application for amatomnes

[thecopper]

PLAYER
» Journal: alien_catcher
» Birthdate/Age: 05/08/84 - 26
» Characters Played: Vala Mal Doran (letsmake_babies)

CHARACTER
» Name: Gwen Cooper
» Fandom: Torchwood
» Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Cooper
» Canon Point: post-”Exit Wounds” (series 2 finale)
» Gender: Female
» Age: 30 (mental and physical)
» Orientation: Gwen is heterosexual, as illustrated throughout canon with her romantic relationships with men. Her most notable relationship is with her partner, Rhys, with whom she’s been in a relationship with since college (“Adam”) and whom she eventually married (“Something Borrowed”). However, she also exhibited a flirtatious relationship with her co-worker Owen that, while antagonistic, eventually blossomed into a full-fledged emotional and physical affair (“Countrycide”). Juggling both her affair and domestic relationship, Gwen also harbored strong feelings for her boss, Jack Harkness, and although at times these feelings were voiced (notably, “Adam” and “Something Borrowed”), her marriage finally cemented her loyalty to Rhys. Gwen also referenced previous boyfriends (“Greeks Bearing Gifts”) and she never refers to women in any romantic sense. The one exception to this is her passionate kiss with a young woman named Carys (“Day One”); however, that was done through alien influence, and it is never mentioned or touched on again, suggesting that it did not cause Gwen to actively question her sexuality.

» Personality:
For Gwen, her time at Torchwood has become a “coming of age” story; she enters as a naive, excited, and curious young police officer, and her experiences prove to not only harden her, but force her to balance herself as a human being.

Gwen’s most notable characteristic is her concern for others and her empathetic nature – some would argue empathic (“Random Shoes”), although Gwen has no notion of the difference. It’s suggested that this is one of the main reasons Jack was so eager to bring her onto the team, as she adds a certain human quality - a heart, really - to a team that otherwise had none. This is set in play in the second episode (“Day One”), where she searches and strives to bring the human aspect into the investigation, and helps to solve the case through her unique avenue. She tells the team “you've been hidden down here too long. Spending so much time with the alien stuff. You've lost what it means to be human.” Jack challenges her to remind them, and through her fresh point of view, she manages to add a new spin to the otherwise isolated team. As the only member of the team with an outside life and relationship, she prides herself on bringing forward a new perspective by making everything completely personal and human-oriented, rather than scientific and cold.

Extremely caring and protective of those she loves, Gwen is sensitive to their needs and discomforts. For example, she is the only one who notices Tosh’s change in character when Tosh falls in love (“Greeks Bearing Gifts”), and does her best to offer words of comfort when they seem needed. While she holds others in high priority, it is often ends in a discredit to herself, as she has been known to sabotage herself by launching her into tantrums and emotional bitterness when she feels slighted.

This is an example of her overwhelming selfish side, as her pride about her ability to spot the human nature in any situation often leads to her making impulsive and rash decisions that are, in essence, selfish within themselves. She has been known to disobey direct orders when she feels she is working for a greater good (“They Keep Killing Suzie”, “End of Days”, “Adrift”) and she easily mistakes what she wants or desires for what is necessary for the good of others. One circumstance of her doing so resulted in her exposing the damage the Rift can do to humans who are taken into it, and the woman she was trying to help ended up being more harmed by this truth (“Adrift”). Gwen was seriously impacted by this and it seemed to have made her consider more about how her actions can affect those around her.

While extremely loyal to those who have earned her trust, she can be pushed to disloyalty in matters that she feels directly affect her happiness. At the end of series 1, when Rhys is killed (“End of Days”), Gwen joins her team in betraying Jack in order to set back time. Although it is hardly the last time she disobeys her boss (and seeing as time was successfully set back and Jack managed to save the world regardless) her guilt over of her actions is illustrated by her refusal to leave Jack’s side until he came back to life.

Gwen is curious and driven, and borderline obsessive, and when she sets her sights on a goal, she will not give it up, no matter the price (“Everything Changes”, “Random Shoes”, “Adrift”, among others). Her caring and emotional nature often prove to be a fault when she becomes a slave to her emotions, especially as she deals with the emotional scars that are involved with being a member of Torchwood. Although she prides herself on her life outside Torchwood, she is emerging from her tendency to compartmentalize the “real world” and the Torchwood world (“Countrycide”, “Out of Time”). Her affair with Owen is a prime example of that, as he offered her both an emotional and physical outlet for her agony, one that, due to the secrecy of her job, she could not find in Rhys. She finally realizes their relationship is destructive, however, and puts an end to it when she starts to understand that Owen is just is emotionally damaged as she is (“Combat”).

However, she remains unable to balance both worlds successfully and, in a brash display of insubordinance, finally insists to Jack that her two worlds must become one in order for her to continue as a member of Torchwood (“Meat”). Once Rhys becomes privy to the true nature (and dangers) of her job, the two instead concentrate on sustaining and working through their differences rather than splitting up. It proves to be the best choice of action, as Gwen and Rhys’ relationship strengthens substantially through the remainder of the series.

