(no subject)
Basic
Name: John Chester Fields
Age: 40
Birthday: December 10, 1967
Birthtown: Brooksville, Oklahoma
Fairy Tale
Character: The Bull
Story: Various Aesop's Fables
Ability: Aside from his naturally prolific strength, John has remarkable endurance. Once he sets himself to a labour he can continue working at it significantly longer than your average person, and is quite difficult to bring to a stop. And you certainly wouldn’t want to see him charge…
Tale Status: John is pretty public about his Tale, and doesn't see any reason why he - or anyone else - wouldn't be. He's quite proud to be both an Aesopean and a bull.
Occupation
Profession: Freelance construction worker and occasional bouncer; temporary security guard for the Pentamerone
Employer: Various; the Atheneum
Personality
John is, to coin a phrase, something of a man-child. True to his bovine roots, he’s a very simple, slow-moving individual who enjoys the steady repetition of menial toil to anything in the world. He’s happiest when he’s working at something physical, and will proceed to do so at great lengths without pause, if allowed. He enjoys sleeping, eating and working, and anything that doesn’t fall into one of these three categories tends to confuse him.
Never having completed high school, John is a particularly slow-witted individual. He’s aware of his intellectual inferiority but rarely bothered by it, except when openly mocked. Many aspects of humour baffle him too, so often he’ll easily confuse the ideas of laughing with and laughing at. However, when an unfortunate soul does manage to upset him with jest, he’s prone to bouts of bull-like fury. He’s just as difficult to calm from these rages as he is to stir into them, and often confuses himself so much by the time he’s finished that he forgets why he was angry in the first place.
John is slavishly devoted to those close to him, and makes friends incredibly easily. He is easily trusting with a likeable air about him, always quick with a kind word and a hearty belly laugh. He is particularly fond of women, in an entirely non-sexual manner, and subscribes to some archaic notions of chivalry. He’s a beast of burden, but a beast nonetheless, and can always be soothed by a beauty. Anyone whom he suspects to be upsetting his friends, or anyone he judges to be innocent and undeserving (which is anyone who hasn’t given him explicit reason not to) will face his ire.
John is also faithful to the will of the Atheneum, deferring to them as an absolute authority and following any instruction they might give him. Generally, he is quick to defer to anyone who seems to exercise some sort of authority, and as a result he is very easy to control into doing one’s bidding. In the past this has often resulted in his strength being taken advantage of, which will likely continue to happen.
History
John Fields was born on a small corn farm just outside of Oklahoma City to simple, loving parents. He had several siblings, but he immediately stood apart from them - on account of his being a particularly large baby. He was 11 lbs at birth, an unfortunate matter for his mother, and proceeded to grow both quickly and exponentially.
Although John’s size and food intake was initially a source of consternation for his family, it soon became a boon rather than a burden. See, John turned out to be almost preternaturally strong, and in addition had an unexpected zeal for working on the family farm. While his siblings had to be coaxed into it, John was often the first one in the fields and the last to return, very begrudgingly. He was happiest when he was tilling, reaping, or any other monotonous task he could hum his way through.
John was loved by his family and neighbours for his affable disposition, even if he often forgot his own strength in an unfortunately strong handshake or bear hug. Despite this, he was a remarkably gentle soul, and could get quite upset by something as simple as the family cat catching a mouse.
Unfortunately, shortly into his teens the Fields’ land was bought up by a conglomerate of developers intent on a new megamall. The family received a poor price due to legal complications, and were forced to abandon their rural origins and move into the city. Things became increasingly difficult for the Fields, who were now dealing with debts, unemployment, and other inner city problems.
John himself did very poorly in school, and soon dropped out to save his family money. He tried to work, but it was hard to come by despite his work ethic due to his age. He did occasional construction jobs, and also (unwittingly) became involved in some gang violence. When older boys told him he could get some money by doing some favours, he wasn’t bright enough to see the opportunity for what it was.
Luckily his concerned family managed to get him out of this trouble, though it only made their presence in the community more dangerous. Eventually his siblings began moving out and getting their own jobs, though John stayed at home with his parents, affording them a modicum of protection.
It was around this time that John was contacted by a young Noah Connell, much later than Tales usually manifest. In truth John had scarcely even manifested as the Bull, but only because he hadn’t much thought to be troubled by the dreams he had, which he found particularly soothing. He had a difficult time comprehending what was told to him, along with much of what happened in the Compendiums, but he was pleased to find several people in those pages that were awful nice to him (sometimes sarcastically, but he could rarely tell the difference).
Eventually his father passed away, for he was old, and his siblings collectively decided to check their mother into a retirement home. John was not included in the decision making, and was quite worried by it. Without his parents he was on his own, and though they were all loving and supportive, none of his siblings were overly eager to take him in.
Rather than be a burden to those he loved, John decided to take Noah up on the offer put forth long ago, and move to New York to explore this community he had been in distant contact with. He was extremely excited about the prospect, and came into the Pentamerone like a kid in a candy shop. Some were pleased by the jolly giant that had entered their midst, and others not so much - but few were willing to actively speak ill of him.
John managed to get by with a series of job, usually basic construction work and the occasional bouncing job. The latter never seemed to last, given that he had a difficult time grasping the politics of the system - he would let friendly people in without bribes, he couldn’t spot a fake ID to save his life, etc. On occasion the Atheneum would come to him for a favour - to ‘chastise’ a member of the community who had got up to no good, like he did with people who caused trouble in the clubs where he worked. He was happy to be able to help and never objected, nor questioned the reasons behind his instructions.
Appearance
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 340 lbs
Hair: None (Black)
Eyes: Brown
Appearance: Enormous, muscled, imposing. Shoulders so wide he can barely fit through doorways and biceps like tree trunks. Despite this, has a wide grin and generally friendly posture and disposition.
Dress: Well-worn work clothes, jeans, heavy boots, soft caps.
Speech: Slow, deep and punctuated by resonating belly laughs.
Miscellany
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Status: Single
Turn-Ons: Uncomplicated women, excellent cooks, a straightforward sense of humour, maternalism
Turn-Offs: Sarcasm, big words, impatience, smoking, angry dispositions
Vices: Overwork, junk food, sugar, clumsiness
OOC
Player: Ryan
Portrayed By: Michael Clarke Duncan
Disclaimer: I am not Michael Clarke Duncan - I could scarcely even be his shadow - nor am I the walking, talking personification of one of Aesop's parables