[Meme] Survey (Under Construction)
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Big. Think tall (at least 6'2") and with large shoulders, but not as big as he used to be. He lost some muscle mass in the 19th century and now he's more wiry.
2. How old is he?
Physically, mid-to-upper-20s. Historically...older than 1300? This might be one for a historian to field, not me.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
His posture is surprisingly good! He can carry himself well and with great ease, so it looks natural, but he rarely stands ramrod straight. He's always distributing his weight off center.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Good. Again, not as strong/fit as he used to be, but he bikes a lot and has Magical Nation Person Health. If he were a normal human, he would have a nasty smoker's cough and all kinds of lung problems.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
All his movements are big and deliberate. It's hard to describe without an illustration.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's comfortable with his appearance; luckily for him, he cleans up with almost no effort. Attractiveness...he's good-looking in the generic sense. Nothing very striking about him aesthetically, but his demeanor is worth more than a few bonus points.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Compared to some of his neighbors, he has the healthiest-looking color. Agriculture makes up a good piece of his economy, and his capital has a few interesting park placement policies, so it's likely he sees the sun more. However. Compared to people who don't burn to a crisp without SPF 50 sunblock and a parasol, he's pretty damn pasty. No scars.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Sandy blond, coarse and a mess. On any given day, you can assume he got on a bike with wet hair and rode to work.
9. What color are his eyes?
[will check the source material]
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
"Droopy eyes and a big mouth"?
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His what? If that means muscle tension, probably the spine (about shoulder-height) and his lower back, because of how he stands and moves.
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 plays it safe with menswear neutrals (black, white, cream, navy) but you'll rarely see him in an outfit that doesn't involve red in some way, usually as an accent. For casual situations, he's probably most likely to be in jeans or khakis with a long or short-sleeved tee. On dressy occasions, suit up. He gave the blazer-with-jeans look a try once. His boss sent him home immediately to change.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
He's very comfortable in whatever he's in and it shows, largely because he's careful about picking his clothes. He prioritizes a good fit over going after the New Big Thing, style-wise.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
See 12.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Naturally. Boxer briefs, black, men's large with a preference for the kind with a longer leg. Did I miss anything?
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Mid-range and throaty.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
You heard him on the drama CD, he's FUCKING LOUD. Not all the time, of course, but he gets exuberant. Once he gets going, he's going, so don't mind if I let your imagination take over with a [BLAH BLAH BLAH] action. You would've stopped listening by then, anyway. Trust me.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
This is totally going to overlap with 4. In Japanese, he speaks Ibaraki dialect, which inflects all kinds of things oddly: upwards on statements, downwards on questions, so if he tacks a "yeah?" or "ya know?/yanno" onto the end of a sentence or makes a question declarative, that's why. Apparently, it also means different pronunciations of certain consonants (it pops up in the "The Products Made in Scandinavia" strip in the 'Norwegians criticize' panel, I believe?). So he's apt t'talk summat like this, see! According to his Northern neighbors, he talks like he has a potato in his mouth. The internet tells me this is proper Danish.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Fluent: Danish
Near fluent: English, French (before English became the predominant language of international communication), Norwegian, Swedish
Good: German, Icelandic (it's close to Old Norse)
Okay: Dutch, Classical Latin, Classical Greek
Likely to Cause International Embarrassment: Everything else
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Absolutely. He sticks to English when dealing with other countries. Norway and Sweden could understand him if he spoke Danish, but between their respective jokes about their languages and the Bokmal/Nynorsk issue, it's better for international peacekeeping if he doesn't. So if he really wants to be a jerk, all he has to to do is choose to speak Danish to the wrong person at the wrong time.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He talks easily, but not wisely.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Inarticulate. Under stress, he gets talkative out of anxiety. When distressed, he gets choppy. Either way fails to communicate efficiently.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He's well educated and bright, but not patient enough to put it to use.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
If it's not a problem he can't solve by taking it head-on, he's not going to take the other route. So, on his feet, probably.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Intuitive, idealistic, and instinctive.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Between the 13th and 19th centuries, he learned whatever he needed to be fit to be at court. In the 19th century, he wouldn't stop whining over his Napoleonic losses, so he got sent to college (he chose theology) to keep him from sitting around and moping all century. I assume he either got further education or is being pushed to do so, to keep up with certain standards of living.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He knows a lot about agriculture and interior design. He's interested in learning more about green energy.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Complete and total extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Very stably cheerful, very laid back.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Like a friendly dog. Even the sniffing.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Both.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Beer.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He can appreciate all kinds of humor, but primarily delivers bad puns. And he's a natural goof.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
No more than the average person.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
