PERSONAL
NAME: Laurel
PERSONAL JOURNAL:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eternalferret
EMAIL: eternalferret (at) gmail (dot) com
AIM: AIM
CURRENT CHARACTERS: Nora Diniroeat_me_beat_me, Phoebe Halliwell kungfuwitch, James Bond last_rat_standing
CHARACTER
CHARACTER NAME: Steve Gray
Canon: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
CANON POINT: Shortly before the end of the movie as he's about to step on stage for his final performance at DOUG.
LOSS: He will be unable to drill a hole in his head using any sort of power or manual drill. While this seems mundane and pointless it will bother him to no end because that was going to be his biggest feat thus far in his life and not being able to complete it will feel like a failure and eat at him.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER:
Steve Gray is his own biggest fan. He's one of the most popular performers around and he knows it. He doesn't live for the applause or the attention, however. He lives for the show itself. He doesn't seem to really give a rat's ass about his audience or what may or may not be appropriate for any particular age group. All he cares about is the art... well, that and being on top. He's the best and he wants to be in what he feels is his rightful place and he doesn't care who he has to fuck over to get there.
Steve is identified as a street magician, though much of what he does isn't what most people would consider magic. The star of the cable show "Mind Rapist" he takes the audience's nightmares and turns them into what he calls "dream realities". He does this with extreme acts of endurance such as not urinating for an entire week or not blinking for days on end. He puts his body through so much torture for nothing more than the entertainment value and the glory it brings him. He doesn't try to be a macho man through it, either. He'll scream in pain or have other physical reactions to what is happening to him to show that it's not just an act. The most important thing to note is that very little of what he does is faked. During one of his acts he slices his face open and seems to pull out a folded up playing card with a name written on it. While most magicians would use a prosthetic and fake blood to complete an act such as this he's later seen stitching the open wound on his face closed. This man is willing to do anything to get to the top.
While his back story is not explored at all in canon one thing is made apparent early on - there is a spiritual aspect to what he does. In an interview about the movie Jim Carey said that Steve's got a "bit of a Christ complex." He is seen to press his hands together as if in prayer numerous times during and after his acts and after one particularly gruesome stunt he holds his hands open and raises his eyes to the sky whispering simply "I warned them." He then wipes tears from his eyes as he walks off, nearly shoving anyone out of the way as he leaves the area. Based on this and the fact that during his final act he makes a comment about his risk of losing one of his senses leaving him with "only five" and not special in any way leads me to believe it's likely that he thinks that his abilities are given to him by whatever deity he prays to. He believes that he has these God given talents and that makes him better than anyone else around him. These beliefs are not absolutely substantiated by canon, of course, but I think they are reasonable leaps to make given the information given.
Whether he believes he's blessed by a God or not he absolutely believes he's better than everyone else. When Burt Wonderstone, a Vegas headliner for the past decade, attempts to tell him about his and Anton Marvelton's show he completely blows them off, making it abundantly clear that he just doesn't give a shit about them or their show. He thinks they're tired old has-beens and should make way for his own fresh blood as he spatters it all over the street. He later interrupts one of Burt's performances, insisting that the audience really wants to see him. He's the greatest and anyone who can't see that is useless to him. He's also quite the control freak. No matter what's going on he has to be either in control of the situation or at least has to feel like he is. He can't even let someone storm off on him without making it significantly more awkward and playing it up as if he was somehow able to influence just how they were leaving.
While Steve lives for the glory he doesn't care about his audience. It seems a little backwards, true, but in the end he's going to do whatever he wants and if someone doesn't like it they can fuck off. Whether it's nearly lighting an audience member on fire or appearing to crush a puppy at a child's party his sheer contempt for the general public is astounding. He even goes so far as to essentially say it would take brain damage to make him one of them. Of course, seeing how little he seems to care about his own well being it's not really surprising that he wouldn't care about anyone else's.