Some developing aspects of Gwen’s personality is her leadership skills; although she is relatively self-sufficient and driven enough on her own, becoming a full-fledged leader of a team seems to be a continuing struggle for her (notably, “Exit Wounds”). Although she is, technically, the second in command in Torchwood, she relies heavily on Jack to command the team and make decisions. This is first disrupted when Jack disappears for a while and she is left in charge of Torchwood (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”). When he returns and takes back his charge, Gwen seems more than happy to return to her comfortable second in command role. However, she is challenged again when Jack is kidnapped (“Exit Wounds”). Although Gwen has no problem taking charge of her team and barking orders while under direct pressure, once the fact that others are relying on her begins to sink in, she starts to crumble. It seems to be the awareness of responsibility that freezes her up rather than the taking charge in itself; however, Rhys voices his support for Gwen as a leader, and she seems to become stronger for it, and she is able to continue on in Jack’s absence. The experience no doubt continues to strengthen Gwen and her self-assurance that she can, in fact, head a team capably and successfully.

By the end of series 2, Gwen has lost multiple work mates and finds herself in an area of despair where she’s not sure if she can continue on, knowing the price she may eventually pay for being a member of the team. However, with Jack and Ianto (and Rhys) there to continue to support the good that Torchwood works for, the finale leaves her character with the sense that although they may all, eventually, forfeit their lives for Torchwoood’s cause, she is strong enough to continue fighting.

» Appearance: Gwen is somewhat over average height, with dark brown hair that she usually wears down, and a long fringe that brushes her eyes. She has a very classic “sci-fi girl” sense of style, generally sporting tight jeans or trousers, boots and various leather jackets.

» Suitability: N/A

SAMPLES
» "amatomnes" Entry:

[A faint scuffling is heard over the device, like it’s being brushed over soft linens, before a woman’s voice breaks through. She speaks with a beautiful Welsh accent, but her tone is harsh, and commanding, and very very angry.]

… thing doesn’t even work. Hello? Hello?!

[There’s a distinct knock and a pause, and intelligible voices can be heard in the background. A conversation occurs that begins quietly, before the disagreement builds and builds and Gwen’s voice, once again, is clear through the device.]

No, I certainly will not calm down! How about you tell me who’s in charge here right now, yeah? You lot are messin’ with the wrong girl. If it’s a ransom you want you’re are not gettin’ it... [Another intelligible response.] The least you can do is loosen this bloody thing round my neck! [There’s more mumbling and an awkwardly long silence followed by...]

Right, sorry, did you say sex?!

[There’s a few more minutes of intelligible squabbling before a door slams, and seconds later there’s a distinct thump, as a rather pissed off young woman has thrown her device on the floor.

What follows is a long period of silence and punctuated by a swear word here and there from a very grumpy Gwen Cooper.]


» "amatomneslogs" Entry:

Perched on the end of the bed, Gwen toyed pensively with the sleeve of her leather jacket. It sat, folded with a care she hardly ever attributed to clean laundry, piled on top of the clothes she remembered wearing the night before. Her other hand clutched a silk bedsheet that she had wrapped around her naked body like a toga, as if it would offer some kind of protection. Honestly, she’d rather have a gun.

The strange device sat on the bed stand, two arm lengths away, and she stared it down. She knew it was there for a reason; it was taunting her, teasing her to use it for whatever purpose it existed for, but she had no idea what. From the looks of it, she reckoned it was some kind of portable television set. Maybe it would broadcast message from whomever had taken her captive. Or hell, maybe she’d switch it on and catch the tail end of that football match Rhys had been on about. That would at least hint to some kind of normalcy in this bizarre place, although Gwen knew that was far to much to hope for. “Normal” was a word she had long ago exiled from her vocabulary.

Whatever was going on, it had to be Jack’s fault. That seemed the best bet in any strange situation. Blaming Jack was always the comfortable option; not that she was exactly uncomfortable. On the contrary, for a woman having just awoken, naked, in a strange bed, she actually felt generally at ease. She pursed her lips. Comfortable wasn’t even the half of it; she’d felt like she’d just had the best sex of her life, and with Rhys, none-the-less. And that was enough for her to know that something was not right in the world.

A deep breath reminded Gwen of the necklace strapped around her neck; she wasn’t exactly the choker type when it came to style, and she knew she didn’t own anything quite like that. Just another thing to add to the long list of confusing clues, and absolutely nothing in the way of answers. Answers she definitely wouldn’t get if she continued to sit at the end of the bed, sulking.

Gwen scooted towards the bed stand, picking up the device and weighing it in her hands. Okay, think, Cooper. Nothing like you’ve seen before. Probably alien, since that usually fit the description. Damn it, where was Tosh when you needed her? Bet she’s up in Heaven right now, looking down on you, laughing her arse off. Daft Gwen, all about pushing the wrong buttons; a bull in a china shop, that one. Probably’ll turn the damn thing on and unleash the greatest evil the world has ever seen. Or, you could sit and stare at it until you die of old age, you cow. Damn it, Jack, if you hadn’t dragged me into this insane life of yours, I’d be at home right now, drinking a cuppa and watching the morning news, basking in the glory of the best shag of my life. Christ, Gwen, just push the damn button.

She raised her finger, glaring at the blank screen. “Bloody Torchwood,” she muttered, and turned the device on.