User blog comment:Tanglefrost/Survivor: Con Dao- Character Applications/@comment-44533465-20200112173358

 Name (Age): Lawrence Madsen (44)

Current Residence: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Occupation: Physiotherapist

Claim to Fame: Other than being able to provide for my family, I’d have to say that I can make a pretty mean omelette.

Hobbies: I really enjoy taking long walks. It’s just really calming to me for some reason. Just being out there, by yourself.. It puts me in a peaceful state of mind. I don’t have a lot of time for myself most days, but whenever I do I also enjoy reading books, especially murder mystery novels, baking and even knitting.

Pet Peeves: People who take everything for granted. I would describe myself as a hard worker, and something about people who just lie around doing nothing irks me, y’know? People who expect everything to just come to them instead of working to reach their goals. Those kind of people really annoy me.

If You Could Have Three Things on the Island, What Would They Be and Why:

1. A picture of my daughter. I know, I know, most people always say they will bring a picture of their family, but.. My daughter plays a huge part of my world. She’s my world. I would do anything for her. 2. I think I’d also like to take a music player of sorts, because being there is definitely going to be stressful and I find music to be a great stress reliever. At least for me, that is. 3. A good book to keep me entertained. I enjoy reading quite a bit, and I would love to have something to read during my stay on the island.

SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like (can be my fanon or canon): Uhhh, that’s a tough question. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that when most people see me, they’ll immediately think of Rupert from Cook Islands, Blood vs Water and all of that. We’re both big, burly men after all. Hell, they might compare me to Mark (Herlaar) from Australian Survivor too. And while I can see the resemblance between the two of us, I think I’m more like Keith Nale. I may not look like the guy, but I like to believe I have a good heart like him.

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: Well, uh, the main reason I’m going on SURVIVOR is definitely my 8 year old daughter, Samantha. I’m a single dad, so most of the stuff I do is for her. The prize could definitely help us a whole lot in life. Plus, Sammie and I are major SURVIVOR fans, and so I hope that she and I will have a fun time watching the show. She’ll probably make fun of everything I do there though, haha.

Why You Will "Survive" SURVIVOR: I think I will survive SURVIVOR because I know how to play the game. I’m going to fight hard and never give up, no matter how hard things may be.

Why You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: I’m a hard worker who never gives up even when things seem rough. I think I’ll be great at challenges, considering I am in pretty good shape. I’ll try to play the role of the provider early on and try to get on everyone’s good side, try to form alliances and stick with them for as long as I can, but I’m not afraid to make big moves if necessary. I’m here to survive for the next 39 days, and I know for a fact that I’m not going to get there by just sitting idly.

Manga: 

'''Rate you castaway's strategic, physical and social game out of 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Provide a reason why you chose the numbers.'''

Physical - 8. I think Lawrence will do quite alright when it comes to the physical portion of the game. He’s a big, muscular, strong guy standing tall at about 6’4. He tries to eat clean and work out on a regular basis, and that is definitely going to help him. However, due to his height and size, he could mess up in endurance challenges, or in challenges where he must keep his balance. Overall though, I think he’s going to be pretty solid in this portion.

Strategic - 5. There’s always room for improvement, but Lawrence is definitely not dense. He’s going to try and play a loyal game, sure, but he knows that in order to win he needs to make moves and he’s ready for it. He’s in this game to win, and if he needs to cut the people he’s working with, he will do it, although he could feel bad about it. However, Lawrence is not some sort of a strategic mastermind.

Socially - 6.5. In my eyes, Lawrence can do quite well in the social part of the game, but at the same time I can see people getting annoyed with him. He has a strong work ethic, and while he’s not going to preach to everyone that they should work all the time, his work ethic could get on some people’s nerves. However, Lawrence is a pretty sweet guy, who in his life always puts other people’s needs before his own. I’m not sure if it’s going to translate well into this game, as he’s in this to win this. He is going to work hard at camp and try to provide for his tribe, which could be a reason to keep him, and so might help him in his social game.

What could cause your castaway to win?

I think what could give Lawrence the win is definitely the tight bonds he’s going to try and create with the people in his tribe and for his physical game. He’s definitely someone who’s going to try and get on people’s good side, and hopefully he’ll be able to maintain those relationships in order for him to win that prize. While he is not going to go all out, guns ablazin and go for the biggest moves, I do think Lawrence could potentially make moves that will further his game, and potentially earn some respect from the jury.

What could cause your castaway to lose?

The way I see it, Lawrence could be an early boot, when most people don’t know him just yet. His work ethic could cause some people to target him, as while he it could get on some people’s nerves. Other reasons for a pre-merge elimination could be people being afraid to go with a massive physical threat like him into the merge, or people trying to weaken an alliance he’s in by taking out one of their numbers, or that he could go into a new tribe after a swap with no strong relationships, causing his elimination. For a merge boot, people could definitely see him as a physical threat and turn on him. People could view his strong relationships with some people as threatening.

'''What kind of castaways would your castaways align with? '''

Lawrence is going to try and remain on everyone’s good side, but he is most likely to try and align with either hard-working people such as himself, or people he’s just getting a good vibe from. I can definitely see him aligning with a younger castaway, having a father son/daughter like relationship. Generally, I think Lawrence is just going to go with people who he feels he can trust. People he feels are trustworthy and he can enjoy being around. However, he knows that in order to win, he needs to form bonds with people he likes less too.

What kind of characters would your castaways avoid or be enemies with?

The unapologetic, rude characters who think they deserve the world. Lawrence is not a big fan of people with these beliefs, and is going to try and get them out as soon as possible. He wants to move as a team, and he’s going to try and maintain peace on his tribe. So troublemakers might be on his radar too. While he is going to try and avoid conflict as much as he can, those kind of players are definitely the ones he’ll have a harder time with.

Please provide a small paragraph of backstory.

A big, caring man who stands tall at 6’4. Lawrence is a single father from Pittsburgh, who works as a Physiotherapist. Lawrence Madsen was born to a middle class family, and is the only son of Timothee (71) and Michelle (68) who only had one goal for their kid when he was older - they didn’t care about what he’ll do and what he’ll be, all they wanted was for him to be kind. As a result of that, he volunteered quite a lot in homeless shelters and when he turned ten, he had a part time job at the local animal shelter. As a student, he was pretty alright. Not a troublemaker, but not a great student either. He was average, and he liked it that way. When Lawrence finished high school, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Unlike some of his friends, he never had a plan set in stone. Eventually, thanks to his parents’ education, he decided to become a Physiotherapist, knowing that with this job he could definitely help people. And so he got his bachelor degree and went on to study physiotherapy. After graduating, he started working at a rehabilitation clinic as a Physiotherapist.

When Lawrence turned 28, he met the love of his life. Her name was Lauren, a woman younger than him by two years who worked in the local cafe. The two got married after three years of dating, and after four more years together, Lauren told Lawrence she was pregnant. However, she died while giving birth to the baby. Lawrence named the baby Samantha, and he has dedicated his life for her, attempting to give her the best life she could possibly have. He worked his butt off, working from 7 to 5 on every day, rushing to pick Sammie from school and then trying to spend as much time as he could with his young daughter. ‘It’s hard, but it pays off’ he says.

'''Do you consent to having your manga altered (such as natural hair shades, eye colours, custom clothing/face details) if your castaway is cast? (under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will this impact your character's chances of being cast)'''

Yeah, I’m fine with that.