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stats & meta ♈ hollyheights
《 RATE YOUR CHARACTER'S 》
STRENGTH: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
SPEED: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
INTELLIGENCE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
WILLPOWER: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
CHARISMA: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ENDURANCE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
LUCK: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
MENTAL STABILITY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
EMOTIONAL STABILITY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
PHYSICAL STABILITY: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
《 RATE YOUR CHARACTER'S ABILITIES IN 》
CLOSE RANGE COMBAT: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
CLOSE RANGE WEAPONRY: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
LONG RANGE WEAPONRY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
COMMUNICATIONS: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ESPIONAGE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
SURVIVAL SKILLS: ★★★★★★ 〤 highly excellent
SCIENCES: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ENGINEERING: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
MEDICINE: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
MECHANICS: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
LEADERSHIP: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
TRADE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
THE ARTS: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
ALCOHOL: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
DATING: ☆☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 absent
SEX: ☆☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 absent
INTIMACY: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
BODY & APPEARANCE
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's an awkwardly growing teenage boy. Skinny as a fucking rail, all angles, long legs and jackknife elbows. Brittle and bony; junkyard boy.
2. How old is he?
However old he is, he'll introduce himself as Almost-The Next-Year old. Right now, he's "almost fifteen."
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He's got a very uneasy slouch walking, more like a guarded hunch than anything. When he's actually laying down, he's a boneyard, sort of sprawling all over stupidly.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Pretty poor general health overall; he's always slightly malnourished and sickly-skinned, and his eye always looks tired. That being said, he doesn't get sick too often, or tends to just keep going when he is. He's got a lot of adrenaline from being stressed out all the time, so he acts semi-athletic in his running around. He's blind in one eye, and has nerve damage in his right hand.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Tense x 300. Jerky and unsure movements, fast, long-legged stride, snappish and twitchy with his hands. He can be a bit clumsy, but it's mostly because he's so abrupt.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's a scrawny busted up teenager, he's not attractive. He doesn't really bother perceiving himself, physical looks don't actually come up on the list of stuff he cares about. He's neither physically secure nor insecure, really, it's a non-factor.
He does want to have a better smile, sometimes, but he doesn't lose sleep over it. He used to want to be taller, and then he started having a bunch of really awkward and annoying growth spurts.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale, sickly, freckly, scarred. No acne, he has very cold and dry skin.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Bright fucking orange, dry as sticks, very coppery and reflective. He doesn't take care of it, although he does like washing, so it's not gross, it's just really unkempt. In a constant state of being grown out and hacked-off and ambiguous, style-wise. Very ruffle-able, scruffy kid hair.
9. What color are his eyes?
One is dead and off-white, and he has a vertical scar from his eyebrow to his cheek. The other one is puke green and sick of your shit.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
The expressions in his mouth are generally off-putting; tendency for sharp frowns, too much teeth when grinning, and absent snarls.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Everywhere.
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's got a very "whatever was at good will," grunge/punk style. He doesn't really give a shit about clothes, so he's usually wearing a t-shirt with some mysterious stain and a ripped collar, and jeans that could probably walk themselves to the washing machine. A wrist band or a baseball cap might occasionally apply. His personal taste is kind of tacky, he doesn't understand colours or patterns at all. He gets cold easy, he's a layers kind of kid. Everything is mended (by him) and stained (by him).
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They're always kind of baggy, hand-me downs and growing-boy-what-the-fuck-size-am-I-today size. He's barely aware he's wearing clothes, I don't think it's really a comfort/confidence thing.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He dresses the same everywhere. He'd probably wear his uniform, if he had one, like a disheveled fucking hood rat.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers. Y-fronts are for kidbabies.