For being such a colossal dick he's an incredible showman. He knows just what to say and what buttons to push to get the audience to toe that line between intrigue and revulsion. He pisses people off enough to keep that shock value but keeps the show light enough with jokes and whatnot to keep people watching. He absolutely knows how to put on a show. He draws the audience in with intrigue and morbid curiosity before he completely blows their minds and makes them hurl. Though he's still only a street performer he's got his own cable show and his own brand. His logo, a rabbit skull coming out of a top hat, is seen as a tattoo on his back, on one of his shirts and on the side of his van. He may still be climbing his way to the top but he's already managed to make himself a recognizable name. While many may consider his acts low brow he's got a head for what works in Vegas and how to work an audience, both of which are key in the business. Of course he's not the absolute brightest bulb on the strip seeing as his last stunt will leave him permanently brain damaged but, uh, we don't talk about that.
Other than his talent there honestly doesn't seem to be many good things about him, if any, but he's just fine with that. He likes who he is and, really, does anyone else really matter? No. No they don't.
ABILITIES: This man is not supernatural at all. HOWEVER he does have a nearly inhuman pain tolerance. He's slept on red hot coals, taken a face full of pepper spray without blinking, burned his flesh with open flames and cut open his face all in the name of his performance. He's also one of the top magicians in the world, able to perform extraordinary feats of illusion and slight of hand, often with rather gruesome effects.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
Steve's eyes scanned the passers by as he strolled through the town. The chains hanging from his belt loops jingled lightly as he walked, giving him at least one familiar sound in the unfamiliar town. Christ, even in the desert there had been more people than there were in this place. This... village. Could he even call it a village? Maybe a hamlet. It didn't matter. It wasn't a city. It wasn't his city. The city he was about to take over had he not been transported by some unknown magic.
That thought still confounded him. Sure there were plenty of people in that tourist trap who called themselves magicians. He'd long since resigned himself to being assigned that moniker, himself, though he wasn't so certain he agreed with it. This was different, though. This wasn't a trap door or plants in the audience to let the elephant out the back door of the cage. There were no smoke and mirrors here. It was real. He'd truly been taken from the casino and walked into a castle. He snorted. A castle of all things. How cliche.
A lesser man might buckle under the pressure of his new surroundings. He might cry and scream at the heavens, curse his luck and beg to be returned from whence he came. He would not. Nay. He was above petty hysterics. He had conquered Las Vegas and he would conquer this land. He did have a corner on the market after all. An entire town and no street performers whatsoever. Sure there was that hack on the radio but he wasn't a performer. Here he could have the honor of not only being the best performer but the only performer. That would suit him just fine.
A deck of cards found its way into his hand. He cut it one handed, fingers splitting and folding the cards together in one smooth motion. Bringing his hands together he flicked them between his palms. He stopped at a street corner, fanning the cards out and holding them towards the nearest person with a small smile. "Pick a card."
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE:
People of Paradisa. Fear not for though I walk among you I assure you [he smirks] I am not one of you. Nay. You may say I'm... special. Those of you weak of heart and mind may wish to stay away from the lobby this afternoon as it shall be the location of a show which just may blow the fragile little minds of those in attendance. Those who are brave enough to attend? Well you can bear witness as I perform a feat so astounding in its glory, yet so painfully simple in concept.
It's well known that Yogis in India have been sleeping on beds of nails for centuries to better center their minds and bodies. However! I am about to do what has never been done before. [pause for dramatic effect] I intend to jump on a bed of nails as a young child jumps on their racecar bed.
This is not a trick. My bare feet shall be impacting on those nails with the full force of my body behind it for two full hours. Or until my body collapses from blood loss and exhaustion. [There's another pause before he adds] If you have small children you may want to get there early to ensure they're in the front row so they get the best view.
INTENT: Honestly? The crack factor. He's an absolutely absurd character and having someone around who would randomly walk into town and start doing ridiculous things sounds like fun.
