Entranceway Application

[venators]

Name: Jesse
DW username: vicodincandy
E-Mail: thisisdolce@gmail.com
IM: handsome-shark@hotmail.com (AIM)
Plurk: haywoodjablome

Other Characters: Elijah Mikaelson, Peter Hale and Sam Wilson.

Character Name: Graham Humbert / The Huntsman
Series: Once Upon A Time
Timeline: 1x07. Regina has basically gotten a chance to squeeze his heart a little, but it's not completely crushed. Graham is coming in with a half damaged heart that will be rectified by Regina.
Canon Resource Link: Graham Humbert & The Huntsman
Character History: The life and times of Graham Humbert are all very confusing. He comes from a land where magic is real and his actual role in life is that of the Huntsman. The Huntsman is an honorable man that is first seen crying over a deer he had to kill to feed himself and his wolf companion. The Huntsman is a man that respects the land and the things that live on it. His crying over a dead deer isn't a sign of weakness to him, but a sign of respect. Every living thing has to die in order for another living thing to carry on. That's a philosophy that's been with him for as long as he can remember. When a life is taken he typically thanks it for it's sacrifice before eating. It's the right thing to do. Little is known about the Huntsman up until the moment he's seen crying over a deer he had to kill. The only shred of info given to his life before is that he was raised by wolves. He tells the Evil Queen this later when he interacts with her for the first time. What happened to his family is a complete mystery, but his lack of social skills in Wonderland seems to stem from being raised by wolves. The Huntsman is in no way barbaric or anything like that, but he prefers a solitary life instead of one filled with people. He rare journeys into a town or a tavern unless he absolutely. Nine times out of ten his appearance upsets the local drunks or anyone who finds his behavior silly. The Huntsman never seems to let it bother him though. Unless the situation is brought to violent terms by the aggressor he won't strike first.

One of the Huntsman's last interactions with a towns person is when the Evil Queen is watching him. The man insults him, but only finds calm responses from the Huntsman. He doesn't stoop to their level and therefore that makes the bar patron angry. He tries to attack him only to have the Huntsman turn the tables and stab him. The Evil Queen is watching him through her mirror and decides that he will kill Snow White (her stepdaughter) for her. Little does she know that the Huntsman isn't just a murderer you can command so easily.

Eventually the Huntsman is captured by the Evil Queen and drug into the Dark Palace. She offers him rewards if he's willing to kill someone for the Evil Queen. It's here that the Huntsman tells her of who he was raised by and his wishes to keep them safe. The wolves. The Evil Queen agrees and the Huntsman starts on his path towards losing his heart. His alliance with the Evil Queen just goes to show how far the Huntsman is willing to go to protect those he cares about. The wolves are his family and despite not being the same species--he cares for them very much. He's willing to risk the last bit of his soul and heart to make sure that they were well cared for when he does die.

The Huntsman eventually realizes that killing (even for the wolves) doesn't come so easy. He has Snow in his grasp, but it's his soft heart that trips him up. She escapes his clutches and he does eventually catch up with her in the forest only to find her writing a letter to the Evil Queen. The letter is an apology to the Evil Queen and the contents of it strike the Huntsman so hard that he cries. Instead of killing Snow and cutting out her heart for the Evil Queen he decides to let her live. He fashions a whistle for her to use if she ever should need his assistance and lets her leave. Before he returns he kills a deer and takes the heart of it back to the Evil Queen hoping it will fool her and Snow can carry on living. For a moment it appears that all is going to plan when he gives her Snow White's goodbye letter. She eventually demands the woman's heart and he presents her with the heart of the deer. She brings it to her chamber of hearts and attempts to open a box with it. When it doesn't work she immediately knows of his betrayal and takes his heart as revenge for him not following through with Snow White.

The Huntsman winds up in the Evil Queen's clutches for some time. She keeps him on her guard staff in the castle at all times. He can't leave because of the constant thread of death hanging over his head with his heart in her possession. She already demonstrated what she could by squeezing it and threatening to kill him if he ever crossed her again. Still that fear doesn't paralyze him when good people need his help. He goes so far as to help Prince Charming escape the Dark Palace when he needs it. He doesn't think for one minute about the possible pain and death he could face at her hands. The only thing he cares about is following the morale code he set up for himself sometime ago. When the Evil Queen learns of his betrayal she threatens to kill him, but he's prepared with an idea that saves his head. He tells her that he will stop at nothing to hunt Prince Charming down. This is assumed to be him stalling for time and his life. Though it could very well have been part of some strange plan on Graham's part. This isn't revealed though.

