[ extended info ]
Meet Asher Lang. He's kind of a jerk sometimes in the way that teenagers, antisocial(ish) people, people with trust issues, people with things to hide, and people who are all of the above tend to be. He hears dead people. Sometimes.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's about 5'7" (170 cm), and still getting taller. As a result, he's a bit on the thin side, typical of someone who's not yet finished growing.
2. How old is he?
Seventeen.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He tends to slouch, and hunches over a lot, whether he's sitting or standing. When he wants to be taken seriously, he might pull himself up to his full height, but for the most part, he just doesn't bother.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
His health is pretty average; he's not constantly sick, but he's definitely not immune to whatever's going around at the time. And he's in decent shape, considering he walks pretty much everywhere. He'll probably never be the next big thing in sports, though.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
He's neither extremely clumsy nor extremely graceful-- kind of in the middle, though he tends to walk a bit heavily, especially when on stairs.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Pretty average in the looks department; his features are decently attractive, but he doesn't really care much about his looks overall.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
A bit on the light side, and relatively clear.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
His hair is dark brown, around ear length (at its longest), though it tapers off in the back to avoid that unfortunate bowl cut look. The bangs are usually swept off to one side, though since his hair is naturally thin and straight, it tends to just kind of flop back where it was.
9. What color are his eyes?
Dark brown.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He usually has headphones on (like this), if that counts.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Mostly the head-- he gets tension headaches from time to time-- as well as the shoulders.
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?
Asher dresses pretty casually, usually in darker colors like greys and dark greens. Most of his clothes are relatively plain, but he doesn't often wear the same exact outfit twice in the span of a week (though he has no qualms about wearing pants more than once).
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They're often a bit large on him, but he's comfortable like that.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He doesn't actually have a job. So...well, he always dresses the same.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
He's a tenor; his voice has a slight hint of roughness to it, due to it changing (though he's almost done with that).
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
A bit on the quiet side; he'll get louder when he's around people with whom he's comfortable. He speaks at a relatively average speed.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Typical flat Northeastern accent; he doesn't often have any verbal tics, but he used to have a stutter when he was younger. It only really comes out when he's upset (which is pretty rare).
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
English is his first language; he learned a bit of French in high school, but he's nowhere near fluent.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Just English.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He can hold conversations without a problem, but he's kind of a casual staller; if he doesn't know what to say right away, he tends to pad his sentences with a decent amount of cursing while he thinks. He tries not to do this in polite company, though.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
A very casual speaker. He'll be less casual around adults and small children, tries to be more polite in those cases, but around people in his relative age group, he's definitely no eloquent speaker.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He's above average in terms of intelligence; probably wouldn't have been a valedictorian, but he was probably a straight-B student, with the occasional A, mostly in art. He's right-brained, after all. Though he's probably more book-smart than street-smart, he knows enough to deal with people and stay out of trouble. Usually.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can think pretty quickly, even in a pinch. It comes with having to at least fake being cool, calm, and collected.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical and practical. In a sense, anyway. His actions are based off of logic and practicality, but he's more emotionally driven than he seems.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Three years of high school.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He's pretty good at painting, but he doesn't think he'd make it into a career. In fact, he's not really sure what he wants to do yet.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He seems pretty casual and laid-back, though in a melancholy and slightly antisocial kind of way. Though the whole casual thing is pretty quickly cast aside if people do make him mad, and then he has a nasty tendency to lash out, even if it's not warranted.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He's not all that friendly or outgoing, even to new people; he doesn't really mind talking to others, but he's naturally a bit distrusting, and rarely goes out of his way to be friendly.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React, definitely.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight! He's not tough, but he has a quick temper, and it gets the better of him more often than it should.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Definitely. He finds stupid things funny, and about half of those things probably are not good for repeating in polite company.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nope.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There was a time when he was younger when a boy in his neighborhood had taken a knife from his parents' house and was trying to show off with it. He lost a finger. Asher remembered it pretty clearly for a while. His father walking out on him and their family ranks pretty high as well, as does the first time he really got in a fight with someone who used to be his friend. (The last one overlaps with the first time he got beaten up.) And then there's the day that he woke up to find that most of the world's population had disappeared overnight and he could hear disembodied voices coming from people's belongings. That one was especially interesting.
