There wouldn't be no trouble except for that king-shit cop!

User Name/Nick: Liz
User DW: this journal works!
E-mail/Plurk/Discord/PM to a character journal/alternate method of contact: PM to this journal is ok, plurk: madwomanwithabox (barely used), Discord: madwomanwithabox (most reliable form of contact)
Other Characters Currently In-Game: None, but just a reference point, you may know me from previous muses such as Allison Argent (TEEN WOLF, Warden w/graduated inmate) and Opie Winston (Sons of Anarchy, Warden w/o graduated inmate)--what can I say? I missed it here. ;P <3

Character Name: John James Rambo
Series: RAMBO movie franchise (please note that holes in the movie character's backstory will be plugged by information from the original David Morrell novel where necessary)
Age: approx. 35 as of the end of the first film
From When?: Just before the end of the film--a gunshot in the final scene before he's taken into custody, rather than missing him, will hit him to end his life and bring him to the Barge.

Inmate Justification: What I'm looking for here is something healthier than what he gets in canon, which is basically hard time in prison where he gets to where he needs to be as a warden. XD At the end of the film, John--who is already struggling with debilitating PTSD and is a survivor of childhood abuse--has been badly retraumatized, struggles with severe depersonalization, and believes he's utterly alone with no one to trust. Working with a warden will make him realize that people do care, and connect back to his own humanity so he can be better equipped to help others.

Arrival: As I really wanted John to be a warden, but feel he got a rough shake in the movies, I want to give him a more comfortable time rehabilitating, so the Admiral will invite him to the Barge for his second chance, hoping to get a future warden out of the deal. But shhhh, don't tell John. XD

Abilities/Powers: John is bog standard human, but has elite military training as a Green Beret (American Army, Special Forces) in guerilla warfare, munitions, hand to hand combat, wilderness survival, field medicine, languages, and specialized transport (some piloting and heavy machine operations). He won't have his favorite weapons on hand, and canonically has been cooperative in a prison environment, so his military skills will be handily managed with standard prison means and methods like confinement in Zero, among other things.

Inmate Information: John grew up in an abusive home rife with addiction: mother died when he was young, father was an alcoholic that nearly killed him when he was young. John's deep ties to his mother's people (Helga Rambo was of Navajo descent) allowed him to defend himself with bow and arrow by shooting his father. He was otherwise a good kid, drafted to Vietnam, and given his early training in hunting, survival, and archery, he was recruited to serve in Special Forces as part of an elite unit during the Vietnam War. Through that time, save for his direct comrades he was treated very much as a weapon, an object, a disposable commodity. Even his direct CO spoke of and to him in this fashion, and yet this man ended up being the closest thing John Rambo has to a father figure.

During the war, John did a lot of killing and caused a lot of harm, but the highlights all focus on forms of self harm and self sacrifice, and he later received countless rewards for valor and bravery including several Purple Hearts and later the Medal of Honor. He was a POW during the War, and forced to engineer his escape by giving himself dysentery, yet was later redeployed. He also bore witness to the horrific death of a comrade by explosive ordinance, a man he saw as brother and friend.

Directly before the action of FIRST BLOOD, John also discovered he was the last surviving member of his unit, which along with leaving him feeling absolutely deserted means he has not yet grieved the loss of a man who was his best friend {and strictly via headcanon regarding John Rambo being bisexual, potentially someone John was in love with}. He later went on to assault multiple sheriff's deputies after an arrest for vagrancy, stole a military vehicle, destroyed a lot of public property via explosives, shot the sheriff of a small town, and was publicly accused of murdering one of the aforementioned deputies.

It's noteworthy that the events leading to these assaults began with his vagrancy arrest, which began when the local sheriff of the town he was passing through quite literally ran him out of town and picked him up on charges when he tried to return. John's behavior was unremarkable at the time and he was posing no threat save that he was essentially homeless. Carrying all his worldly possessions and a bedroll, he walked into town, was passively forced to take a ride from the sheriff, and when asking about a place to eat was told to find somewhere in the next town over.

John's behavior defaults to action and strength, but not to violence per se. Though physically gifted and a combat virtuoso, he is also highly intelligent and meek by nature. He also suffers from severe and likely untreated PTSD. He craves companionship but has been denied human contact due to his condition for years, struggles to hold a traditional job due to his illness, and is quite literally starved for positive physical contact: few occasions in his life have brought him touch that wasn't derived from the war, a fight, or other situations where someone wanted to harm him or kill him. The worst of his issues will be related to trust and self image, but basic decency and physical human contact will go a long way towards making inroads with him.