SPEECH
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Like a teenage boy from an inner city. Shitty tenor.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He's got indigestion of the mouth; he sort of alternates between barking things really tersely and snapping away at long sentences like he has a limited supply of oxygen and time to tell you how dumb you are. Very tense and abrupt, either way. When he's comfortable, he slows down more and has a tendency to ramble on like a dumb kid.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He bites off the end of words, includes a lot of ah-sounds (yah, did'ja, ya, what'dya), and uses shitty city slang.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Canon is non-specific and unhelpful? DOGS is set in "A European city," it seems to be mostly German and Italian in style. I assume English is most common, and that Badou speaks it fluently. He also knows a lot of French and some German, maybe a few other helpful words in other languages.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He might speak French with his brother, when they need to/want to. I assume they're sort of second-generation, whoops-I'm forgetting-my-native-language-Nana's-gonna-be-pissed about it, though. He speaks English 90% of the time.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Ssssort of... both? He's the king of the quick come back, and can keep up and contribute to conversations. However his tone/word choice usually ruffles feathers, so serious conversations are easily derailed because he constantly struggles with knowing How To Say Something, not really What To Say.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Both. He's extremely articulate for his age, just not in a good way. Again, he becomes inarticulate when he finds it hard to figure out how to say things, in circumstances that he's uncomfortable in. He's good at understanding concepts and really mature things, but his communication skills have sort of been offensively honed.
MENTAL & EMOTIONAL
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Very intelligent, although clever is probably a better word. He's street smart, but he wants to be able to use language in a way that's street-smart and book-smart combined. He struggles with it; he hates classroom/book learning, and the only shit he reads is newspapers, comics, and magazines.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Thinks on his feet. He makes a lot of instant decisions, he doesn't tend to agonize over something. Do it or don't.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
His thought process is sort of knife-like logical, he's not at all inuitive; he's very cynical and skeptical, and he obsesses a bit over truth. That being said, he's temperamental and moody emotionally, and tends to become sort of rubbed raw easily, and THEN all that logic goes out the window in favour of teenage melodrama and punching everything he can reach. He's painfully practical for his age, because he has to be.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
A couple years of formal education, but he started skipping school as soon as he had numbers and letters down, basically. He's the type of kid that teachers don't want showing up anyway, because his attitude sucks and he doesn't get along with the other kids.He only went because Dave wanted him to, he hates school with a passion.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His area of expertise is surviving. He's interested in journalism, info gathering, and photography. He's curious about lots of things, though.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
A failed extrovert. He internalizes everything and has tons of trouble dealing with people, but he's drawn to them out of curiosity and everything he's interested in involves them. He's like a hydrophobic professional swimmer.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Short-tempered, moody as FUCK. Hormonal teenager with boy PMS and massive seinen baggage, basically. Tends towards melancholy because he's really just fucking burnt out on human emotions by like noon every day. He's driven, but in a sort of self-destructive way. He's constantly in need of outlets for his wired-ass, stressed out energy.
8. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Yes.
9. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Yes.
10. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Rough and ready bro-humour is his jam. Anything sort of crude, sort of clever, sort of dark and offensive can get a grin out of him. Yo Mama jokes would be his sense of humour in a nutshell; he likes giving people a hard time, and even kind of getting a hard time, it's the best/only way he can communicate affection effectively.
While he'd like pranks, he's not a very good prankster himself, because he'd probably Cross The Line too quickly. Other people's limits are hard!
11. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Badou is kind of a ticking time bomb at this stage. He's always been a bad seed and a kind of mean, shitty animal-boy, who just got twisted up a little too much with the stress of living in the City and with his brother (who is a good brother but a not so great guardian/provider). He's just recently been through a crazy traumatic situation, getting his home invaded by Underground bogeymen, and losing half his sight and the only person he's ever relied on and trusted in his whole life. Pre-Holly Heights, he was living on the street, but not so long enough that he could rule out Dave's death (read; get out of denial about it) or completely snap under the stress of everything.
