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Forge Contact
Jul. 8th, 2013 01:38 am This is Hugo Cabret. I cannot answer right now.
App for Scorched
Jun. 22nd, 2013 10:58 pmOut of Character Information
Player Name: Bee
Player Journal: DreamsofStarlightExpress
Playing Here: None right now
Where did you find us? I used to play Yoite (Nabri No Ou) and then Mordred (BBC Merlin)
Are you 16 years of age or older? Yes.
In Character Information
Character Name: Hugo Cabret
Canon: Hugo (film)
Timeline: Beginning of the Film
Character's Age: 12
Powers, Skills, Pets and Equipment: Hugo has no magical or superhuman abilities, but he is a master of fixing devices and machines as well as creating small inventions out of odds and ends. It is also seen that with his tools, Hugo is capable of picking locks, which he does to sneak into the movie theater with Isabelle. Aside from that, he is a very fast runner, very quick on his feet, and very good at hiding and finding nooks and crannies to conceal himself.
Hugo has no pets.
His equipment comes in the form of tools that are often carried in a satchel or belt slung over his shoulder.
Canon History:Hugo Cabret was the son of a clockmaker and at the beginning of his story lived a contented quiet existence with his father in his workshop. His father would make and repair clocks as well as look on proudly as his son learned to do the same, creating little inventions out of spare cogs and coils. As Hugo grew older, his father began to teach him the secrets and the wonders of the trade, and one night brought home the greatest wonder of them all from his part-time job at the museum: an automaton. Broken and abandoned, the automaton was in need of a great deal of repairs, but the father and son set a goal to fix it together.
This however, would not come to pass. A violent fire at the museum would claim his father’s life and end Hugo’s happy existence as a future clockmaker. He received the news of the death from his drunken uncle and was not given even a moment to grieve before his uncle removed him from their home and informed him that he would now be living with him in the walls of the Paris train station. His uncle bluntly announced that Hugo would no longer have time for school and would spend his days crawling through the secret passages of the train station in order to wind the clocks and keep them running on time. Hugo spent his days learning his way around massive gears and watching the world outside through small windows, and his nights crying as his uncle slept. His only remaining possession from his home and his father was the automaton.
However one day his uncle simply disappeared, and after several days it became clear that he was not coming back any time soon, if at all. Realizing his precarious position, Hugo had to hide and keep the clocks running on time in order to convince the station inspector that his uncle was still there and doing his job or else he’d come searching, discover that Hugo was alone, and have him shipped to the orphanage. Hugo had been witness to several other children being sent off this way and feared that fate most of all. If he was sent away then he’d never be able to finish the work on the automaton and he’d never learn the secret message from his father.
As he mastered the skills of running the clocks while remaining unseen, Hugo regretfully had to resort to stealing for food and for parts to fix the automaton. He could not think of a way to claim his uncle’s checks without being discovered and thus went without payment, even though stealing left a bad taste in his mouth. He would snatch a croissant from the bakery, or maybe a bottle of milk, and then small parts from the toymaker’s booth. That is until the toymaker caught him.
One day as Hugo attempted to steal more parts, Georges Melies caught him by the hand and loudly demanded that he empty his pockets or he’d report him to the station inspector. Cornered, Hugo had no choice, and this resulted in Melies taking claim of Hugo’s notebook and threatening to burn it, to Hugo’s horror. The notebook contained all of his father’s notes about the automaton and without it Hugo feared he’d never be able to complete his task. He thus has no choice but to follow Melies home and in doing so becomes thrust into a search for more than just a notebook, and forms a bond of friendship with Melies’ goddaughter Isabelle who would become his comrade in arms.
Personality:
At the beginning of the film, Hugo is an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station, unknown to the world, and without an understanding of how he came to be in this situation. Why is he alone? That is Hugo’s real question and his loneliness is a very large part of what motivates him. However, there is no way to answer that question and no one left he can ask, so his hope all rests on his father’s automaton and the possibility that if Hugo can fix it then perhaps it will give him the answer via a message from his father. But parts of the automaton are missing and he must steal in order to fix it as well as to simply feed himself. This becomes something of a point of shame for Hugo, having to do something he loathes, stealing, in order to survive and accomplish his goal. He breaks his usual silence to stubbornly correct those who call him a ‘thief.’