14. What does he fear?
Being alone.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He's happy with his life as it is.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he has any insecurities.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
...........if he had any, they faded into different societies a long time ago.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
IT'S COMPLICATED. I think the comics said that among the five Nordics, only Iceland Norway are really brothers. This Denmark considers Sweden his brother in all but blood relation, so there's that. A dickwad, but his brother. Iceland is sort-of-sort-of-not like a brother who's more Norway's brother, but he helped look after him and Iceland remained a part of his kingdom for a good 100 years after the loss of Norway. Norway is....idek. Greenland and the Faroes aren't canon characters, but since all's fair in headcanon and RP, they're in a similar position to Iceland as Denmark-proclaimed little siblings.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
He doesn't have any blood relatives, but he and Sweden are functionally brothers, the kind who keep kicking each other in the shins under the table at family dinners. He cares a great deal for the others, but has acted on it badly in the past.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Iceland, Greenland and the Faroes. Dependencies (and former dependency).
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He considers Norway his best friend. As for how they met.....oh, he probably followed Norway around until Norway stopped ignoring him or trying to shake him off. Or trying to get him killed trying to follow him.
6. Does he have other close friends?
The Netherlands and Belgium are good friends of his, and he's pretty friendly with Ukraine. The strips say he's interested in being good friends with Germany, too.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's quick to consider people friends, but he's an acquired taste.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Never married, but he talks about his family like he's a divorcee who got custody of the kids until they moved out. OH DENMARK.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
He's pretty flexible about his international relations. It's all good company to him.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He used to have human crushes, and his first one was one of those. Now his only human crushes are celebrity crushes. As for Nations, I'll let that be a guess.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't quite do hard and fast romantic relationships, but there are some nations he enjoys being with on a personal level more than others. If it leads to anything more, that's just part of enjoying their company. That said, he's weak to types that actively play the straight man to his Being Denmark (actually calling him out on it).
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
He took care of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroes and will talk about them in a way somewhere between younger sibling and child. Sometimes he thinks it was nice (and he keeps photos of them in his wallet to show off at the office), but there's too much political baggage involved for it to be either enjoyable or likely now. He's gotten more than a little comfortable leading a bachelor's life since then.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Only a harmless rivalry with Sweden.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He falls on "sex is fun". If he were human, he might be pansexual.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
As far as he's concerned, sex is fun and feels good. It's nice to have in the right time and place and the right company.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
He's surprisingly vanilla! He doesn't see much need to make it more complicated than it is: it's intrinsically fun, and each unique partner (and their different habits and preferences) is what keeps it interesting. On the other hand, he's pretty eager to please, so if a partner insists...he'll go with making them happy. As for his own habits, he doesn't have any that could be considered weird, just cuddly and stuff like that.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
In the Western zodiac, Gemini. Only somewhat; the positive, extroverted part is certainly true.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
According to what the internet has told me about highly generalized religious life in Denmark: He isn't very spiritual, but many holidays are about tradition for him and for spending time with the people he cares for most. He's down with that.
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 used to be a pushy jerk, but eventually got better when he realized it was driving everyone in his family away. His personal code then could best be described as "solidarity above all else"; now it's "how can I make my people's lives better?"
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
He doesn't always think.
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?
He's comfortable. Most of his living needs are government sponsored, and he has some money stored away.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
UM. He's treated like a government consultant? He doesn't make any of the decisions himself, but they need him around to give his 2 kr and sign things. Before that, he served as a symbol more than anything. He probably has better people skills now that his job calls for collaboration and cooperation.
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 used to live in a bigger house, but was moved into Copenhagen to be closer to discussions. Now he lives on his own in an apartment. It's clean enough, but he occasionally leaves a coat lying around or so or leaves Legos on the floor or forgets to use a coaster. And sometimes he doesn't do the dishes right away. Or--
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Entertaining company, mostly. If beer counts as part of his grocery shopping, then not that. Probably quite a few impulse buys.
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 advises people, signs papers, and flashes dashing smiles at everyone. It's a people-oriented job and he's an extrovert, so he loves it.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Building things! He loves hands-on projects that require mechanical thinking.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He loves strongly-flavored foods (fish, garlic, sausage, rye bread, cheeses, etc), beer, drinks the shit out of coffee, adores candy and sweets. He likes food, so he doesn't deny himself, but he does put more effort into providing for company than he does eating impressively on his own. He also eats frequently.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Red.
2. Smell? Coffee, maybe rye toast or warm pork chops.
3. Time of day? Late at night.
4. Season? Summer.
5. Book? Something on the Bauhaus, I'm sure. With lots of pictures.
6. Music? NIK OG JAY.
7. Place? His living room, the area around the coffee table.
8. Substance? ...beer?
9. Plant? Red clover, daisies.
10. Animal? Dogs.