In current canon, he eventually does go crazy and become a sort of smoke-powered gun-for-hire berserker, not at all adverse to wholesale manslaughter for pay. He also becomes much more laid back for it -- Badou sort of gets better by letting go of all that anxiety through insanity, ending up apathetic but more functional, more fearless, completely independent, and able to deal better with other people's shit, because he's burnt out on caring. He enjoys living in moments, because he finally accepts that shit just don't last, you can't worry about, you'll just make yourself a mess. It's his life to waste now that he's on his own, and he'll do whatever the fuck he wants with it.
As of right now, Badou's still wound-up as fuck and dependent on Dave's existence, unspeakably angry and anxious and sad, but fighting that sort of intense capacity for violence he carries, not letting it break him into something nasty. He's emotionally strung out, but he's at least capable of emotions still, even if it's sometimes a huge struggle. It's all pretty self-aware, too; he knows he's a Bad Boy, and he doesn't want to be worse, but mostly thinks there's no other way things are gonna turn out. It's a weird and precarious mental juncture to be at.
12. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Everything I just typed. The Underground is hard fucking knocks, yo. And Dave is his constant definer, by example and by inverse.
13. What does he fear?
Losing Dave for good. Becoming himself. Trusting people.
14. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He essentially just wants to be Dave. He wants to be able to be charming and easy-going and good at writing and talking to people and getting info and making a difference and finding truth and giving the middle finger to everyone who say he can't yeah!!
He can't be any of that, though, and most of him knows it. It still sucks.
15. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Basically everything about everything! He is a mistrustful little shitfuck. But especially anything to do with his brother; everything in that category rubs him raw instantly. He also worries in Holly Heights that people might find out he's maybe sort of sick in a way he doesn't really understand or like. He's always felt sort of isolated, but Holly Heights makes it about a hundred times worse, since most people are really normal and nice. He couldn't even tell Dave about it, because Dave's name of the game was "ignore it he'll work it out himself." Whoops.
RELATIONSHIPS
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Non-existent; he never met them! He's 100% fine with it, though, even tends to pull the "I'm an orphan" card to fuck with people or get something to go in his favour.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Wow no just read my app. Quick run, Badou is devoted to Dave, Dave is devoted to his goals. Dave looks at the big picture so much the details sort of fade away, details like food and electricity and his messed-up kid brother. Their issues get along, but sure are different. Through everything, they love and trust each other exclusively, maybe when they shouldn't. TL;DR, it's fuckin complicated.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
No other relatives. Again, he doesn't care. You can't miss what you never had.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
No. Dave is his actual world.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He doesn't have a best friend.
6. Does he have other close friends?
No.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
LMFAO JESUS see everything above.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Dave.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
He's fourteen, he's single and doesn't care.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Nope.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He's not much for crushes. He doesn't really understand romance, his only example of it is Dave and his one-night-stands. Dave prioritizes sex/relationships really low, so Badou has ended up doing so without actually having a goal to focus on instead.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't. He does tend to be drawn to rougher people with thick skin, who will put up with him and maybe make him laugh.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
FOURTEEN YEAR OLD TEENAGE BOY
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Everyone's a default enemy if you don't trust people.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He has had a ton of shit to worry about that wasn't his orientation until this point! He hasn't really spent any time thinking about himself romantically at all. He's probably more aromantic/asexual right now than anything, he has a hard enough time just connecting platonically with people.
That being said, he might become more romantically active in HH given enough time, and he'll probably fall somewhere like 2 on the Kinsey eventually; predominantly heterosexual, with a small window for male exceptions.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Completely uninterested. He's already seen and been exposed to a ton of it, so there's no mystery or romance about it left. He's not that impressed, but he knows it's a topic that makes people uncomfortable, so he can get pretty crude about it.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
EXEMPTS HIM FROM THIS QUESTION
BELIEFS
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
I'll come back to this whoops
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Neither. Not at all important. Dave and he look for facts and stories, not spiritual guidance. He's had a humanist upbringing in a shitty environment, religion is the last thing on his mind.
