Scorched Application
Out of Character Information
player name: Alex
player livejournal: _scottishgentry
playing here: N/A
where did you find us? A friend :D
are you 16 years of age or older?: Yyyyup
In Character Information
character name: Dr. John Watson
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (mix of 2009 film and books)
Timeline: After the first film
character's age: 35
powers, skills, pets and equipment: John's your pretty average human male. If there are any "powers" that he has, it's his excellent skill as a physician and surgeon. He's also picked up a keener sense of the subtle through his friend, Sherlock Holmes. His senses aren't as tuned as his roommate's, but they're sufficient enough. Being a military man, he is very neat. However, his luck isn't so good as he's lost money on bets and even lost Mary's first engagement ring. On top of all this, he is a very good fighter, though not an expert like Holmes. Watson is a skilled marksman thanks to being in the military. When it comes to being social and women, Watson surpasses Holmes by many levels. He's very comfortable with the ladies, yes.
Equipment? Aside from his trusty medical bag containing all sorts of medical equipment like needles, thermometers, and the like. Watson still has his handy pimp cane that reveals a sword tucked in on the inside. And it seems that Gladstone, his beloved English bulldog, has accompanied him on this interesting trip.
canon history:
Not alot is known about Dr. Watson before he entered the Afghan War. Before meeting his companion, John Watson was an Assistant Surgeon of the Army Medical Department in Afghanistan, but he was discharged following an injury received during the Battle of Maiwand. John met Sherlock through a mutual friend in 1881. For money's sake, the two of them decided to share a flat and thus took up residence in 221b Baker Street in London. John was utterly confused as to what his roommate did as a profession. While they lived together, he tried his best to figure out what Holmes did. During the first few weeks, he noticed many visitors to Holmes' rooms. Watson asked him why he got so many visitors when the man revealed that he was a detective. When a client came, he asked that Watson stay in the room and, thus, they get thrust into their first case together. Watson began to record his adventures with Holmes and even became something of the man's biographer, the first of them being A Study in Scarlet. He continued to do cases with Holmes where he eventually met his fiancee, Mary Morstan, in The Sign of Four, after they took up her case of stolen Indian treasure she had inherited. They became engaged after it was solved.
There is one case in Watson's arsenal that shows how much he had grown in his detective skills. The Hound of the Baskervilles was the case about an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a diabolical hound. A Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead in Dartmoor. His death seemed natural, brought on by a heart attack, but James Mortimer, a close friend of Sir Charles, in convinced that his friend's death was brought on by a supernatural creature. After a troublesome sleep in Baskerville Hall where he heard a woman screaming, Watson went to investigate on his own, since he was the one who accompanied Sir Henry (the late Charles' nephew and heir) to the Hall. After meeting the mysterious figure of Jack Stapleton, being mistaken for Sir Henry, and finding out other interesting information, he brings all of this back to Holmes, who ends up being the unknown man living besides a man named Selden, an escaped convict, on the moor. Then, the two figure out the case over a portrait they see at dinner.
When John and Sherlock returned to London, marriage plans with Mary went ahead as usual. It was during this that they encountered their new case concerning a mysterious catacomb killer. While they had dealt with the supernatural, this was easily the most curious case of the occult they had ever handled. After the capture and subsequent hanging of the culprit, Lord Blackwood, Watson was almost complete with his marriage plans with Mary. However, when it seemed like it wasn't the end of Lord Blackwood, Watson found it hard to not join Holmes on his adventures to solve this mystery, even when he knew his friend was purposefully leaving things around like his service revolvers to entice him. Still, he was willing enough to jeopardize his relationship with Mary until a certain incident that had the twosome incarcerated. Watson had had enough and left Holmes to finish the case, until a particular day when he was packing his things to move into a new residence with his future wife. At the end of that day, Watson found himself in a meat factory along the river and saving a certain Irene Adler from a serated blade.
However, during that same expedition, Watson tripped a wire while chasing the occultist that set off barrel bombs that surrounded he, his good friend, and Miss Adler. John was severely injured, being out of commission for a day, before returning faithfully to his friend's side. Watson didn't blame Holmes; he had no regrets after the explosion. He came to realize that their pseudo-detective agency would be an integral part of his life, married or not. This was solidified even more when he continued on with the case, despite having his arm in a sling. They finally solved the second leg of Blackwood's case with much success and Holmes coming to terms with Watson's departure from 221b Baker Street. He and Mary received a wonderful engagement ring from Holmes. The two left Baker Street on the note of a curious Professor Moriarty.
personality:
John Watson is a very intelligent man. He and Holmes make a good pair as they are both of the same intelligent calibur, but Holmes' insight far surpasses his own. While he certainly can see some of the smaller, finer details, Watson's deduction is limited. What he knows he has learned from his friend. He knows how much of a crutch he is for Holmes and didn't mind, since the two are very close like brothers, until he became engaged to Mary Morstan. Watson is every bit the romantic. He is open and straightforward, in some cases. John is still the archetypal Victorian male and it's difficult for him to show emotion. He doesn't do it that often, to be honest. He's also very quiet outside of the social gathering scene and keeps his manners.
The doctor is a very neat man. His rooms are always clean and his books and files are always in alphabetical order. He tends to get very anxious when something is out of place, if not short-tempered and frustrated. This is why Holmes' disorder gets him into such a tizzy and he often loses his temper with his friend. When he wants to get away from the stifling atmosphere that Holmes' creates, John likes to go out with his colleagues and academy friends. John is very charming as well and always the gentleman. Women like to be in his company and vice versa, but one never caught his attention like Mary.
John has a strong sense of justice. He often jumps to the conclusion that the most obvious of suspects is the person who should be charged of the crime. This proves to be a challenge during cases when he has the inability to think about the evidence from a logical point of view like his partner. At the same time, John dismisses some of the most ridiculous accounts of the supernatural. When Clarkey arrived to tell him and Holmes that Lord Blackwood has risen from the dead, Watson immediately dismissed it. Holmes, on the other hand, dismissed it, but wanted to get to the bottom of the notion of Blackwood's resurrection.
However, the good doctor has two weaknesses: gambling and women. He has cost the duo the rent on certain ocassions, though not on purpose. Being a private investigator provides an adrenaline rush John is more open to being addicted to than his partner's preference to drugs. This addicting rush subsides a bit whenever a case does not come through. So instead of going insane like Holmes, Watson prefers to gamble. Whether it be a boxing match or just a regular card game, John is willing to bet money on it. He tries to be wise with his money and does his best to avoid these situations. His second weakness, women, is not a lascivious as one is led to assume. Watson has a great deal of respect for women and embues chivalry at its best. John won't hesitate to tell a woman that her frock suits her figure well or that her hat compliments her ensemble perfectly. Crimes against women whether it be theft, adultery, or rape infuriate him.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? The fact that the setting is steampunk-inspired fits well with Watson being from Victorian England. He would feel familiar in Anatole, but know that some things are just "not right" with the much more advanced technology that the world would have. Besides, every world needs a doctor, right?