Application - Steve Jinks

[poopypantsjinx]

PART 1 - Out of Character
NAME: Xae
AGE (must be 18 or older): Yes I am.
E-MAIL: trucidoindignus@gmail.com
AIM: FeathersGlow
PLURK: Tsukeru
DROPBOX: --
TIME ZONE: MST/MDT
PREFERRED METHOD OF CONTACT: Plurk


PART 2.d - In Character WH13/Eureka Canon Characters
Full Name: Steven Jinks
Nicknames: Steve, Jinks, Jersey, Jinksy, Dorothy, Poopypants, the new guy, new Myka, Angela Lansbury, Spock, Goose, Uhura, Shirely, Mini-Tesla (drag name)
WH Job Title: Agent

DOB/Age: 28 | September 30th, 1985
Birthplace: New Jersey
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Homosexual
Species: Human
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Journal: poopypantsjinx
PB: Aaron Ashmore
Canon Point: Post Season 3 - with current game AU

Warehouse Connection:

After Myka decided to leave the Warehouse team the rest of the group went out to collect Jimmy Hendrik's guitar. This is where Steve came in. He was helping to evacuate and investigate the random electricity sparks that made the museum deadly. He thought it was a bomb at first, but catching sight of Pete going into the museum and following him in to come across Artie and Claudia, Steve knew differently. Especially after he saw them drop the bomb squad with a Tesla grenade. With his ability to tell they were lying, Steve wouldn't let them get away with anything less than the truth. Once he knew then he let them do their job while watching. Once the Artifact was neutralized Artie then Teslaed him. When he returned to his apartment there was a message from Mrs. Fredrick - and she was in his apartment. She offered him a glimpse of "endless wonder". From there it was simply a matter of being transferred to South Dakota and finding the Warehouse.

Appearance:

Jinks (as he's more commonly known) stands at six foot even with short brown hair and pale blue eyes. Most of the time he supports a five o'clock shadow, though he never lets it grow too long. He's built with muscle and tends to wear comfy casual shirts with jeans and sometimes a jacket pulled on over it. Generally he sticks to shades of blues and grays. There is a circular burn scar on the palm of his right hand from where he picked up the doorknob from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.

History:

Born in New Jersey to a family of three, this is where Steve grew up. He had an older sister named Olivia who was the sort who stuck up for others, the kind of person who would put an end to bullying. Steve's father was a chain-smoker and his mother played basketball with him. They had a good life until Olivia's sophomore year in college when she was killed by a stray bullet. Everything seemed to unravel from there. It was her death that inspired Steve to become an ATF agent. At some point Steve's father died and he began dating a U.S. Marshal named Liam Napier. Their relationship was so good that he thought Liam could be The One but then the lies started. With Steve's ability to tell when people are lying it became a serious issue for him and he left without even saying a word. Two years ago there was a trial for the kid who had shot Olivia, one that would decide if the kid was given the death penalty or not. However, while Steve wanted it to go through his mother decided against it. He couldn't understand and because of it they had a fight that resulted in him not speaking to his mother in the last two years.

Eventually he ended up living in Jersey City where it appeared a bomb that released lightning bolts had been placed inside a museum. This is where he spotted Pete Lattimer sneaking into the museum and followed him in only to stumble across Artie and Claudia who had just stunned a bunch of SWAT team members. They attempted to lie to him about the situation but he was looking right at them both. When they told him the truth he allowed them to neutralize Jimmy Hendrix’s guitar but afterwards, he was hit with the Tesla so Artie wouldn’t have to answer his questions. By the time he woke up, the mysterious strangers were gone. After everything was taken care of he was finally able to go home. Except there was a strange message on his answering machine telling him to turn on the light. Doing as it said, he found Mrs. Fredrick standing in his apartment where she then proceeded to recruit him to work at the Warehouse with the promise of endless wonder.

So Steve made the trek to Nowhere, Middle of, South Dakota: having a bit of difficulty finding the Warehouse. Finally he was there where he met Claudia outside and was given a brief introduction to endless wonder and the rest of the team. Unfortunately it was short-lived as he and Pete set out for Colorado to respond to an Artifact ping. There they chased down William Shakespeare’s folio and he met Myka, who he’d replaced, but Pete seemed to be haughty with her. Everything was fine until Steve touched one of the pages and was affected by the Artifact. It was Myka who saved him by making him recite a line from the page he’d touched. Turns out she’d come to lend a hand, which he was grateful for. The three of them then proceeded to collect the other page while saving lives. This was the first encounter with an FBI agent, Sally Stukowski. After that mission, Myka returned to the Warehouse and Steve was then partnered with Claudia.