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 wants and tries to have Dave's code of ethics, but he can be much more callous than his brother, mostly since he prioritizes his and Dave's safety/well-being over everything else (Dave doesn't... have this boundary). Although Dave's a practical idealist, Badou is a straight up realist, and he knows a lot of fucked up shit happens to nice people and there's not a lot of sense to it most of the time. He already considers people who do unambiguously fucked up shit to be scum that deserve the violent, awful things that tend to happen to them. Sex workers and info brokers and mercs and drug dealers kind of get a pass, they're just part of the landscape people make up, trying to make a living.
He would compromise anything for him and Dave.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Curious or indifferent, depends how interesting the person holding the beliefs in question is. He's not really tolerant or intolerant.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He has a general prejudice against people? It's slightly well founded; you can't and shouldn't trust too easily in the Underground. At Holly Heights, it seems really irrational, though.
DAILY LIFE
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Poor and in debt. Dave never got a job outside of his writing, so they lived off commission work, mooching, and bookie loans. They had a roof over their head, but not always water or food, and definitely nobody got anything new ever. In Holly Heights, he's continued living a stingy life, as he owes a lot of money to Worick and Nic.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He started as a poor kid that fell to being a poor street kid. The change wasn't good.
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 lived in a really shitty, dingy flat in the city with his brother, but he would have been fiercely protective of their space (which makes what inevitably happens even more awful). Home is a place where you can lock all the doors and windows and no one can get you; it's a home base to operate out of and a secret to keep safe. Badou doesn't ever feel protected, so having a safe place is kind of a big thing. Living on the streets after that wasn't very safe feeling.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
He doesn't, really. In Holly Heights he might spend some money pursuing his interests and likes a bit (journalism, photography, movies, extra food, maybe some music), but he's really cheap.
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 does whatever he can to get by. Dave made him go to school, and he was too young to get properly hired, but he picks up slack where he can with whatever he can. In Holly Heights, he immediately picked up a lot of jobs in the first month.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He spends his free time primarily getting into trouble and hustling for cash and info. He likes movies a lot, being partially TV-raised, and journalism and photography, idolizing Dave's work. He likes playing and watching baseball and football, but recreational sports fall kind of low on his list of priorities. He also spent a lot of time in the City mending clothes, cooking, doing laundry, and generally being the domestic hand for the Nails brothers; he doesn't like it, but he's good at it.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He's a growing teen, he eats everything anytime anywhere. He's used to lean portions and lean paycheques, and living on the street teaches you to get when the going's good, so he has a kind of feast-or-famine mentality. If it's there, devour it. If it's not, eat what you can and work hard for a better meal.
He's had alcohol before, but it mostly embarrasses him to be drunk and let his guard down, and he doesn't really get what all the fuss is about. Booze falls into the same category as sex, really -- people seem to really like it, but they also waste a lot of time and money on it that could be better spent doing something less dumb.
ASSOCIATIONS
i. Colours?
Candy red, dark red, bright orange, puke/murky green, off-white, black.
ii. Smells?
Blood, burning, antiseptic, wet sneakers, breakfast, cold concrete, sweat, smoke, fear.
iii. Time of day?
Late evening to early morning; unnoticed hours.
iv. Season?
Winter.
v. Book?
NEWSPAPERS
vi. Music?
Loud and obnoxious, but varied. Punk, rock, ska, metal. Something with a thrum and a beat that can give you a headache.
vii. Place?
The dark, an empty alley, a bath tub, beside his brother.
viii. Substance?
Cigarettes.
ix. Plant?
Weeds in the sidewalk, fungus.
x. Animal?
Stray dogs, foxes, carrion eaters.
xi. Virtue?
Temperance. "Temperance is an Athenian virtue."
xii. Vice?
Wrath. "Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest."
