OOC: Character Survery of DOOM

[simplestgift]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Average height, not too thin, but toned, although you can't tell it under his uniform.

2. How old is he?
About 25. Headcanon birthday is June 2nd, 1776, placing him at 25 at the time of his death.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He stands at an excellent attention and is extremely graceful when he's being professional, but when sitting in quiet with a friend, he tends to slouch.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He's very fit. His only trouble is a seizure disorder, but since it only bothers him in VERY specific situations he hasn't had a seizure in years.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
He has a natural grace and poise whenever space allows it.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He is VERY attractive. He knows he's a handsome fellow, but also knows it doesn't matter very much most of the time, so preening in a mirror is kept to a minimum.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Light, though he tans well.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Sort of a ruddy blonde, slightly wavy and cut in a traditional style (for modern readers, that's essentially a mullet with the long hair pulled back in a queue--it's not as ugly as it sounds).

9. What color are his eyes?
Blue.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
A small, turned-up nose he has a habit of scrunching. Delicate cheekbones.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
Jaw, arms, and back.

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
He wears a naval uniform.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
It's a uniform. He seems to relax a bit more in his shirtsleeves, though.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
During his free time, he's still an officer. He's not often seen around the enlisted men without being in full uniform.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Period underwear.



Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Naturally pretty clear, but he speaks in his lower register most of the time, which muddies it a bit. The resonance is mostly in the front of his face rather than his chest.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He talks quickly, with diction that's usually a little less pronounced than is typical for an upper class Englishman (he even says "gonna" instead of "going to" sometimes), but his diction tends to become crisper if he gets angry. Words come easily to him. Maybe too easily, actually, since he doesn't always quite hold his tongue when he should.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Upper middle class English accent.  Slightly more northern vowels, in some cases, at least from what I can tell.  He grew up in Scotland, but never picked up the regional Glaswegian accent due to having an English mother.  It happens, sometimes.  He can, however, mimic the accent perfectly.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Besides English, he speaks Spanish proficiently.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Nope!

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Very good impromptu speaker. The trouble is when he doesn't stop talking in time.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Eloquent. If he's upset enough, sometimes he won't talk at all, but he's rarely inarticulate when he's trying.



Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Bright, but not an honors student. He is both book-smart and street...er, ship-smart, both by necessity as an officer.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can think on his feet. Sometimes his heart carries him away before his brain can jump in, though. Fear either paralyzes or hypermobilizes him.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Idealistic, most definitely. He thinks with his heart rather than his brain or intuition. All the same, he's still a pessimist.  His temperament is very much part of his Scottish heritage.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
He's been thoroughly educated on ship-related subjects, including calculus and trigonometry. Mostly that education happened while he was a midshipman.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Ship stuff is his expertise, but he REALLY loves theatre and literature.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Extrovert, full stop.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
High spirited and laid-back, but when he feels, he feels strongly. So he can swing very suddenly to anger, depression, or solemnity. He is not emotionally stable.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He is comfortable with new people, but tends to size them up a bit too quickly and jump to conclusions about them. It sort of comes down to the fact that he will not immediately trust anyone. New situations are looked at exactly the same way, although in some cases, like a promising transfer, he is overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight, after a long history of resorting to flight. It's still his first instinct. He ignores it.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
All of the above, except bathroom humor, and he's more of a troll than a trickster. He has a sort of dry, cheeky wit delivered in a relatively deadpan manner.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
His seizure disorder is a conversion disorder that came from long, brutal abuse. He kicked PTSD in the teeth after suffering from it for some time.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Many, but none so much as when his best friend convinced him to drink after a long time of refusing food and water. That was the moment when he began his long journey out of a very dark period in his life that began years before with brutal treatment at the hands of another midshipman. It was the moment when he started to realize he was worth something to someone else.

14. What does he fear?
The loss of his closest friend. Serving under a maniac or an incompetent. Death. He's already been through those, though.  His greatest fear in life, currently, is that his seizures will return.  His greatest fear about death is that he will be sent to Hell because he didn't fight his abuser hard enough.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
That's something he has yet to find for himself outside the navy. Inside the navy, his greatest hope for a long time was to survive, and beyond that, take the next step in his career. In the past few years, his greatest dream was to be Horatio's first lieutenant. It upsets him a great deal that this will never happen now.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Exactly what went on between him and that bullying midshipman, and especially the resulting seizures. It's very nice, in Luceti, for no one to know the details, when it seemed no one in the navy could look him in the eye nine years ago. It's a secret he'll keep until the grave if he can.



Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
There's not much in canon, but it's suggested that he keeps in touch.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Unknown, but presumably, he has an older brother at least. He probably comes from a titled family and wouldn't go into the military if he would inherit anything. In my headcanon, he is the youngest of four surviving, with two brothers and one sister.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
None in canon. In headcanon, he and his sister are fairly close, being less than a year apart.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
His best friend, Horatio. They're heterosexual life partners. Horatio is the one person he has told his worst secrets to, and only because Horatio did not presume to know until Archie himself told him. They've gotten to the point where they don't have to use complete sentences or even words in order to understand each other.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Horatio Hornblower. Archie was the first to greet him when he came aboard his first ship.

6. Does he have other close friends?
Lieutenant Bush, initially misjudged, became a friend very quickly. He also took Mr. Wellard, a young midshipman and kindred spirit, under his wing at one point.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's likable and makes friends easily.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Both are important, but no one outranks Horatio.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Always been single.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No such thing is suggested in canon.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
In headcanon, his first crush was an actress named Kitty Cobham. Lately, he hasn't had time for crushes, or even opportunity.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He likes girls who laugh at his jokes, share his interests, and generally aren't cookie-cutter representations of the expectations of their time. His headcanon taste in women is based off Kitty Cobham, who is a witty, intelligent, wily, leggy brunette with blue eyes.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No children, but he'd like to be a father one day.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He used to, but not now.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He's straight. If he ever had leanings in the other direction, he got scared away. Not to mention the whole "might get hung" aspect to it. His sexuality is slightly confused by previous abuse. Being an officer on a ship, he hasn't had many opportunities to rehabilitate in that way. Whether or not he had bisexual tendencies before his abuse is something I have not explored, and probably never will.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
It makes him nervous.  He can't always shake the feeling that he's doing something morally reprehensible.  So while he likes to flirt on shore leave, going a lot further can be a bit nerve-wracking because he's afraid of panicking or humiliating himself, which only aggravates it further. That frustrates him, since he's still interested in sex. In a relationship, he's usually much more comfortable romancing than seducing, so that's what he focuses on.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
He would like playful sex if he found a partner he was wholly confident with. Rough sex not so much. Being touched there with hands isn't pleasurable for him and only makes him uncomfortable.



Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
No date of birth, but I imagine he's a Gemini. He fits it pretty well. His headcanon birthday is June 2nd.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He believes in God, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, but he's not really that devout. He's Anglican.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He has a strong sense of right and wrong, justice and injustice, and they aren't always compatible with the law.  Again, Scottish heritage.  He doesn't follow the stereotypical English sense of justice as it is on paper.  He does have very strong feelings about kids in their teens who are potentially in trouble, since the trials he went through at that age would have been very much avoidable if he'd had someone to take him seriously--at least, someone who could have or been willing to do something about it.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
For his time, he's pretty tolerant. Living at close quarters with people and all, he doesn't like to let things cause problems between him and other people.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
The French. They're at war. He also tends to get uncomfortable around gay men. He knows the man who abused him wasn't gay, but he doesn't like the feeling that he's being checked out. Normal prejudices and misunderstandings apply in this case.



Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Comfortableish. Not a lot of shopping to do on a ship, but he can do mostly what he pleases on shore leave.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Upper class junior lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Being a commissioned officer, mostly, gives him some social standing.

3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
He shared a cabin with Horatio and Bush.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Plays. Booze. He likes to have a good time on shore leave.

5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He is good at it and likes it. He hasn't really considered other options, but he'd be better suited to something else. What he'd be better suited to is never clear.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He loves plays. He can quote whole passages from them. He likes to spend his free time in a book or with good friends.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He eats as much as he's rationed, generally. Alcohol is something he won't over-indulge in on duty, but he can drink very well when he's on shore leave.



Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:

1. Color?
Red or gold.
2. Smell?
Fresh coffee, roast beef, oranges, or other fresh foods he doesn't get very often.
3. Time of day?
Depends on the time of year. In the summer, he likes early morning. In winter, he likes mid-afternoon.
4. Season?
Summer
5. Book?
Robinson Crusoe
6. Music?
Opera
7. Place?
Drury Lane
8. Substance?
Gunpowder
9. Plant?
Tall grass, for some reason.
10. Animal?
Sheltie. Maybe a fox.



END
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