Graham Humbert's life doesn't begin until the Evil Queen (who now goes by Regina) curses all of the fairytale characters. They all become doomed to live under her thumb with no memory of their past lives. Graham seems to suffer under her thumb a great deal. She eventually takes him as a lover and keeps him close to use him to do her bidding though most of the time Graham has no idea it's actually happening. This is displayed when Kurt and Owen Flynn show up in town one day and disturb the bubble. It's impossible for outsiders to show up in Storybrooke (the town they're all cursed to live in) so they're all pretty skeptical of their appearance. Eventually Regina grows fond of Owen and and wants the duo to stay for good. She tries to have the fixing of their car delayed, but she's ultimately too late. She brings Graham into her plan by speaking commands into his heart that's she's kept since his time as the Huntsman. Graham is the one to tackle Kurt when he catches her speaking commands into Graham's heart. Kurt tries to tell Graham that Regina is controlling him, but it doesn't help. The heart falls out of the box in the scuffle and hits the floor. This causes Graham to cry out in pain and Kurt is able to get away. Graham questions what the heart is, but she doesn't help. He eventually helps Regina chase him down to the town border and blocks his and Owen's exit. Kurt is eventually arrested and Owen flees. Graham has become just another pawn for Regina to manipulate into place when she needs him.

His desire to do the right thing seems to have stayed with him despite everything he's been through. When Regina's adopted son goes missing years after the curse Graham does come immediately to her aid. Whether this is linked to their "relationship" or just his personality is sorta unknown. But past actions prove it to be genuine concern for the boy and not just manipulation. Graham doesn't say much when Emma Swan returns Henry to Regina. Eventually though after Emma's accident she does wake up in Graham's police station. Since making her new world Regina seems to have put most of the people she can manipulate into places of power. Graham being the Sheriff is just another pawn she has at her disposal. Though with Emma's appearance his falsified loyalty to her seems to become more trouble than it's worse. Just being so close to Emma and Henry puts Graham on a path later.

It's Graham that is called into action when Regina wants to set up Emma, but he has no idea he's being manipulated. Regina has Archie give Emma the file that he made through multiple therapy sessions with Henry. Later he reports it stolen and Graham has to arrest her and get the file back. When she is eventually let out he is quick to ask her to become his deputy. Despite everything that happened Graham can tell she's not the person she's being portrayed as. The need to do the right thing is strong in her and Graham understands that they could use that. Even if she is a potential flight risk. Maybe it's also a desire to keep her close to him without having to worry about Regina becoming jealous.

Graham's good hearted nature is shown more and more as time goes on. He's part of the search party that goes looking for David Nolan. Despite being the Sheriff it's apparent that he cares for the residents of Storybrooke. His desire to keep them safe is strong and maybe that's why he makes a decent Sheriff there. He's not just a huntsman with emotional issues in Storybrooke. He's also there for when Henry winds up trapped underground with Archie. Despite being manipulated by Regina a number of times it's plain to see that most of the time Graham is his own man. He may be under her thumb and in her bed, but that doesn't make him Regina's. He often makes decisions for himself or he's seen talking Regina out of making decisions that could directly hurt Emma. He's the one that tells Regina that if he arrests Emma again it's just going to escalate and hurt Henry in the long run. At times it seems like Graham is her voice of reason despite all the bad choices Regina continues to make on her own behalf. Though the longer he stays in Regina's bed the more confusing things become for him. The crush he had on Emma in the beginning seems to blossom into something that not even Graham can put into words.

Eventually Emma finds out about Graham and Regina's affair. He tells her he'll be helping at an animal shelter and asks if she'll cover his night shift. So Emma does her nightly patrolling when she notices a dark figure coming from the Sheriff's house. She stops him with a nightstick only to realize that it's Graham. She puts it all together and seems to be very upset by this information. Graham tells her that he was sneaking out because they were trying to keep it from Henry. Emma later starts to ignore Graham and it begins to upset him. It's here that Graham starts to realize that he cares for Emma more than he actually realizes. The kiss spawns from an encounter in the diner later after the confrontation. Graham is throwing darts and when she refuses to speak to him he launches one at her. He barely misses her head, but she continues onward outside. Graham wastes no time following her onto the street. They argue and Graham tells her that he can't stand the idea of her outlook of him changing because of finding out. She asks why he would care and he responds with am impromptu kiss. This kiss is the spark that starts to bring his Huntsman memories back in flashes. It's also the spark that leads Graham straight to his death.

Graham immediately realizes that his relationship with Regina has never brought about any feelings like the ones when he kissed Emma. He goes immediately to her home to confirm this and kisses her after finding out Henry is asleep. The kiss brings about nothing, but Graham pursues it further and sleeps with Regina once more. He no longer understands why he's even with Regina. Because he's never truly felt anything when in her company. He's been empty. Heartless. That night Graham has a dream about a wolf and when he wakes he tries to tell Regina. She blows off his dream, but he retreats outside for air only to see a wolf in the distance. The same wolf from his dream. It leaves though and Graham can't follow. His world starts to make even less sense and he goes the rest of the evening without sleep.