STRENGTH: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
SPEED: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
INTELLIGENCE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
WILLPOWER: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
CHARISMA: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ENDURANCE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
LUCK: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
MENTAL STABILITY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
EMOTIONAL STABILITY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
PHYSICAL STABILITY: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
《 RATE YOUR CHARACTER'S ABILITIES IN 》
CLOSE RANGE COMBAT: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
CLOSE RANGE WEAPONRY: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
LONG RANGE WEAPONRY: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
COMMUNICATIONS: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ESPIONAGE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
SURVIVAL SKILLS: ★★★★★★ 〤 highly excellent
SCIENCES: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
ENGINEERING: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
MEDICINE: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
MECHANICS: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
LEADERSHIP: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
TRADE: ★★★★☆☆ 〤 above average
THE ARTS: ★★☆☆☆☆ 〤 below average
ALCOHOL: ★★★☆☆☆ 〤 average
DATING: ☆☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 absent
SEX: ☆☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 absent
INTIMACY: ★☆☆☆☆☆ 〤 poor
BODY & APPEARANCE
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's an awkwardly growing teenage boy. Skinny as a fucking rail, all angles, long legs and jackknife elbows. Brittle and bony; junkyard boy.
2. How old is he?
However old he is, he'll introduce himself as Almost-The Next-Year old. Right now, he's "almost fifteen."
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He's got a very uneasy slouch walking, more like a guarded hunch than anything. When he's actually laying down, he's a boneyard, sort of sprawling all over stupidly.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Pretty poor general health overall; he's always slightly malnourished and sickly-skinned, and his eye always looks tired. That being said, he doesn't get sick too often, or tends to just keep going when he is. He's got a lot of adrenaline from being stressed out all the time, so he acts semi-athletic in his running around. He's blind in one eye, and has nerve damage in his right hand.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Tense x 300. Jerky and unsure movements, fast, long-legged stride, snappish and twitchy with his hands. He can be a bit clumsy, but it's mostly because he's so abrupt.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's a scrawny busted up teenager, he's not attractive. He doesn't really bother perceiving himself, physical looks don't actually come up on the list of stuff he cares about. He's neither physically secure nor insecure, really, it's a non-factor.
He does want to have a better smile, sometimes, but he doesn't lose sleep over it. He used to want to be taller, and then he started having a bunch of really awkward and annoying growth spurts.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale, sickly, freckly, scarred. No acne, he has very cold and dry skin.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Bright fucking orange, dry as sticks, very coppery and reflective. He doesn't take care of it, although he does like washing, so it's not gross, it's just really unkempt. In a constant state of being grown out and hacked-off and ambiguous, style-wise. Very ruffle-able, scruffy kid hair.
9. What color are his eyes?
One is dead and off-white, and he has a vertical scar from his eyebrow to his cheek. The other one is puke green and sick of your shit.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
The expressions in his mouth are generally off-putting; tendency for sharp frowns, too much teeth when grinning, and absent snarls.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Everywhere.
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's got a very "whatever was at good will," grunge/punk style. He doesn't really give a shit about clothes, so he's usually wearing a t-shirt with some mysterious stain and a ripped collar, and jeans that could probably walk themselves to the washing machine. A wrist band or a baseball cap might occasionally apply. His personal taste is kind of tacky, he doesn't understand colours or patterns at all. He gets cold easy, he's a layers kind of kid. Everything is mended (by him) and stained (by him).
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They're always kind of baggy, hand-me downs and growing-boy-what-the-fuck-size-am-I-today size. He's barely aware he's wearing clothes, I don't think it's really a comfort/confidence thing.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He dresses the same everywhere. He'd probably wear his uniform, if he had one, like a disheveled fucking hood rat.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers. Y-fronts are for kidbabies.
