The New, Improved Character Survey that is overdue \o/

[profpuzzle]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Layton is pretty much an average height for men, about 5'7 and has a rather healthy build. Not too skinny but not too buff as well.

2. How old is he?
A growing age of 37! He's going to hit his midlife crisis soon, isn't he? Oh dear...

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
A true gentleman always keeps a straight posture! Yeah...don't find the Professor slouching unless he was beaten or if he hasn't slept in days.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Hershel is in pretty good health and shape for a man his age. He often goes on walks around and practices fencing, so he's pretty fit. Though all that climbing up hills and stuff is starting to tire him out. His thighs are burning!

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Graceful as a little fairy~ Though the Professor can be a bit clumsy out here in the wilderness. I'm afraid his little dot eyes can't find those roots and rocks sticking out as well as he did when he was younger.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
THE MOST ATTRACTIVE MAN AL-- Uh, I guess fairy okay compared to the other PL characters? I'll leave how attractive he is to you guys. As for himself, he would like to say he just a normal looking man, nothing more, nothing less.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Light and clear! Although Hershel stays indoors for a good amount of time, he often has days when he's running around London solving mysteries and going on wacky adventures, so he's not pale, but also not tanned. Did you see how cloudy it can get in London?

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Here's a picture of his hair, though mild spoilers? He takes off the hat finally at the end of the third game and for the first time, we finally see his hair! It's a chocolate brown color and his bangs fall before his eyes, always being covered by his top hat. I would assume that it's pretty soft as well. The Professor takes showers daily, thank you very much.

9. What color are his eyes?
BLACK AS BLACK CAN BE. Seriously, he has dot eyes. It's completely black.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
HMMM I DON'T KNOW HOW ABOUT THEM DOT EYES? Well, yeah, the Professor has pretty small eyes if we're not talking about dots. Also, his most noteworthy features is his top hat. You see it, mostly likely you will know who it is. The man doesn't go anywhere without that hat.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
Although he won't admit it, his thighs. He seriously can't hike up a hill without his thighs burning for some reason. He could fence and run, but hills? Hell no. Maybe his back will give out too if we give him a decade.

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?
Hershel's wardrobe is one sweater, suit, and sweater-vest after another. He's one of those guys you never see wearing something really casual. He does have a few shirts, but he normally doesn't wear them. When he does, it's a button-up shirt with a collar. I would imagine that he has a bunch of dark colored jackets and suits, such as the brown one he wears, but when it comes to his sweaters, they're bright like orange or red. He mixes them all around and yes...I am convinced that Layton has six of the same brown jacket/pant combination he wears throughout the series.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yup, he's pretty comfortable in his clothes. Of course, it can be a little stuffy at times, but he mostly gets around well in them.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
The Professor pretty much wears what he wears to work during his day offs. Probably not that jacket if he's indoors, but still a sweater and dress pants. He doesn't have any normal casual clothes to save his life. Someone please go buy him a bloody t-shirt.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
...I'll leave that to your imagination...

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Here's a non-spoiler clip of the Professor speaking at 0:40! He has a pretty deep voice and complete with a British accent!

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
The Professor can speak loud enough for others to hear, but never screaming as he talks. He could project his voice as he wishes since when he's teaching a class, he has to make sure all of his students can hear him. He normally doesn't hesitate when he talks, everything comes out pretty smoothly, but in certain times, he can't really find the words. Especially if he's flustered.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
A very distinct British accent. Honestly, everyone should figure out he's from London with that top hat, gestures, being a gentleman, drinking tea, fencing, and an accent. He is like the number one stereotypical British man.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
The only language that Hershel can speak is good old English and quite fluently.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Not at all. English in a British accent all the way.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
The words normally just flow from him. He's a great speaker and a professor at that, so projecting his voice and trying to get his point across is pretty simple for him.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Like stated before, Layton's a professor, so he pretty eloquent in his words. He can speak freely and get everything across. The times that where he might be stuttering and just babbling on and on is when he is either flustered or scared shit-less, but that rarely happens.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Pretty damn intelligent. He's the great Professor Layton! He goes around solving the world's hardest puzzles for kicks. Just how smart do you think he is? But yeah, he's more book-smart than street-smart. And all this new technology stuff? Yeah, what are those?