Their first mission was to collect Typhoid Mary’s knife from an auction, only to find that it had been stolen. While together Steve revealed that he was gay and not hitting on her at all. It was Claudia’s first mission that she was in charge of but it turned out that Artie had followed them, though he did leave shortly. They tracked the knife down to a hospital where an older man used it to transfer his son’s illness to himself. With the deed already done, they simply collected the Artifact. Sometime after that he was having Tesla target practice with Myka and Pete, which is when he admitted to them he was gay and was the unfortunate victim of seeing Pete strip off his shirt. However he didn’t get much practice in as both of his teachers were affected by an Artifact that made them drunk. Instead he spent time following after them until they finally bronzed him. It wasn’t until the next day that they realized what had happened and what they’d done. They unbronzed him.

After that he was sent to a Civil War reenactment with Claudia to look for a flask that made the person believe they were actually in the Civil War. Only problem was there were hundreds of flask to go through, some of them worn by the actors themselves. Once they’d gone through the stockpile, they were forced to dress us in order to search the actors. When Claudia had been “killed” he searched alone and found the man affected by the Artifact. Except the man had lost his mind and attempted to kill him. Claudia’s intervention saved him as she had changed costumes and was now wearing a dress and ridiculous wig. Using her new invention – the mini-Tesla, she took out the man and collected Ulysses Grant’s flask. The entire thing reminded him of his sister, which he told her and also said that Olivia had died. Upon returning to the Warehouse, Claudia looked up his sister on the internet and Steve caught her. Instead of being angry, he sat down to tell her about Olivia.

The next time he went out was to respond to a call put out by Sally Stukowski about an odd death. Steve went to investigate alongside Artie where they discovered Van Gogh’s The Stormy Night painting: an Artifact that created strong breezes, strong enough to blow a man out a window to his death. However, they didn’t tell this to Sally (well they attempted to) as they would have to break in after hours to steal the painting. With a few helpful Artifacts they did manage to get in but Sally caught them in the act. She appeared to be helping them right up until the point when the alarm went off and then she bolted, painting in hand. The Warehouse agents were arrested but Sally showed up to convince the authorities to release them seeing as how she’d “hired them to authenticate a painting”. Once free she returned the painting to them, saying they all couldn’t be caught. This is the moment when Steve realized just how good of a liar she was.

When Steve and Claudia go to collect a doorknob Artifact, he’s burned in the process but other than that it was an easy snag. Returning to the car, the pair of them are greeted by a dog and tranquilized shortly after. After being knocked out the doorknob is stolen and Artie instructed them to bring the dog as he was a witness to the car that had sped away with the Artifact. Back at the Warehouse, Artie used another Artifact to share thoughts with the dog in order to get the license plate number. Before they can get all of the numbers, the burrowing scarab Artifact appeared and the dog chased after it. Searching the Warehouse for the dog was going to be a nightmare so Claudia used Pavlov’s bell in order to get him to come to them. Returning the dog to the office, they got the last numbers while Claudia attempted not to drool over everything. The car belonged to Sally Stukowski. As it turns out, Artifacts were being used against Regents and several of them had already died.

That meant their next step was to find Sally and interrogate her for information. This is what Steve was doing alongside Mrs. Fredrick while the rest of the team attempted to find out what else Sally had been doing. When Mrs. Fredrick resorted to torture, Steve pulled his gun on her and wouldn’t allow her to continue. Sally used this to her advantage and escaped. Due to his actions, he was fired. He only stuck around long enough to tell this to Claudia before moving on. Now penniless, Steve was approached in a bar by a man named Marcus who offered him a new job with a man named Walter Sykes, the man behind the plan and Sally’s boss. Reluctantly, he accepted this offer and began to work for the bad guy. He didn’t reappear until Sykes sent him and Marcus to collect H.G. Wells. This was his first confrontation with the Warehouse agents. He stole Pete’s Tesla, which he used against Pete and Myka, and collected H.G. Wells. Except she wasn’t Helena, she believed herself to be a woman named Emily Lake and she believed she was telling the truth.