This quest to figure things out leads him to Mary Margaret to question if they knew each other. Unfortunately she has no straight answers for him due to her own haze created by Regina. He later finds Henry at his home and asks him about his book of fairytale characters he's been telling Emma of. The fairytale book that features everyone from Storybrooke as their true selves. Henry tells Graham of who he actually is and what his fate was because of the Evil Queen. Henry tells Graham of a symbol that Regina used as the Evil Queen and this sparks Graham's quest to find his heart. He enlists the help of Emma and once he sees the wolf from his dreams again he wastes no time following after it. They make it to a crypt that belongs to Regina's father because of the wolf. They are later caught by Regina who demands to know why they're in her father's tomb without her permission. Graham is so broken and confused by this point. This doesn't stop him from breaking up with Regina for good. Regina and Emma wind up fighting and he takes Emma back to the Sheriff's station to clean her up.

Because of this impulsive idea Regina decides that Graham has to die. She can tell he no longer is loyal to her and with his memories growing by the day he becomes a liability. She appears visibly upset over her need to kill him, but it doesn't stop her from retreating to her chamber of hearts (which is located under the crypt) and crushing Graham's heart with her bare hands. Unfortunately when this happen he is in the company of Emma at the station. It's there that the two finally share a moment when Graham apologizes for Regina and the fight. The two kiss and Graham eventually exclaims that he remembers everything to Emma. Unfortunately because of Regina crushing his heart Graham falls dead due to a fatal heart attack and dies in Emma's arms. Graham is coming in with a half crush heart, a lot of memories and full of heartache for a blonde with intimacy issues.



Abilities/Special Powers: Graham has excellent hunting and tracking abilities. These come into play when they're hunting David Nolan during his escape from the hospital. Though Graham has no idea that he really has these abilities from his past life. It kind of just comes naturally to him. He is also a rather skilled fighter being able to best most of the people he encounters as the Huntsman. He's also decent with a sword, but he's no Prince Charming. It's assumed that he's more of a quiet killer. Graham's also got fake memories of police procedure and fire arms training.

Third-Person Sample: When Graham sits up he feels sick to his stomach. A pain churns in his chest like he's never felt. Strong and pulsating. It's like his heart is trying to beat, but something is stopping it. Something is constricting it. Something is trying to crush the life out of it. Everything Graham ever thought about his heart being gone doesn't feel true anymore. If it wasn't there then it wouldn't hurt so much right? It wouldn't be pounding so heavily and threatening to collapse under this invisible force of pressure. He can't quite pinpoint what's happening, but he knows that it's not going to end well. He feels like he's lived through this before. Something's wrong.

All the memories are flooding through him. He's firing on all cylinders at this moment. Graham Humbert and The Huntsman are merging into one and he doesn't know if he can just untangle them like that. They've melded and mixed. Identities that have become so important to him as a person. Graham Humbert was the man that met Emma. Graham was the man that she believed in. He was supposed to protect this town. The Huntsman was a bad man. He wasn't the one that you looked at with respect. You looked at him and you stepped away from the killer because that's what he was. He was a killer masquerading as something more by choosing to help Snow White. Never quite could get it right though. He still tried.

Graham's nails scratch against the ground beneath him. A quick look to his right confirms that he's next to a pool. He lets out a painful yell and tries to breathe through the pain. He's no longer in his world, but that doesn't make the pain go away. It's still there. Not growing, but not diminishing in any shape or form. He can feel bile rising in his throat, but he pushes it down further. Trying to ignore every bit of this and find his way onto his feet. He rolls onto his side and sees the device laying on the ground next to him. It's a cell phone, but he's almost certain that it's not his own. If it's not his own then he doesn't know who he can even call to get him. He doesn't know where he is. The last thing he remembers is Emma and him were back in the station. They weren't at a pool.

He snatches at the phone and takes a breath. Fingers working fast as he tries to get a call out to anyone. 911 is Graham's first idea, but it doesn't even work. It doesn't do anything. He throws it, but it bounces off the leg of a deck chair. It lands on it's side and the filming starts. What they have a view of is Graham writhing in agony by the pool. An odd mix considering how people tend to be a bit happier when they're poolside. But that's Wonderland for you right?

First-Person Sample: [ Graham's face is on the Network for the first time since his arrival. It's all been a whirlwind since the moment he arrived. He woke up near the pool with an intense pain in his chest. It was horrible. Familiar, but horrible. He remembered it all though. Every last moment of his life as the Huntsman. Everything mingled together with the Sheriff Graham Humbert persona. He knew who he was and what he was capable of. Yet he still wanted to exist in the fantasy world where he worked to help people and create order from chaos. The Huntsman had far too much tailing behind him. ]

It seems that I missed my chance to formally introduce myself when I arrived here. I was in quite a bit of pain, but I'm feeling better. My name's Graham. Graham Humbert. Though I will answers to the Huntsman if you insist. [ Maybe a part of him isn't willing to give up on Graham Humbert. He was everything that the Huntsman had never had a chance to be. Everything that he tried to be by helping Snow White escape from the Queen time and time again. Everything she believed he could be.

Graham takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. He adjusts in the chair he's occupied in the library since things have settled down. This seemed to be the most fitting place to do an introduction. ] I don't have many questions. Mostly I'd like to know how long you've all been stuck here?