam frowns, shifting uncomfortably.] Most of the monsters back home? Most of them are a lot better than the humans. At least the monsters are honest about their motivations.


Prose Sample

This post in Sam's TDM with Stacia.

ADDITIONAL INFO
The only weapon I can think of that Sam would bring with would be Ruby's Knife. It's a knife that can kill most demons in Sam's world and kills hellhounds and harms Horsemen and rugarus. It's probably not anything that would be terribly useful in the game, but it's a thing from home that he'd feel better for having with him.

FINAL QUESTIONS
The players won't know what the mods are doing with these questions until sometime later.

➤ Will your character suspect some kind of guiding intelligence has brought them to the game? Or will they think it was random or done by Jorgmund?

I don't think he'd start out thinking that there was a guiding intelligence, but once they started learning more about what's going on and after meeting the Jorgmund staff? He'll likely come to the conclusion that there's some intelligence behind it that isn't employed by the company.

➤ If they think it was something other than Jorgmund, like God or some other force of fate, what character traits do they think of that intelligence as having? Is it cruel or kind? Capriciously punishing them or doing it for good reason?

Sam is used to those 'intelligences' behind the stuff that happens in his life not necessarily being cruel or kind, but more doing the things that they feel need to be done in order for things to get done. Not necessarily 'for the greater good', but certainly he expects whatever is behind all this to be pragmatic above all else.