They discovered that Helena’s memories had been removed and new ones replaced. All of those removed memories were stored inside the Janus Coin, though the Artifact wasn’t located inside the Warehouse. Working with Marcus, Steve went to collect it only to come across Pete, Myka and Claudia who were about to destroy it so that Sykes couldn’t get what he needed from Helena. Marcus dealt with Pete and Myka while Steve chased after Claudia who had the coin. The separation from his new “partner” allowed him the moment he needed. He explained that he’d been a plant in Sykes’ operation and he was still working for the Warehouse. Steve said it was the only way he could protect her. Discovering the truth, Claudia gave him the coin and in return he gave her a location where Sykes had all of his collected Artifacts and was intending to leave the country. To convince Pete to find Claudia instead of chasing after him, he fired two shots into the ground and returned to Marcus. Once they rejoined Sykes and Emily, the coin was placed in Emily’s hand and Helena was whole once again. Sykes had what he wanted. And when he had what he wanted, something bad happens.

Now Steve was in danger.

Lucky he had a kick-ass team that arrived to save him.

Game AU:

Everything was the same right up until Jinks was about to be killed by Marcus on Sykes' order. Pete, Myka and Claudia arrived before the deed could be completed. Together with H.G.'s help they were able to put a stop to Sykes and his plot to destroy the Warehouse. Marcus may have escaped but the Warehouse team was unable to save Sykes.

Personality:

Anyone who took a look at Steve might think he’s a very serious person, and while he can be serious, it’s just that he’s centered. He knows who he is and isn’t ashamed of it in the least. Steve also knows what he wants out of life and what he wants to do with it. This is something he’s known for nearly a decade, ever since his sister was killed and he’s proud to do it. Another thing he’s set in his religious ideals. However, just because Steve knows what he wants out of life it doesn’t mean life doesn’t throw him curveballs. A year ago he would have never believed he’d be working in the Warehouse and collecting items that seemed to defy everything people have come to believe in. His goals do change from time-to-time but Steve does adjust fairly quickly and he goes after things the same way he would do any other.

Of course, he does have a serious side, one that often shows itself in his daily life. Most of the time Steve is the serious sort - not falling into Pete’s childish tendencies or Claudia’s wild side. But he is the balancing act to Claudia much like Myka is for Pete so they make an excellent team together. That’s not to say that he can’t be good-humored but Steve tends to be awkward about it. Either his humor is out of place in a situation or he believes someone to be joking only for it to be true. Really Steve should leave the humor to the others who have a better handle on it. When he does find things funny, he tends to not be a laugher. The times Steve laughs are few and far between.

That is not to say that Steve isn’t kind. In fact, he’s extremely kind. He’s the sort who would put another person’s problems before his own. Honestly, that’s the way he prefers it. Due to this part of him it makes Steve a very good listener. If he notices that someone’s lying or upset he will offer to step aside in order to listen to their problems. While he may not be a trained psychologist there is a lot of good advice in him and he is always willing to share it with those who need it. This side of him reveals that he has a great deal of patience for the people around him.

It helps that Steve isn’t really the sort to start talking about himself or his past. There are times when he will outright say this but he is willing to share with those he gets close to. Part of it is due to all the terrible things in his life that he doesn’t want to talk about but Steve is also the shy type. Opening up is hard for him, partially due to his “superpower”. However it wouldn’t be correct to put all of the blame on that. A great deal of it is grief and the experiences he’s had. Steve has lost people he’s loved, either due to tragedy or some other way. Because of it he has placed “talking about my past” firmly behind him in an attempt to conquer the feelings of sorrow. Wrong way to go about it, obviously, especially for a Buddhist but this is currently where Steve is in his life.

A great huge part of his life surrounds his superpower of being able to tell when people are lying. This ability is both a curse and a gift. It means that no bad guy will ever be able to lie to him but it always means it’s difficult for those he cares for to lie to him too. Everyone tells lies, even if they’re small white ones that are to make someone feel better about something. Steve knows. He always knows. That makes it hard to find someone he can spend forever with because eventually the lies will start. He’s been burned in the past by a boyfriend he loved very much in this manner. After a while Steve just couldn’t stand it anymore and he left without even saying goodbye. It’s not just his feelings and life that his ability affects. Those around him have to be careful too. Pete even admits to having to turn away to lie to him. When he does catch someone lying about something, Steve will usually find a chance to confront them about it. Perhaps his ability to detect lies also hinders his ability to tell lies. Sure he can tell them but they’re so obvious to see through that a person doesn’t need a superpower to tell.