In his need to remain unseen, as being caught and sent to the orphanage would prevent him from finishing his work on the automaton, Hugo constantly demonstrates his quick thinking and determination. He has found and made use of countless passageways, nooks, and crannies within the train station to act as his escape routes and roads between the clocks when he is setting them. This also results in a keen eye for observation, as Hugo spends much of his time peering at the world through the glass panels in the clocks and discerning traits and quirks of people he’s never even met before. While he remains a highly internalized boy, quiet and almost indifferent on the outside, he is intensely curious as well as imaginative at his core. He loves films and books about adventures, having grown up with stories of Robin Hood and books by Jules Verne. As the son of a clockmaker, he is also incredibly talented with his hands and has a knack for inventions and repairs. The theme of fixing things, and feeling sad when something or someone is broken or purposeless, becomes a defining trait of Hugo’s character.
Throughout the course of the film, Hugo becomes more outgoing and dares, for the first time since his uncle brought him there, to leave the train station. First in pursuit of Melies who has taken his notebook, and then more and more with the adventurous nature of Isabelle which begins to bring out the wonder and awe in Hugo. He begins to loosen his grip on the need to always be serious and working towards his goal of fixing the automaton, and instead begins to allow for flights of fantasy and curiosity. His love of film and stories become revived through his friendship with Isabelle. His interest in magic and illusions is nurtured in his budding relationship with Georges Melies, who although stern, begins to take Hugo under his wing when the boy is working in his shop. Hugo begins, although slowly, to trust Isabelle and Melies. In addition, he begins to express himself more openly, and shifts from his internalized nature, a nature of silent stares and serious expressions, to a boy who laughs and talks excitedly about films in which rockets fly into the eye of the man in the moon. He even begins to tell Isabelle about his life before the train station, and finally what happened to his father when before he would answer questions on the matter with a dismissive "I don't want to talk about it". However, the transition is not an immediate nor complete one, as is seen when Isabelle finally asks to see Hugo's home, the one in the walls, and his closed off nature returns without fault. Perhaps out of shame or self-protection, Hugo tries to dismiss the request with a curt and vague response, reverting back to the Hugo of the beginning of the film. Thus it can be seen that Hugo is caught between the more open adventuring side of himself and the side that says to keep to himself and survive. He witnesses another orphan being caught by the station inspector, and yet can do no more than watch. To try and help would in turn get himself caught, and that is not something he can risk. However, he does risk himself when Isabelle falls amidst a wave of passengers disembarking from a train and he dives amidst the crowd to help her, furthermore he risks himself in order to retrieve Melies' automaton and return it to him, putting himself at the mercy of the station inspector and his dog. This shows both a great sense of loyalty as well as a developing determination and courage in Hugo, as well as his desperation when he is finally caught and tearfully exclaims that this is his last chance to work, to have a purpose. It is a culmination of how alone and without answers he's been. He's come such a long way, but still he does not know why his father is gone.
Why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Hugo has proven himself to be a very adaptable child. One who manages to fight and survive through hardship, difficulty, and isolation. What I would like to see from him in this setting is to try this characteristic of his while also forcing him to interact with people from worlds very different from his own.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:
Sample post from: Asgard
Third Person Sample:
[Third person writing sample from Paradisa:]
Hugo waited in the shadows, holding his breath and curling his legs in against himself, until the sound of footprints grew more and more distant, then at last faded out of earshot, leaving him in silence once more. Yet even then the tightness in his chest and tenseness in his muscles lingered. It was as if were still waiting for a large gruff hand to reach out and grab him, and to send him away forever.
Even in this place where those hands were so far away.
Habits developed for one’s own survival were hard to be rid of, and really nothing had changed. Whether or not the station inspector was here, Hugo was still surviving. Just because he was free from the threat of the orphanage for the moment did not mean he wouldn’t wake up from this strange dream at some pointand find himself on the train station floor. Should that happen, he would have to be ready to run and hide again.
Finally standing, Hugo stepped out into the hall, then walked briskly with his head down and his shoulders slouched forward, not looking up for anything until he reached the staircase. Then it was a dash upwards, boots ringing out against the wood until he could reach the next floor and begin again.
All the while he kept to the walls. Each time he passed a grate of some sort, he’d bend, check to see if he could fit through, and if so, would look around to see if anyone was coming. If they were not, he’d produce from his pockets his small tools and test the screws that held the grate in place. The ones that gave way could be possible hiding places in the future, and he was making quick work of finding as many as he could.
Once he had check, he screwed the grate back into the wall, then stood, shoving his hands into his coat pockets roughly, outwardly trying to appear as though he had nothing to hide, but in reality keeping his hands around what little possessions he still had left: his tools.
Then in this same manner it was on to the next floor.
Anything else? I do not think so...