SPEECH
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Like a teenage boy from an inner city. Shitty tenor.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He's got indigestion of the mouth; he sort of alternates between barking things really tersely and snapping away at long sentences like he has a limited supply of oxygen and time to tell you how dumb you are. Very tense and abrupt, either way. When he's comfortable, he slows down more and has a tendency to ramble on like a dumb kid.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He bites off the end of words, includes a lot of ah-sounds (yah, did'ja, ya, what'dya), and uses shitty city slang.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Canon is non-specific and unhelpful? DOGS is set in "A European city," it seems to be mostly German and Italian in style. I assume English is most common, and that Badou speaks it fluently. He also knows a lot of French and some German, maybe a few other helpful words in other languages.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He might speak French with his brother, when they need to/want to. I assume they're sort of second-generation, whoops-I'm forgetting-my-native-language-Nana's-gonna-be-pissed about it, though. He speaks English 90% of the time.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Ssssort of... both? He's the king of the quick come back, and can keep up and contribute to conversations. However his tone/word choice usually ruffles feathers, so serious conversations are easily derailed because he constantly struggles with knowing How To Say Something, not really What To Say.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Both. He's extremely articulate for his age, just not in a good way. Again, he becomes inarticulate when he finds it hard to figure out how to say things, in circumstances that he's uncomfortable in. He's good at understanding concepts and really mature things, but his communication skills have sort of been offensively honed.
MENTAL & EMOTIONAL
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Very intelligent, although clever is probably a better word. He's street smart, but he wants to be able to use language in a way that's street-smart and book-smart combined. He struggles with it; he hates classroom/book learning, and the only shit he reads is newspapers, comics, and magazines.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Thinks on his feet. He makes a lot of instant decisions, he doesn't tend to agonize over something. Do it or don't.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
His thought process is sort of knife-like logical, he's not at all inuitive; he's very cynical and skeptical, and he obsesses a bit over truth. That being said, he's temperamental and moody emotionally, and tends to become sort of rubbed raw easily, and THEN all that logic goes out the window in favour of teenage melodrama and punching everything he can reach. He's painfully practical for his age, because he has to be.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
A couple years of formal education, but he started skipping school as soon as he had numbers and letters down, basically. He's the type of kid that teachers don't want showing up anyway, because his attitude sucks and he doesn't get along with the other kids.He only went because Dave wanted him to, he hates school with a passion.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His area of expertise is surviving. He's interested in journalism, info gathering, and photography. He's curious about lots of things, though.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
A failed extrovert. He internalizes everything and has tons of trouble dealing with people, but he's drawn to them out of curiosity and everything he's interested in involves them. He's like a hydrophobic professional swimmer.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Short-tempered, moody as FUCK. Hormonal teenager with boy PMS and massive seinen baggage, basically. Tends towards melancholy because he's really just fucking burnt out on human emotions by like noon every day. He's driven, but in a sort of self-destructive way. He's constantly in need of outlets for his wired-ass, stressed out energy.
8. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Yes.
9. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Yes.
10. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Rough and ready bro-humour is his jam. Anything sort of crude, sort of clever, sort of dark and offensive can get a grin out of him. Yo Mama jokes would be his sense of humour in a nutshell; he likes giving people a hard time, and even kind of getting a hard time, it's the best/only way he can communicate affection effectively.
While he'd like pranks, he's not a very good prankster himself, because he'd probably Cross The Line too quickly. Other people's limits are hard!
11. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Badou is kind of a ticking time bomb at this stage. He's always been a bad seed and a kind of mean, shitty animal-boy, who just got twisted up a little too much with the stress of living in the City and with his brother (who is a good brother but a not so great guardian/provider). He's just recently been through a crazy traumatic situation, getting his home invaded by Underground bogeymen, and losing half his sight and the only person he's ever relied on and trusted in his whole life. Pre-Holly Heights, he was living on the street, but not so long enough that he could rule out Dave's death (read; get out of denial about it) or completely snap under the stress of everything.