Path to Redemption: John needs to reclaim his dignity, understand his mental illness better, reconnect with his humanity, and learn to trust again. The path to this will be complex, but easy. He's touch starved to the point where human contact is both a pain point and a source of physical discomfort, so innocent touches or physical affection are something he needs to acclimate to. Initially, John will default to passive yet violent reactions to negative situations: arm himself or lash out, but even if combative he will default to escape, distance, and restraint over trying to actively hurt someone.

The best way to connect and rehabilitate this man is, quite simply, to befriend him. Encourage personal connections ranging from romance to poker or drinking buddies. His ideal warden will become his friend, and milestones will include displays of physical vulnerability like turning his back on them as well as personal admissions to his feelings and his problems. Treating him well and letting him contribute something to the community beyond his military training will remind him that he's a human being with needs and wants, and that he's entitled to have those needs and wants.

Critically (CW: very mild disordered eating habits) through a combination of headcanon and evidence in the films, John has a phobia of eating and drinking in public due to what happened to him in FIRST BLOOD. Seeking out nourishment resulted in what happened, and as such he's going to be incredibly skittish about using the dining hall, likely either struggling to nourish himself or sneaking food to his cabin in order to eat. A clear milestone, and possibly a signal of imminent graduation, will be the first time he's comfortable enough to eat a snack or small meal in the dining hall without illness, hesitation, or struggle.

History: Wikipedia link which includes information from both the novel and the films. As previously noted, John's history is taken primarily from the films, but where a conflict arises or a fact is missing, I will be pulling from the novel for exclusively personal background information primarily connected to his heritage, his upbringing, and his life prior to his participation in the Vietnam War. I will also include headcanons pertaining to personal attitudes, personality, and sexuality, but 99% of all headcanons do derive from concrete evidence in the source material (see: eating issues, it's a running joke that John Rambo is too tough to eat because he never eats or drinks in the films. He is, however, offered food in the second movie but rejects it, notably he is in public and on assignment in enemy territory. As such, I've written in that he's developed severe anxiety about eating in public due to publicly seeking out nourishment, and the resulting events of FIRST BLOOD.)

Sample Network Entry:

[The small device he's given on his arrival is strange, but not completely alien. It's about the size of a radio, but far slimmer, and it has video. Little like one of those pocket TV's or something, and it doesn't have any knobs.

The whole thing is Star Trek as hell, in more ways than one--and John isn't sure what he feels about the fact that it gives him a weird sense of hope.

When he switches on the feed, the rest of the Barge is treated to the view of a man who has visibly been through hell. He's pretty rugged looking, and not just because his face is streaked in sweat, grime, tears, and a little dried blood seeping from a length of burlap tied around his head to staunch a wound. His eyes are a touch bloodshot, shadowed from a lack of sleep over the last twenty four to forty eight hours by his reckoning, and hollow in a way that's hard to describe.

This is a man who's seen the worst of...everything...and it shows.

He's laser focused on the camera, so tense he's nearly vibrating--yet his expression is just a little distant. When he speaks, his voice is quiet, soft, and impossibly deep. He exudes a quiet, gentle, almost meek aura yet is seething just beneath the surface with adrenaline and emotion.]

This is John Rambo, and, uh...I know why I'm here. The...Admiral?...he picked me up.

[He pauses, a huff of air that's only just audible the only indicator of a fairly bitter chuckle.]

Guess it beats the hell out of a federal prison. Least if the 'cell' is any indication.

[Which, if he admits it to himself, is...actually weirdly comforting. The mine entrance where he made camp during the whole fucking manhunt, minus the roast boar and a lot of the grime. The fire pit is some kind of enclosed thing so he can't burn down the joint, with a pretty comfortable looking twin bed and a few other amenities, a healthy amount of rubble blocking any exit but the door in front of him which stands where the open mouth of mine would have otherwise been--all dark, cool stone and hard floor with bits of comfort he doesn't really think are necessary.

They are...well, nice, though.]

I just--I don't know exactly how this all works. What's the SOP around here? Wanna avoid a run in with whatever passes for guards around here if I can help it. Uh...thanks in advance.

Sample RP: John visits the infirmary.

Special Notes: Please feel free to let me know if I've missed anything--I've been away for quite some time! :P