NAME: Laurel
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
eternalferretEMAIL: eternalferret (at) gmail (dot) com
AIM: AIM
CURRENT CHARACTERS: Nora Diniro
eat_me_beat_me, Phoebe Halliwell kungfuwitch, James Bond last_rat_standingCHARACTER
CHARACTER NAME: Steve Gray
Canon: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
CANON POINT: Shortly before the end of the movie as he's about to step on stage for his final performance at DOUG.
LOSS: He will be unable to drill a hole in his head using any sort of power or manual drill. While this seems mundane and pointless it will bother him to no end because that was going to be his biggest feat thus far in his life and not being able to complete it will feel like a failure and eat at him.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER:
Steve Gray is his own biggest fan. He's one of the most popular performers around and he knows it. He doesn't live for the applause or the attention, however. He lives for the show itself. He doesn't seem to really give a rat's ass about his audience or what may or may not be appropriate for any particular age group. All he cares about is the art... well, that and being on top. He's the best and he wants to be in what he feels is his rightful place and he doesn't care who he has to fuck over to get there.
Steve is identified as a street magician, though much of what he does isn't what most people would consider magic. The star of the cable show "Mind Rapist" he takes the audience's nightmares and turns them into what he calls "dream realities". He does this with extreme acts of endurance such as not urinating for an entire week or not blinking for days on end. He puts his body through so much torture for nothing more than the entertainment value and the glory it brings him. He doesn't try to be a macho man through it, either. He'll scream in pain or have other physical reactions to what is happening to him to show that it's not just an act. The most important thing to note is that very little of what he does is faked. During one of his acts he slices his face open and seems to pull out a folded up playing card with a name written on it. While most magicians would use a prosthetic and fake blood to complete an act such as this he's later seen stitching the open wound on his face closed. This man is willing to do anything to get to the top.
While his back story is not explored at all in canon one thing is made apparent early on - there is a spiritual aspect to what he does. In an interview about the movie Jim Carey said that Steve's got a "bit of a Christ complex." He is seen to press his hands together as if in prayer numerous times during and after his acts and after one particularly gruesome stunt he holds his hands open and raises his eyes to the sky whispering simply "I warned them." He then wipes tears from his eyes as he walks off, nearly shoving anyone out of the way as he leaves the area. Based on this and the fact that during his final act he makes a comment about his risk of losing one of his senses leaving him with "only five" and not special in any way leads me to believe it's likely that he thinks that his abilities are given to him by whatever deity he prays to. He believes that he has these God given talents and that makes him better than anyone else around him. These beliefs are not absolutely substantiated by canon, of course, but I think they are reasonable leaps to make given the information given.
Whether he believes he's blessed by a God or not he absolutely believes he's better than everyone else. When Burt Wonderstone, a Vegas headliner for the past decade, attempts to tell him about his and Anton Marvelton's show he completely blows them off, making it abundantly clear that he just doesn't give a shit about them or their show. He thinks they're tired old has-beens and should make way for his own fresh blood as he spatters it all over the street. He later interrupts one of Burt's performances, insisting that the audience really wants to see him. He's the greatest and anyone who can't see that is useless to him. He's also quite the control freak. No matter what's going on he has to be either in control of the situation or at least has to feel like he is. He can't even let someone storm off on him without making it significantly more awkward and playing it up as if he was somehow able to influence just how they were leaving.
While Steve lives for the glory he doesn't care about his audience. It seems a little backwards, true, but in the end he's going to do whatever he wants and if someone doesn't like it they can fuck off. Whether it's nearly lighting an audience member on fire or appearing to crush a puppy at a child's party his sheer contempt for the general public is astounding. He even goes so far as to essentially say it would take brain damage to make him one of them. Of course, seeing how little he seems to care about his own well being it's not really surprising that he wouldn't care about anyone else's.