In current canon, he eventually does go crazy and become a sort of smoke-powered gun-for-hire berserker, not at all adverse to wholesale manslaughter for pay. He also becomes much more laid back for it -- Badou sort of gets better by letting go of all that anxiety through insanity, ending up apathetic but more functional, more fearless, completely independent, and able to deal better with other people's shit, because he's burnt out on caring. He enjoys living in moments, because he finally accepts that shit just don't last, you can't worry about, you'll just make yourself a mess. It's his life to waste now that he's on his own, and he'll do whatever the fuck he wants with it.
As of right now, Badou's still wound-up as fuck and dependent on Dave's existence, unspeakably angry and anxious and sad, but fighting that sort of intense capacity for violence he carries, not letting it break him into something nasty. He's emotionally strung out, but he's at least capable of emotions still, even if it's sometimes a huge struggle. It's all pretty self-aware, too; he knows he's a Bad Boy, and he doesn't want to be worse, but mostly thinks there's no other way things are gonna turn out. It's a weird and precarious mental juncture to be at.
12. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Everything I just typed. The Underground is hard fucking knocks, yo. And Dave is his constant definer, by example and by inverse.
13. What does he fear?
Losing Dave for good. Becoming himself. Trusting people.
14. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He essentially just wants to be Dave. He wants to be able to be charming and easy-going and good at writing and talking to people and getting info and making a difference and finding truth and giving the middle finger to everyone who say he can't yeah!!
He can't be any of that, though, and most of him knows it. It still sucks.
15. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Basically everything about everything! He is a mistrustful little shitfuck. But especially anything to do with his brother; everything in that category rubs him raw instantly. He also worries in Holly Heights that people might find out he's maybe sort of sick in a way he doesn't really understand or like. He's always felt sort of isolated, but Holly Heights makes it about a hundred times worse, since most people are really normal and nice. He couldn't even tell Dave about it, because Dave's name of the game was "ignore it he'll work it out himself." Whoops.
RELATIONSHIPS
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Non-existent; he never met them! He's 100% fine with it, though, even tends to pull the "I'm an orphan" card to fuck with people or get something to go in his favour.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Wow no just read my app. Quick run, Badou is devoted to Dave, Dave is devoted to his goals. Dave looks at the big picture so much the details sort of fade away, details like food and electricity and his messed-up kid brother. Their issues get along, but sure are different. Through everything, they love and trust each other exclusively, maybe when they shouldn't. TL;DR, it's fuckin complicated.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
No other relatives. Again, he doesn't care. You can't miss what you never had.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
No. Dave is his actual world.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He doesn't have a best friend.
6. Does he have other close friends?
No.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
LMFAO JESUS see everything above.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Dave.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
He's fourteen, he's single and doesn't care.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Nope.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He's not much for crushes. He doesn't really understand romance, his only example of it is Dave and his one-night-stands. Dave prioritizes sex/relationships really low, so Badou has ended up doing so without actually having a goal to focus on instead.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't. He does tend to be drawn to rougher people with thick skin, who will put up with him and maybe make him laugh.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
FOURTEEN YEAR OLD TEENAGE BOY
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Everyone's a default enemy if you don't trust people.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He has had a ton of shit to worry about that wasn't his orientation until this point! He hasn't really spent any time thinking about himself romantically at all. He's probably more aromantic/asexual right now than anything, he has a hard enough time just connecting platonically with people.
That being said, he might become more romantically active in HH given enough time, and he'll probably fall somewhere like 2 on the Kinsey eventually; predominantly heterosexual, with a small window for male exceptions.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Completely uninterested. He's already seen and been exposed to a ton of it, so there's no mystery or romance about it left. He's not that impressed, but he knows it's a topic that makes people uncomfortable, so he can get pretty crude about it.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
EXEMPTS HIM FROM THIS QUESTION
BELIEFS
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
I'll come back to this whoops
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Neither. Not at all important. Dave and he look for facts and stories, not spiritual guidance. He's had a humanist upbringing in a shitty environment, religion is the last thing on his mind.
