[OOC] app

[wegotlucky]

Player Information

Name:Nin
Personal Journal: kamex
Age: 24
Contact Info: plurk: kamex, aim: ninael88
Other Characters Played: AU3 Revolver Ocelot

Character Information

Character Name: Neal Cassidy
Character Series: Once Upon a Time
Character Age: Early 30s physically, a couple hundred years technically
Character Gender: Male
Original Canon
Canon Point: Episode 214: Manhattan
Background Link: http://onceuponatime.wikia.com/wiki/Baelfire (childhood), http://onceuponatime.wikia.com/wiki/Neal_Cassidy
Personality: First and foremost, Neal is a man with severe abandonment issues. Before he took on the name “Neal Cassidy”, he was known as Baelfire, the son of Rumplestiltskin. Upon his father’s transformation in the Dark One, Bae was desperate for a way to return his father into the man that he once was. This fix was a portal to a realm without magic— something that Bae was more than willing to live in, but Rumplestiltskin, afraid of losing his magic, was not. The end result was the fourteen year old Baelfire being sent to a world he had never seen before. Scarred by his loss, and because of the fact that he had many, many years to dwell on his abandonment, Bae became incredibly resentful and angry towards his father, going to bed every night remembering the fact that magic had been chosen over him.

Even so, despite the horrible betrayal, and despite living for centuries as a 14 year old, he has managed to remain a good person. In the Land Without Magic, Neal lived as a thief for a long time, but he didn’t do it out of greed or malice. He was doing what he had to in order to survive. He stole a car in order to have a place to sleep, broke into a hotel room to use a shower, that sort of thing. The worst he is shown to have done was steal watches but even then all he did was stuff them in a train station locker. Yes, he’s a thief and that makes him a little more complex than he was when he was a child, but ultimately he isn’t doing things out of evil.

Neal is a man who is used to being on his own. He’s spent most of his life completely alone and is always on the move, constantly changing locations almost as frequently as Emma herself. When he is first introduced, he’s asleep in a stolen car that Emma has just broken into herself and promptly flirts with her, not in the least bit bothered by the fact that his nap has been interrupted by a fellow thief. Despite suffering deep trauma, he remains a rather cheerful and easygoing guy—even flirty, despite the circumstances.

His carefree attitude when it comes to being around Emma is probably a way to mask the fact that he is deeply traumatized. It’s much easier for him to find something that he cares about and be honest about it than deal with the fact that he is essentially an orphan. It also helps that he has a good heart despite being a thief: he loved Emma when they first met, and more than likely still loves her. He was more than willing to give up his life of crime in order to make sure that she was protected and safe, and once August confronted him both with the knowledge of who he is and who Emma is, he was willing to let her go so she could fulfill her destiny. Even if it meant that he would be betraying her and breaking her heart, and meaning that it would be many years if ever before he could see her again.

Being from the Enchanted Forest, Neal is a strong believer in fate and destiny. This is something that he has a tendency to live by— he has a strong concept of his own destiny, probably from knowingly and happily giving up a life of magic in order to save his father, even if it left him fatherless because of Rumple’s cowardice. It’s not entirely clear whether or not fate and destiny work the same way in the Land Without Magic, but it obviously still has some sort of effect in order for Neal to think that it was the reason that he and Emma were originally brought together.

Upon learning that he had fathered a child, Neal immediately wanted to be able to be a part of Henry’s life after getting over the initial shock. He desperately wants to prove to himself that he’s not like his father and be a part of Henry’s life, however uncomfortable it is to suddenly learn that one is a parent. Turning Henry away or leaving him behind is not an option, but he is likely to struggle with how exactly to be a parent since he can’t really remember a time when he had parents at this point.

The fact that he would pick the name “Neal Cassidy” as an alias is also more than likely not a coincidence. The real Neal Cassady was raised alone by an alcoholic father after the death of his mother and was a part of the Beat Generation—a group of people who helped spawn a generation of anti-conformists in the 1950s. Neal, being quite literally out of place, probably found something very romantic in the idea of people from the Land Without Magic struggling with their surroundings, especially from a man who spent much of his childhood in squalor.

Even with his good nature, there are elements of Neal that are deeply cynical. He is not happy to be reunited with his father, somehow who he has been running from for longer than most people in Storybrooke have been alive. His demeanor changes when reunited with Rumplestiltskin, becoming much more surly and short-tempered than he ever was with Emma— if he ever was to begin with. Completely understandable as it is, it shows a dramatic shift in his personality and how deep his hurt really runs. The other aspect of this is how fiercely protective of Emma he is because of his father’s tendency to kill people who break deals and because he still cares about her.
Abilities: n/a
Sample Entry: He had been on the run for a long time. Too long. Too many years, Neal had spent trying to hide from his father, too many years he had denied the fact that he had come from a world where magic was real. It was easier now than it had been. Easier than when he first arrived in this concrete jungle confused and scared of the noise and of the cars. It had scared him when he had first arrived, but now the man was used to the city life and to the noise. He had even learned to drive a car, something that he had found most useful when it came to getting around.

Of course, he hadn’t exactly learned in a normal way. Much like most things in his life, there had been no teacher for him to learn. He had been on his own. Everything he did had been up to him, and that was why he had found himself with a backpack full of watches. It was stupid. There had been security cameras everywhere, but he had needed the money and now he found himself cursing under his breath at his stupidity. “You really did it this time, didn’t you?” he muttered to himself

This was just to survive, he told himself. This was just a temptation. He could stop this, he would stop this. Neal wasn’t anything like his father, the sort of person who would abandon his child.

Coward. Coward. Coward.

Had his father just listened to him, had he never decided that Neal needed protecting, all of this could have been avoided. They could have continued living together. He could have had a normal life.

But here he was, tempted into stealing enough watches that fencing them could mean that he would live comfortably. But he couldn’t do it. Not when people would be looking for him, so he did the first thing that came to his head and hid the watches away. Just until the heat dies down, he told himself. He still needed the money. He’d get it somehow. He’d be able to afford a nice apartment, he’d be able to afford better food. There wouldn’t be any more stealing apples from the grocery store in order to have lunch.

One day, he would be able to live peacefully. One day, he would be able to forget his father. Forget the nightmares that plagued him. One day soon, he hoped, he would start to have a normal life once and for all.

“Hey!” a voice shouted, and Neal looked up, white faced. Had he been caught.

“What do you want man, I didn’t do nothing!” he shouted back immediately, but stopped when he saw a young boy staring at him. Neal blinked, suddenly feeling awkward. “Do you… do you need something?” he asked, shuffling slightly.

“Yeah,” the boy replied. “I’m lost. I dunno where my mom is.”

Neal’s expression softened What could he do? “Want me to help you look for her? Where’d you last see her?”

The boy stared at him, clutching hard at a stuffed animal. “I dunno. The bakery?” There was a bakery only a few doors down from where Neal stood. He watched the boy for a long moment, expression one of thoughtfulness. He hoped this wasn’t about to get him into more trouble.

“Okay, kid. Let’s go look for your mom.”

The boy's face brightened immediately. "You're so nice, mister!" he said, moving to give Neal a hug. The man smiled, just slightly. The boy was lost, but he was going to be able to be found. Returned to his mother. It wasn't about to make Neal's situation any better. He probably wouldn't even get a thank you, since he didn't want the mom to get the wrong idea. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get going."