14. What does he fear?
Sharp objects. Needles, knives...not so much scissors, save for the ones that are uncommonly sharp.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He thinks he might like to be an artist, but he also doesn't think that he'll get very far doing that.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he can hear the lingering feelings left behind on objects. Telling your friends that you can kind of hear dead people isn't really good for people thinking you're not...well, delusional. Or weird. He's also not that open about his homosexuality.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
His relationship with his father is kind of strained, considering he left the family when Asher was around ten. He sees his dad every once in a while, usually around holidays (once or twice a year; he moved a few states away), and gets cards during holidays, but that's about it. He's closer to his mother, considering the fact that they live together. He gets irritated with her in the way that teenagers are often wont to do, but for the most part, they get on okay. As for his mother's new husband (she married him about two years after her divorce with her first husband), the two aren't best friends, and don't talk that often, but he doesn't hate the guy. Then again, when most of the world's population disappeared, they did too. So...not much of a relationship anymore.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He had a four-year-old half sister, his mom's child with her new husband. Due to the age difference, he often felt more like a babysitter than an actual sibling, and she's far from his first choice of company. When at home, he spent more time ignoring her than not.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
He'd kind of lost touch with most of his father's side of the family years ago, but on his mother's side, he was pretty close to his uncle. There's no one he actively dislikes, though.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Not really; he isn't exceptionally close to that many people.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
It used to be a boy that he met in the sixth grade, someone named James. They got along well for a few years, until their freshman year of high school. This was pretty much when he learned to be more careful who he told things (such as concerns about his feelings for other guys), and it ended pretty badly.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Since most of the world's population disappeared, and those left behind were brought into shelters, he met twin siblings named Roland and Sage. They've gotten along quite well so far.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He has a bit of trouble getting along with people, due to how distant he is.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family. Blood is thicker than water, and all that.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single! He's been in a few relationships, but nothing really long-term.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Nnnnope.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
When he was a high school freshman, he kind of had a thing for one of the seniors. They never spoke and it never went anywhere, naturally. More recently, there's someone at the shelters that he never actually spoke to. There's a pattern here.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Someone who he feels he can really talk to about things-- not just serious stuff, but he also wants someone he can talk to about things like art, really bad sci-fi movies, and people doing really stupid things.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
None yet. He can't really imagine himself with any, either.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He's not too fond of his former best friend, but he doesn't really consider people rivals or enemies.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He's a Kinsey 5. Pretty much only interested in guys, with the rare exception.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Well, it'd be a lie to say he didn't think about it...on a semi-regular basis. Teen boy hormones and all that. Though he sees it as a generally intimate act for people who care about each other, he probably wouldn't be averse to doing it more...casually?
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
He's probably pretty vanilla for the most part, though he'd likely try venturing into other territory if his partner wanted to. Once he got used to things, he'd probably still be...kind of vanilla. People would have to introduce him to stuff.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Aquarius/Pisces cusp. It fits him relatively well, though he'd deny the Pisces traits, most likely. His Chinese zodiac sign is the Dog. It also fits him.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Neither. He wasn't really raised religiously, though a few distant relatives are religious. He doesn't have much in the way of spiritual beliefs, either.
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?
None in particular, at least none that he consciously keeps.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Mostly indifferent. People whose beliefs involve some sort of violent dislike of others get a bit more of an intolerant reaction, though.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
None really. It usually takes at least one meeting before he dislikes someone, since he has his own little ways of finding people he doesn't like. These reasons he has are probably somewhat irrational, though.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He lives in a makeshift shelter where people just kind of take what they need when they need it, with no regard for money. It's not really comfortable, but it's...livable.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Everyone that's around and alive is pretty much on equal ground now, so...it's a bit strange, considering he used to lack status (being as he was a young student, rather than an independent adult).
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?
A "shelter," which used to be the local rec center. It's not that great, and it's shared with everyone within a roughly 20 mile vicinity that's still alive and present, and he doesn't actually spend much time there. But it's a place to stay.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
He doesn't get an allowance, and he doesn't have a job. There's no money to spend!
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 was a student, and not too bad at it. Now he's...pretty much an unemployed scavenger of sorts. He really doesn't care for it that much.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Painting, and listening to music, when he gets the chance. Nothing particularly interesting, he'd say.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He eats whatever's available and...you know, edible. He's still kind of partial to cheap fast food, though. On the weekends or in the summer, he tended to sleep in, so he'll usually skip breakfast. Alcohol's still a no-go, as is peanut butter, but the latter's due to food allergies.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Grey.
2. Smell? Paints.
3. Time of day? Late evening.
4. Season? Winter.
5. Book? The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
6. Music? Alt-rock.
7. Place? On a roof.
8. Substance? Some generic energy drink.
9. Plant? Lichen.
10. Animal? Cat.
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