For being such a colossal dick he's an incredible showman. He knows just what to say and what buttons to push to get the audience to toe that line between intrigue and revulsion. He pisses people off enough to keep that shock value but keeps the show light enough with jokes and whatnot to keep people watching. He absolutely knows how to put on a show. He draws the audience in with intrigue and morbid curiosity before he completely blows their minds and makes them hurl. Though he's still only a street performer he's got his own cable show and his own brand. His logo, a rabbit skull coming out of a top hat, is seen as a tattoo on his back, on one of his shirts and on the side of his van. He may still be climbing his way to the top but he's already managed to make himself a recognizable name. While many may consider his acts low brow he's got a head for what works in Vegas and how to work an audience, both of which are key in the business. Of course he's not the absolute brightest bulb on the strip seeing as his last stunt will leave him permanently brain damaged but, uh, we don't talk about that.
Other than his talent there honestly doesn't seem to be many good things about him, if any, but he's just fine with that. He likes who he is and, really, does anyone else really matter? No. No they don't.
ABILITIES: This man is not supernatural at all. HOWEVER he does have a nearly inhuman pain tolerance. He's slept on red hot coals, taken a face full of pepper spray without blinking, burned his flesh with open flames and cut open his face all in the name of his performance. He's also one of the top magicians in the world, able to perform extraordinary feats of illusion and slight of hand, often with rather gruesome effects.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:
Steve's eyes scanned the passers by as he strolled through the town. The chains hanging from his belt loops jingled lightly as he walked, giving him at least one familiar sound in the unfamiliar town. Christ, even in the desert there had been more people than there were in this place. This... village. Could he even call it a village? Maybe a hamlet. It didn't matter. It wasn't a city. It wasn't his city. The city he was about to take over had he not been transported by some unknown magic.
That thought still confounded him. Sure there were plenty of people in that tourist trap who called themselves magicians. He'd long since resigned himself to being assigned that moniker, himself, though he wasn't so certain he agreed with it. This was different, though. This wasn't a trap door or plants in the audience to let the elephant out the back door of the cage. There were no smoke and mirrors here. It was real. He'd truly been taken from the casino and walked into a castle. He snorted. A castle of all things. How cliche.
A lesser man might buckle under the pressure of his new surroundings. He might cry and scream at the heavens, curse his luck and beg to be returned from whence he came. He would not. Nay. He was above petty hysterics. He had conquered Las Vegas and he would conquer this land. He did have a corner on the market after all. An entire town and no street performers whatsoever. Sure there was that hack on the radio but he wasn't a performer. Here he could have the honor of not only being the best performer but the only performer. That would suit him just fine.
A deck of cards found its way into his hand. He cut it one handed, fingers splitting and folding the cards together in one smooth motion. Bringing his hands together he flicked them between his palms. He stopped at a street corner, fanning the cards out and holding them towards the nearest person with a small smile. "Pick a card."
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE:
People of Paradisa. Fear not for though I walk among you I assure you [he smirks] I am not one of you. Nay. You may say I'm... special. Those of you weak of heart and mind may wish to stay away from the lobby this afternoon as it shall be the location of a show which just may blow the fragile little minds of those in attendance. Those who are brave enough to attend? Well you can bear witness as I perform a feat so astounding in its glory, yet so painfully simple in concept.
It's well known that Yogis in India have been sleeping on beds of nails for centuries to better center their minds and bodies. However! I am about to do what has never been done before. [pause for dramatic effect] I intend to jump on a bed of nails as a young child jumps on their racecar bed.
This is not a trick. My bare feet shall be impacting on those nails with the full force of my body behind it for two full hours. Or until my body collapses from blood loss and exhaustion. [There's another pause before he adds] If you have small children you may want to get there early to ensure they're in the front row so they get the best view.
INTENT: Honestly? The crack factor. He's an absolutely absurd character and having someone around who would randomly walk into town and start doing ridiculous things sounds like fun.
