Knowing the Ins and the Outs
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? 5'11'', with what some would define as a somewhat muscular build that enables him to not be heavyset, but also doesn't allow him to be defined as fully muscular.
2. How old is he? 19 years old and counting.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? It depends on the situation, if he is meeting new people there's a small hint of slouch from nervousness, and there's usually a slouch when he's feeling less than content, but otherwise he carries himself with a certain pride, courtesy of the lessons on how Southern men should always carry themselves with a pride.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? His health is one of the better things about him, he's reasonably fit with no illnesses or conditions, with the exception of occasionally displaying alcoholic tendencies and severe aviophobia, and no physical disabilities.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? He's not clumsy by any means, but at the same time he lacks a certain grace in his movements. The best way to truthfully describe it, even though it appears to be a contradiction in terms, is that he moves tensely but with a certain fluidity.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror? Quite attractive to most, though he's not the typical blond haired, blue eyed American boy that a fair number of people find attractive. He fails to realize this for the most part however, seeing himself as second or third best and wondering how anyone finds him as attractive as they do.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Light, but not to the point of unhealthy paleness. Essentially a fair shade, since his skin is not pale enough to be porcelain and it's too pale to be considered beige.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style. A rich, chocolate brown shade that, without basic styling has a tendency to make him look like he just rolled out of bed. The length varies from a short one that keeps the hair off of his neck and out of his face to a slightly more shaggy one that makes him look slightly adorable. The texture is soft, surprising when one takes into account how little he actually pays attention to it and the style, depending on his mood, is either slicked back in some manner or free-range.
9. What color are his eyes? A brown that varies with the lights, though the default is a rich brown one that could be defined as inching towards hazel.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? He possesses a scar on his left leg that he sustained from an incident, where he lost his cousin David McCoy when a raft broke apart, when he was seven years old; the scar itself is small and on the back of the leg, but bares significance when one realizes what it did to him.
11. What are his chief tension centers? His neck, shoulders, and head, which if they are all in extreme amounts of pain, Leonard will slouch or hunch in an effort to rid himself of the pain, something that rarely works.
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? Leonard's wardrobe is a oddity at first glance, a mixture of both dressy and casual clothing, something most find funny when they first meet him. He's also fond of colors, thinking that while neutrals are nice, a little color never hurt anyone.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them? His clothes fit impeccably well, seeing as he does get them tailored when they don't, or if they are just workout clothes, he merely makes sure they are the correct size. Since, for the most part, he's comfortable in his own skin, he is also comfortable in his clothes when they fit completely correctly.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences? He most assuredly will not be dressing like he does in his free time when he is finished studying to become a doctor. The differences will be the fact that while at work he will be dressing professionally and in his more dressy clothes unless he has surgery that day, which in that case, scrubs will be an addition to his wardrobe.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Boxers. He's well aware of the possibility for briefs to hinder sperm production. Plus, he prefers to have some breathing room and since commando causes chafing, he'll choose boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? Deep, a cross between a baritone and a bass, with a bit of hoarseness to it.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate? In a normal situation, Leonard speaks slowly and with a typical Georgian drawl, his voice coming out lazily, though it's evenly pitched (leaning toward loud), with emphasis placed on certain words to accentuate their meaning. When someone gets him angry, however, his voice gets loud and his drawl manages to infect every bit of his voice, causing some words to sound completely different from what they actually are.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? He possesses a Southern, or to be more specific, a Georgian dialect that causes most of the g's to be dropped off of most if not all of the -ing ending words. He's trying to stop it, though Ole Miss isn't exactly conductive to such an endeavor.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency? English, with, despite his pronunciation issues, near perfect fluency. As far as knowing vague bits of language, he has knowledge of most European languages, having a certain fondness for German.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Leonard does not switch languages, since the only one he knows with fluency is the English language. He does, however, switch dialects, with his normal southern drawl increasing in strength.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words? It depends on the topic, because when it comes to say, medical ones, Leonard is an amazing impromptu speaker, but with all other topics and even when asking a person on a date, he has to carefully think before he speaks.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Reasonably eloquent, he's not going to win any awards for speaking any time soon, but he does not sound like an backwoods idiot, despite the accent.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? He has a slightly above average intelligence level, though, he's not a genius by any means. Most of his intelligence, however, is based on book-smarts, though, if you ever need to find your way out of Georgia or out of the woods, he's probably the best man to ask.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? Depending on the situation, Leonard prefers to have time to deliberate, seeing as there are consequences for every action and if something goes wrong, well, it's the end of him.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? Intuitive, because, much like his older counterpart, he has large issues with Vulcans (or in a more modern setting, very logical people) and their ways of thinking more logically, since he feels that the heart is one of the better judges on making decisions. He is not, however, an idealistic person when it comes to his thought process, and is quite practical, telling you exactly how a situation will probably end.
4. What kind of education has the character had? He's in the process of attaining his medical degree from the University of Mississippi, so, it's best to say that he's had a college education, since he has no plans on dropping out.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? Medicine. He is a medical student first and foremost, meaning that if you put a medical text in front of him and tell him there's something new in it, chances are that he'll devour the text as fast as he can.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? Around his friends, he quite the extrovert and is at ease with talking to most people, but without the support of his friends, he's an a bit of an introvert that has to force himself to speak to others on occasion.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? Leonard is, for the most part, even-tempered, but certain situations to make him swing to the angrier side of the temper scale. He's not necessarily overly cheerful or melancholy, instead he balances on that fine line between the two. He does, however, choose a side when it comes to being laid back or driven, and the one he is more like is driven, because unless he is having a particularly lazy day, he likes working to attain his goals.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Generally, he tries to be relaxed around new people and situations, though, no matter what he does, he's always a tiny bit suspicious of new people and situations. He honestly isn't one for too much change.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react? React, since he acting means he doesn't know what will happen at first, but if he reacts, he can have some vague idea of what might happen.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight? Fight. Leonard McCoy is not a coward and like a true Southern gentleman will fight for someone's honor.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Sarcastic humor with occasional doses of bathroom humor due to his age.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? No true, diagnosable disorders.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
14. What does he fear?
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
6. Does he have other close friends?
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
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?
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
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?
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
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?
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Royal blue.
2. Smell? Cinnamon.
3. Time of day? Dusk.
4. Season? Winter.
5. Book?
6. Music? 20th Century Classic Rock
7. Place? Georgia.
8. Substance? Of the intoxicating type? Bourbon.
9. Plant? Prunus persica. (Peach Tree)
10. Animal? Wolf.
END
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