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 wants and tries to have Dave's code of ethics, but he can be much more callous than his brother, mostly since he prioritizes his and Dave's safety/well-being over everything else (Dave doesn't... have this boundary). Although Dave's a practical idealist, Badou is a straight up realist, and he knows a lot of fucked up shit happens to nice people and there's not a lot of sense to it most of the time. He already considers people who do unambiguously fucked up shit to be scum that deserve the violent, awful things that tend to happen to them. Sex workers and info brokers and mercs and drug dealers kind of get a pass, they're just part of the landscape people make up, trying to make a living.
He would compromise anything for him and Dave.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Curious or indifferent, depends how interesting the person holding the beliefs in question is. He's not really tolerant or intolerant.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He has a general prejudice against people? It's slightly well founded; you can't and shouldn't trust too easily in the Underground. At Holly Heights, it seems really irrational, though.
DAILY LIFE
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Poor and in debt. Dave never got a job outside of his writing, so they lived off commission work, mooching, and bookie loans. They had a roof over their head, but not always water or food, and definitely nobody got anything new ever. In Holly Heights, he's continued living a stingy life, as he owes a lot of money to Worick and Nic.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He started as a poor kid that fell to being a poor street kid. The change wasn't good.
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 lived in a really shitty, dingy flat in the city with his brother, but he would have been fiercely protective of their space (which makes what inevitably happens even more awful). Home is a place where you can lock all the doors and windows and no one can get you; it's a home base to operate out of and a secret to keep safe. Badou doesn't ever feel protected, so having a safe place is kind of a big thing. Living on the streets after that wasn't very safe feeling.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
He doesn't, really. In Holly Heights he might spend some money pursuing his interests and likes a bit (journalism, photography, movies, extra food, maybe some music), but he's really cheap.
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 does whatever he can to get by. Dave made him go to school, and he was too young to get properly hired, but he picks up slack where he can with whatever he can. In Holly Heights, he immediately picked up a lot of jobs in the first month.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
He spends his free time primarily getting into trouble and hustling for cash and info. He likes movies a lot, being partially TV-raised, and journalism and photography, idolizing Dave's work. He likes playing and watching baseball and football, but recreational sports fall kind of low on his list of priorities. He also spent a lot of time in the City mending clothes, cooking, doing laundry, and generally being the domestic hand for the Nails brothers; he doesn't like it, but he's good at it.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He's a growing teen, he eats everything anytime anywhere. He's used to lean portions and lean paycheques, and living on the street teaches you to get when the going's good, so he has a kind of feast-or-famine mentality. If it's there, devour it. If it's not, eat what you can and work hard for a better meal.
He's had alcohol before, but it mostly embarrasses him to be drunk and let his guard down, and he doesn't really get what all the fuss is about. Booze falls into the same category as sex, really -- people seem to really like it, but they also waste a lot of time and money on it that could be better spent doing something less dumb.
ASSOCIATIONS
i. Colours?
Candy red, dark red, bright orange, puke/murky green, off-white, black.
ii. Smells?
Blood, burning, antiseptic, wet sneakers, breakfast, cold concrete, sweat, smoke, fear.
iii. Time of day?
Late evening to early morning; unnoticed hours.
iv. Season?
Winter.
v. Book?
NEWSPAPERS
vi. Music?
Loud and obnoxious, but varied. Punk, rock, ska, metal. Something with a thrum and a beat that can give you a headache.
vii. Place?
The dark, an empty alley, a bath tub, beside his brother.
viii. Substance?
Cigarettes.
ix. Plant?
Weeds in the sidewalk, fungus.
x. Animal?
Stray dogs, foxes, carrion eaters.
xi. Virtue?
Temperance. "Temperance is an Athenian virtue."
xii. Vice?
Wrath. "Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest."