OOC - A NEW HOPE

[highfivepriest]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Theo's on the trimmer side of average in build - he's maybe a liiiittle tallish for his age, has potential with decently broad shoulders and slimmer hips, but otherwise he's still pretty unremarkable.

2. How old is he?
Fifteen! Yay messing up mental ages for grades for 2 years!

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Theo looks down upon your poor posture. >:| He's too proud and well-taught to NOT have good posture.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Oswald has scared him into not slacking off, so he's not super-healthy but can still hold his own pretty well. I wouldn't be expecting him to do any serious physical work anytime soon, but he's not entirely useless!

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Theo gives off a sense of being completely confident, and it comes off in his body language - relaxed and utterly sure of himself in everything. He has a tendency to relax completely and bonelessly when he's really tired; he just… collapses.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Well, he certainly stands out among the, like, tons of blond guys at school. Theo knows he's relatively classically good looking and does use it to his advantage when he can- but he's vain enough where he can blow it out of proportion from time to time. Most of it comes simply from making sure he looks polished and fashionable.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
He's tanner than most of the anglo-saxon kids that wind their way into private schools, and darkens easily once he's outside, but not to anything too severe. It manages to stay fairly medium olive-toned even into the winter. He takes personal grooming seriously, so between that and good genes from his mother, his skin has always managed to stay clear (lucky bastard).

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
OHGOD HIS HAIR IS PERFECT DON'T YOU TOUCH IT--
Right. Since his hair gets ridiculously curly whenever it gets to be more than two or so inches in length, Theo keeps it cut short and styles it back into something more tamed. His hair is so dark it looks practically black, except when the sun brings out the brown highlights and tones.

9. What color are his eyes?
Super dark brown, and there's always this nagging suspicion he's judging you.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Theo tends to always hold direct eye contact, which can get pretty intimidating for most people very quickly. Between his mannerisms, confidence, and more refined style of dress, he comes off as older than he is, as well.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
His shoulders and back right between his shoulder blades - when he's stressed out from tests or whichever, he can't ever seem to get the kink out of there.

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?
Theo prides himself on being classier than most of his peers. His suits are cut and fitted to perfection, thanks to a local tailor-turned-family-friend, he's picky about fabric weights and feel, and he's always keeping an eye on what looks good. Mostly the uniform, some casual suits for both seasons, formal wear when the need calls for it, and he breaks out a nice linen or pastel suit in the summer.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
See above. XD Theo lives to look his best, and feels severely out of place when not dressed well. He takes it so seriously, that it's not uncommon for him to drag his close friends out to tweak their wardrobe; it's his version of caring, and Freddie knows it well.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
When he's in the garage with his family on school breaks, he just wears whatever he doesn't mind getting absolutely covered in oil and grease. Helping out his family in the offices, his usual clothes are absolutely fine. In his free time, he basically just shucks off his jacket and relaxes.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers-- if only because briefs weren't even invented for another year. fff.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Normal for his age? I could see it being just-so-sliiiightly deeper than some of the other boys, and smoother when he's trying to connive someone into doing something for him or impressing a business associate.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Theo doesn't shut up, but doesn't rush when he's talking. Everything is well-deliberated, unless he's just seriously angry, and he almost has a lazy, arrogant feeling to his tone. There's usually some easily-told edge of sarcasm or facetiousness when he gets really annoyed.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He has this weird mix of faint Detroit accent and an even fainter Italian accented-tic that he represses as much as possible when he's at school. Thank god for formal education, or it'd be even worse. When speaking Italian, it's slightly American-accented as well (especially after just returning home from school), although much faster than his English.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Theo's grown up with a good amount of Italian being spoken in his household, since his grandparents started out with somewhat poor English that's gotten better over the years, so he's just as comfortable with it as English.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He slips into Italian or flips between the two when back at home, since it's just easier around his older relatives that way.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He manages quite well on the fly, but if you want to get anything really heartfelt out of him that's not a comeback, it's going to take a while.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
On the bright side, Theo has an excellent vocabulary; however, that eloquence isn't exactly always put to good use. When he's sick, he's just too tired to bother.

Mental and Emotional

1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Theo's a bit too arrogant to be considered TRULY street-smart, since he doesn't know when to quit, but he's people-savvy and can hardly be considered sheltered. His grades in class are excellent.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
It depends on how comfortable he is in the situation. In case of something like a fight, he's going to need some time to think and sort things out; when it comes to arguing or debating, he can handle things just fine, thankyouverymuch. In the end, he's clever, but he'll always prefer having the time to plan beforehand.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Theo is not your officer of feeeeeliiiiings. He's able to step back and think things out rationally, is aware that most dreams and hopes don't work out, and would much rather prefer common sense to lofty goals. Obviously, once the whole "world in the balance" deal that usually comes with the persona series rears it's ugly head, he's not going to take to it very well.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
Was taught privately by his family in his home until enrolled in a private Roman Catholic boys' school in Detroit for grades k-8. Even during breaks and vacations, he was either sat down to study by his parents, or brought into the factory for more hands-on learning by the rest of the family. His first year at Adessi was… eye-opening, to say the least.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Theo's pretty excellent at networking, when minding his behavior. He's also pretty handy in the garage and in taking apart whatever little mechanical things he runs across, learning best through hands-on experience. Theo's the type to read into psychology and the like, seeing it as a rational science made out of man's total irrational behaviors, and off of that he's more into finding corresponding symbolism in writing and possibly art (although he'd never admit it).

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He can be wishy-washy about this. On one hand, he knows that he has to be an extrovert to land connections, but most people frustrate and drain him to no end. But when around close friends and family, it can be hard to get him to actually leave you alone, since he'd much rather plant himself somewhere in the same room as opposed to hiding away.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He's vain, arrogant, stubborn, and short-tempered, sometimes sacrificing being likable for being successful - and yet manages to tamp most of that down if he needs to play nice in higher social/income circles. It isn't hard to annoy him, and he can only take so much before just butting in and doing things himself. On his good side, he's known to be smart and surprisingly generous, taking to mother-henning his closest companions (HE WILL NEVER LET ANYONE FIND OUT. NEVER.).

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
In the cases where Theo hasn't had some sort of warning/heads up about said person before hand, he's the type to try and measure the situation or person up. When he isn't even give THAT luxury, he just storms on in with his usual confidence and skepticism and does his best to make sure it ends for the better.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
More the type to react, he's perfectly content to keep a distant eye on things and step in only when he's pushed to.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fiiiight. There are very, very few situations in which he'd fold instead, and he hasn't really run into them yet.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He's the type to use sarcasm, around-the-bush insults, irony, and gallows humor when the need calls. Puns have to be exceedingly clever, and even then only Frederick has ever pulled it off to any great success. Theo, however, isn't really the type to pull pranks out of the blue, even though he's amused by them immensely (when he's not the victim).

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
None?

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
While Theo's always been pretty constant in attitude, it wasn't until his grandfather started taking him aside for more one-on-one mentoring in the shop and on the road that he started to develop his sense of cockiness and realize that maybe the family business is totally awesome after all. His freshman year at Adessi was also a real eye-opener, because suddenly he was pitted against all these other rich kids whose ideas actually started to oppose with his - and the school was so small that any fights/rivalries/gossip spread through the student body like MAD.

14. What does he fear?
He's never not had support from his family in some way - money, a reassuring call, the unspoken knowledge that no matter what happens they will bail him out - so even the IDEA of having to strike out on his own, FOR REAL, is terrifying to him. He's never going to admit it, but it obviously disturbs him if it comes up for any reason. In fact, anything that could potentially just sweep the rug out from him, humiliate him, or leave him completely without comeback.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Long-term, Theo already sees his career as pretty much set, although right now he's far more focused on the money to be made than any pride or contentment in his work. He wants to rise to an even better social/monetary standing than his family is at currently, and pretty much live the good life, maybe using the mailbox system to do so if that's what it takes.
Short-term, he's determined to get the best grades as possible and prove to his family that yes, he is a completely mature and able young man. Once plot-things start up, not dying is very much a huge goal, as is trying to logically piece together a theory as to why all of it is happening in the first place, and how the persona coincides with him.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He wants to be seen as a hardhitter, completely unstoppable and driven to success. Anything that ruins that image - whether it be his tendency to fuss or brief interludes into dorkiness, his own insecurities and shortcomings, or even how hopeless and lost he'd ever feel if he tried to be completely independent - is something he works constantly to hide and wants to eventually condition out of his personality.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
He's close with them, and some would say that he's still tied to his mothers' apron strings. His mother is all over him, calling him "MY LITTLE THEO" and "MY BABY BOYYYY" (not to mention their translations into Italian) and it drives him CRAZY; he still writes or calls to her whenever he needs some unchallenged support, and good god she sends the best care packages EVER.
His father is much more reserved in his affections, much stricter with the kids than the mother, and Theo relishes whatever time he spends with him back at home. However, his father doesn't see him as truly mature or an adult, and it's starting to drive the two of them apart.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Theo has three, an older brother (Micheal, 23) and sister (Daniela, 19), and younger sister (Celia, 13). All three of them can't seem to NOT end up in the same room when everyone's home to visit, even if they get on each other's nerves.
Theo used to get along well with Micheal, but has since found less and less in common with his brother since Micheal married in April, and now usually snaps at him while the other shakes his head and facepalms. Micheal's also just naturally likable and a showman, which can grate on Theo from time to time.
Daniela has been utterly insufferable to Theo since she first went to Adessi hall and came back with all these stupid ideas about feminism -GOD; she takes it upon herself to try and educate him "for the better" whenever he comes home, but also relies on him to keep her up on the gossip going through the school concerning her favorite old classmates and teachers.
Celia is horribly wishy-washy about whether she wants his affections as an older brother, or just sees him as a bother; she also wants to marry a mafia don, and Theo is utterly convinced she's crazy and childish because of it.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Theo's fairly close with his uncles, some of his male cousins, and grandfather - they're part of a sort of boys' club around the factory and garage, and spend evenings playing cards after dinner. He's very friendly with some of his more timid female cousins, and pretends not to be flattered that one or two of his much younger cousins try to follow him around during holidays. Still, he'd do anything to not have to hang around the younger cousins, and makes it plaintively obvious that he is never babysitting, ever. There's also a new infant or two in the family that he takes all pains to avoid, because babies are just… not his thing.
Headcanon states that everyone gets together for dinners very often, if not every sunday. Individual families may live in different houses, but relatives stop by so often and see each other all the time at the factory, that they might as well live in one gigantic compound.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? Theo's finally started to warm up to his sister-in-law, Lizebeth; otherwise, he hasn't made many friends of his own that are that close - although Freddie is on the absolute verge of being so and that could change as easily as actually showing up to dinner like he's been invited to. :|

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Right about now, Frederick. To tell the truth, it's probably not a good idea to completely trust someone who came to your school solely because your father is their father's boss, but they clicked right away. Theo refuses to hear anything about Freddie only using him for business connections, and will shut down anyone who tries.

6. Does he have other close friends?
…FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFlol. The team will probably end up on here, given enough time, but shhh

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
If Theo needs you or your connections for something, he can be the most charming and incessantly polite guest ever. Otherwise? He comes across as somewhat snide and aloof, and if he doesn't want you around you know it.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family, always. Friends tend to get absorbed into the former group if they're close enough.

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

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No. No one wants him. :|

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He did have a slight infatuation for one of the upperclassmen girls at Adessi when he first started attending, but that died pretty fast.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Call him horrible, but he's looking for sheer earning power/name first and foremost. Once you get that out of the way, he's likely to go for very doting, meek, pretty, intelligent girls. Unfortunately, he's really the type that needs someone to keep him on his toes, or he's going to get bored and disillusioned rather quickly.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Ohgodnooooooo. He wants some eventually, it's a given, but he hasn't figured out the finer details as to why.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
It's not too hard for him to get on the sour side of people, so it's bound to happen.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He's heterosexual, falling between a 0 and a 1.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
At the moment, he's not in the least bit interested - which is likely to change, but not during anything really plotty (WORLD COMES FIRST. >:| ). He's pretty oldfashioned-gentlemanly when it comes to actually courting women, and is the type to not have sex until he's married. Once those floodgates open though, ummmmmmm.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Theo's probably super-tactile in the bedroom, preferring to take his time and drag things out as long and slowly as possible or he's just unsatisfied. He's not the type to experiment on his own, and if he discovers he likes anything other than super-vanilla it's because his partner made him try it out.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Taurus fits Theo very well (Gee, it's like it was PLANNED or something!): fairly conservative, with a love for pretty material comforts, can't imagine changing the status quo or making many friends outside of it, and is obstinate and argumentative. He's hardworking and reliable, but can get possessive and jealous. He loves stability, will do anything he can to maintain it (either for himself or his family and friends), and once you have his loyalty or fully place your trust in him it's going to take a lot for him to shake it.
He's an earth horse in the chinese zodiac, which fits him decently well (save for being really easy-going) even though I totally didn't look it up when I made him. Huh.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He's Roman Catholic, like the rest of his family, but isn't so literally devoted to it as his relatives since he's moved out of the house for school. Whatever he thinks about it, he keeps it fiercely to himself, since he has some conflicts figuring it out with his more rational-practical thinking and eschews most if not all of the superstition his older relatives follow. He gets a bit more into it during religious holidays, but isn't the type to take the teachings literally or for face value.

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?
Who doesn't? His is a mix of his family's take on exclusivity and business, the common view of society at the time, and his own thinking. He's always been developing it, but it definitely gets put through the wringer during the game - every time he thinks he has something sorted out, some demon or letter or whatnot tends to make him go back on it and think it over. He's more malleable than he lets on, especially when stressed over the whole persona-thing.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
He's the type to write them off or regard them as impractical, or that the believer of them just doesn't know better. Keep on pushing him, and he will start arguing about it, although it's going to take something phenomenal to get him to change his opinion that way; you're better off gently showing him wrong through actions.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Pretty much everything that was common in the 30's, with a good extra dose of classism and adherence to strict gender roles.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Theo's family has managed to stay wealthy even after the worst of the Depression has hit, by targeting their products overseas or to other high class patrons and sheer luck in the stock market. There's probably some illegal money being made that he just isn't made aware of. He gets a pretty generous "allowance" from his parents, is paid well during vacations at home for working in the factory and garage, and is bound to make a profit from using information from THE FUTUREEEE.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
The family is seen as upper class, but are still considered fairly "new money" to many of the much older companies and families. Theo was born long after the company had started to pull phenomenal income, so he's never known any different.

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?
Besides the dorms, his family's very large house in Detroit: despite being impressively kept, it's lived-in and homey, with gardens tended by his mother and only one or two hired hands.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Theo does loves his clothes. :C He sometimes takes apart the latest small electronics if he's curious enough. When he tries to impress someone, or make it subtly obvious that he appreciates them, don't by surprised if he goes out for a meal with them and grabs the bill before anyone notices.

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's a student, but at home he works in the garage with his family sometimes. He enjoys the thrill of making a deal, but finds people tiring: working with mechanics is more relaxing to him. He wouldn't dare look to employment outside of the corporation - it's a surefire, well-paying job with partners that can't be beat.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
In nicer weather he's usually outside, either hanging with Freddie, doing homework, or reading. Usually something in recent news, sociology, economy texts, or classics; he has a few slim poetry volumes that he hides in his other books so that no one can find out and tease him for it. He'd probably write essays for fun, too, if it means showing up people. :| He's turned his desk in his dorm room into an impromptu workbench, and stashes his tools under his bed.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Theo's picky about the quality of his food, and gets flak from his relatives for not eating enough. He loves coffee, can't be pried away from it in the mornings and adds enough cream and sugar for it to count as dessert in the evenings. When stressed with a deadline, it isn't uncommon for him to rush his meals, if he has one at all.

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

1. Color? Dark grays, gray-purples, and blues, white.
2. Smell? Gasoline fumes, faint cologne, and leather.
3. Time of day? Dusk
4. Season? Springtime - it's the one time of year he's happier than most, and will find any reason to go out for a drive.
5. Book? He'd love this and you know it. But, in all seriousness, Death of a Salesman.
6. Music? No particular genre, but something with slower instrumentals?
7. Place? Fancy reading room/study/office. :|
8. Substance? …ummm?
9. Plant? Grape vines
10. Animal? tuxedo cat

END

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