There is another large part of Steve that is both protective and selfless that can reveal itself without warning. When he cares about someone there is no hesitation in him to do something that would protect them. It’s the reason he took on the undercover assignment even if it meant his life. Steve would give anything to protect those he cares about when they are in need of it. This extends towards Claudia a lot. She reminds Steve of his sister and in the short time they’ve worked together, he’s come to care for her a great deal.

Special facts/special abilities about your character:

He is a human lie detector. Steve can tell when anyone is lying around him, even a master of deception, as long as he looking them in the eye. An Artifact can be used to hinder his natural ability. Also, it should be noted that his zen nature is perfect for allowing him to operate the Feng Sui Spiral - something only Leena currently uses. The Feng Sui Spiral helps with the placement of Artifacts so that they don't misbehave while inside the Warehouse.

The only meal he can make is lasagna and not even that well according to his last boyfriend. He plays basketball. Uses peppermint bodywash, drinks tea that everyone claims smells like cat pee every morning. If he doesn't get this tea, he is very grumpy. Is Buddhist and meditates every day. Likes dogs and basically any animal that's small enough to fit in a house. He enjoys Pink Floyd, jazz and free drinks. Despite his ability to detect lies in others, he's absolutely terrible at lying. And acting. He doesn't like scones or smokers. Has a fear of horses or any of the big animals.

What major possessions does your character have?
- Gun
- ATF Jacket & badge
- Tesla
- Farnsworth
- Car: Red Toyota Prius
- Picture of him and Claudia at the reenactment
- Statue of Buddha (sits on the back porch of the B&B)

Have you cleared this and discussed this with the Mods? Yepyep, pretty sure they encouraged me to do this from the start.
Do you agree to the requirements and pre-established obligations for the character? I solemnly swear to uphold the Jinksyness of the game.
Have you familiarized yourself with what the character has done, as either under NPC status or being played by a player, in the game thus far? Yes, what little there is of it at this point.

PART 3 - Writing Samples
1. First Person Writing Sample:

[Steve is sitting in a chair on the back porch of the B&B and he looks rather comfortable there. He offers the people watching a small smile.]

My name is Agent Steve Jinks and I’d like to welcome you, despite the circumstances that brought you here. If you have questions or problems, don’t hesitate to snag me when you see me around.

However, I would like to offer people the opportunity to suggest different activities to help fill your time here in Univille besides the obvious. For those that want to learn how to drive, I can take you out of town a couple times a week to let you practice. [Far, far away from where they can hit other people.]

I’ll be around the B&B if anyone wants to talk.

2. Third Person Writing Sample:

Here

3. First or Third person Sample:

It was early. Almost too early for a normal human being to be up and wandering around the Bed and Breakfast. Yet here he was, stumbling down the stairs after a quick shower and clothes hastily thrown on. As he passed though one of the sitting rooms Steve grunted a non-verbal greeting at the individuals already starting to gather there. It was the best anyone was getting before he had his morning tea. Most of the others had coffee in order to get their caffeine and start their day but not him. A couple of weeks had passed before Leena realized that he went into the kitchen to boil water for his tea instead of moving to the dining room where coffee was already waiting. She started putting a kettle on the stove for him afterwards and for that Steve was grateful.

Now in the kitchen he moved to the stove and turned on the burner where the kettle sat waiting. It had become habit to prepare his tea in this new kitchen, much like it had in his old apartment back in Jersey City. He didn’t have to search for the cups or tea leaves anymore. The B&B was no longer a foreign place where he felt he didn’t belong. For a while there Steve had felt like he was invading someone’s home simply by being there. As he sipped on his first cup of fully prepared tea, Steve realized it. Realized that he had gotten used to living with the others and that he felt comfortable among them.

Turning to lean back against the counter, Steve let his gaze drift to the back porch where the rest of the team was gathered for whatever missions Artie had dragged them out of bed for. It hadn’t taken long to realize how much he cared for Claudia or how much she cared for him in return. She had left a million messages on his phone when he’d left the Warehouse to spy on Sykes. Some of those involved mentioning the others. Claudia had been the first to really accept him amongst their tight-knit group. Now they had new people among them and he was no longer the New Guy. He didn’t feel as if he was always on the outside looking in on them. The thought made him smile briefly before he moved to join them on the porch.

PART 4 - Disclaimers
Was this character held for you? Yes
Can this character be canon-punctured? This is his world, yo.

Required reading test for players apping a WH13/Eureka character. The Mods will talk to you directly to make sure you've read the required pages. Have you spoken to the Mods about this? Yes