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Thinks on his feet. He shown this a lot in the games including making a glider in just minutes while being attacked and managing to get himself out of sticky situations. He'll make a great thief if he ever decides to become one.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Really, I think the Professor is a mix of both. He normally has a sense of something off or bad, which Luke calls "famous intuition" working up because of all the police cases he helped solve with this. However, Hershel doesn't his gut feeling take over his whole thought process. He still thinks about how something is possible through a logical point of view and when you combine both his logical thoughts with his intuition,  you got a puzzle solved.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
All the way from kindergarten to university! Now, just try to get that image of a little kid playing with a rubix cube growing into a man in a top hat solving the world's greatest puzzles out of your head. I know I can't. \o/

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Hershel's major is pretty much archeology, meaning he knows a great deal of lost civilizations and goes around plastering himself to the walls of a ruin, never coming out. He's also an expert on solving puzzles of all kind, so he's pretty good at that thinking business.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Really, he's more of an introvert than extrovert, but that doesn't mean he's really silent. He's just rather really calm and uses his indoor voice a lot. Of course though, he can kinda blabber on a bit, though he never really loudly. And he just rather keep his troubles and past to himself rather than trouble others with it.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
The Professor is really even-tempered. Like, really, realllllly even-tempered. You seriously won't see this guy blowing a fuse over something like someone else's stupidity or even tripping and ripping a hole in his clothes. He's pretty patient overall and he normally just gets disappointed when something happens. He only gets angry if it involves his friends and family getting hurt, or his top hat. But either way, you won't see Hershel going Godzilla on you because you couldn't solve a simple puzzle. If he did, we will be having a lot of burned down Tokyos.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He's pretty chill with new people. He treats them with kindness and the respect you'll see out of a gentleman. He won't act any different for different people. As for situations, it just really depends. If it's a happy and sunny day, he's more to be relaxed and happy to see others. For those dangerous situations, of course he's more tense and can become suspicious of others, but he does give the new people he meets a chance. Even if he has that famous intuition acting up.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React. Hershel really doesn't go around picking up fights or anything, so he's the one to react and not act. As for situations where he needs to get himself or others out of a jam, he'll be acting. Hurry! Gotta save those children in the burning orphanages!

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Really, the default he's born with, as I see it, is fight. But of course, he really won't fight back unless he needs to out of pure defense. However, that doesn't mean he choose to run off. It just really matters on the situation. If it looks pretty bad, he'll fly away, but if it's something like a sword fight, he'll stay and fight.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Who doesn't love jokes? Well, the Professor appreciates a good joke now and then, though probably the light hearted ones. Those vulgar ones are ungentlemanly, so please take it somewhere else, thank you very much~

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Uh, not really...unless you call his obsession of puzzles as one..."Luke, please go pick up that banana peel on the floor and throw it a--WAIT THIS REMINDS ME OF A PUZZLE HOLD IT RIGHT THERE"

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
We really don't know a lot about the Professor's past before he met Claire, his sweetheart, and from that point, he was already a gentleman. However, the point as to where he began to wear his hat and become full out gentleman to the max is after *spoilers* when he received his top hat from Claire as a gift and when she passed away that same day. From there on, he kept wearing the hat as a sign of respect and her request not to take it off since it suited him. From that point on, he tries his best to become a professor that everyone would respect and what he thinks Claire would have wanted. *end of spoilers*

14. What does he fear?
Take a look at his entry of when all the nightmares came true. He fears that his close ones dying in horrible deaths like that, especially if it involves Claire. The only times you see the Professor being that terrified is when it comes to Claire.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
To become a true gentleman and professor! Well, he is already both of those, but he'll like to truly become them to the fullest. He hopes he can live up to what he decided to become ten years ago, and he hopes that he can solve as many of the world's puzzles in his lifetime.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Probably his whole freak out with Claire's death and what happened to him when he tried to dig further into the whole thing. Without really saying much, he was placed into a coma for about a month, so he was treading in some dangerous stuff ten years ago as well. He rather not tell anyone about that and trouble them about it. Other than that, he doesn't really have any dirty little secrets he wants to hide.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
We know nothing of the Professor's parents, but I would imagine that they would be on good relationships. After all, a true gentleman treats his parents with the respect they deserve!

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Once again, we don't know if Hershel has any siblings as well, but I pretty much see him as a single child. He's like that little lonely child who always sat in the corner of the classroom playing with his rubix cube and working on his Sudoku book.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Seriously, we know nothing of the Professor's family. It's like non-existent in the game, but I always thought his parents being a single child in their families, so he wouldn't have any aunts or uncles. Though I would imagine he adored his grandparents as a kid and was pretty devastated when they passed away.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
His closest friends that he made in university, his own mentor/professor, and his assistants. He sees both Luke and Remi part of his family and gives them full trust, also being on very close relations with Luke's father, Clark, whom he once went to university with. He also has a teenaged girl named Flora whom he took under his wing since she was an orphan whom he considers family and also with his mentor, Andrew, whom he still works with in archeology research. And of course, do I really need to mention Claire again?

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
At this point asides from Claire, he's pretty good friends with Clark, Luke's father. I haven't played the fourth game yet, but I would imagine them being pretty buddy-buddy, calling each other often and writing letters. They also met in university, probably through a class they once shared. That and I like to believe that the two were in some club as well, like the puzzle-solving club or fencing.

6. Does he have other close friends?
Pretty much those he considers family. /points up

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's pretty good at making friends easily, mainly because he's so kind and gentleman-like. Honestly, it's pretty hard to be enemies with him.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Uhhhhh, he has no known family, so his friends pretty much make up his family.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. He was going to propose to Claire sooner or later, but she passed away before he finally mustered up the courage to ask. I like to think that one scene in the game where he's out on dinner with Claire and the question he wanted to ask, but never got around to since he was too busy being flustered as well was his proposal. And I pretty much see him kicking himself everyday for not proposing sooner and he still carries the ring he was going to give to her around.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Claire Folly! \o/ Now that she's in Johto and not dead, they can have a romantic relationship again. \o/ ...though the Professor is now ten years older than her...

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
I would assume a classmate in his little kid years, then we move onto Claire who seemed to have a crush on him first then move onto a happy relationship...yeah, Claire will pretty much pop up a lot when it comes to talking about Hershel's background and stuff...

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Someone kind and that can stay by his side. Really, someone that can listen to him and easily talk to about their plans for the future. /points to Claire and cries

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No children at all, though I would assume he would want some if he has a chance. But he treats Flora and Luke as his own kids, and he loves them dearly. He tries to get on good relations with them and can be a good father if he has the chance.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
DON PAOLO AND OVER THE LAMEST REASON EVER. But yeah, both Don Paolo and some dude named Jean Descole, but mainly rivals over things that the Professor didn't do on purpose. They just kinda made the Professor their rivals without him even knowing. Seriously, the first time we see Don Paolo attempting to kill the Professor, Hershel has no idea who Paolo is and what is his motivation...fail villain much?

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Probably on a 2. Really, he's straight, but if he falls for a guy he can really get with, then he'll go for it. Though he's really not looking for a relationship at the moment and he hasn't been for the past ten years, but if he was, it just all depends on the other person's personality.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Sex is pretty much only to have children and really, it's not important to him at all. It's ungentlemanly to go around screwing like bunnies, thank you very much.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
HE GOING GETS TURNED ON WHEN SMOKING WEED HUFF HUFF But yeah...I guess I can leave this to your own imagination as to what his turn-ons, turn-offs, and weird bedroom habits. And no, don't bring up Claire dressed up as a puzzle. It won't work.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Man, we don't even know the Professor's birthday! I would really like to know, but for my headcanon, his birthday falls on August 21st! Late summer~ That would fall under the Leo and you guys know how the Leo is like. For the Chinese Zodiac, I guess he would fall something like under the pig zodiac: trusting, understanding, intelligent, sincere, and patient. Wouldn't he make a cute little piggy with a top hat?

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
I don't really see the Professor being religious at all, but he probably likes to believe there is an afterlife, like Heaven, though he doesn't think much about it. If he was religious, he probably wouldn't show it very often and it wouldn't really change his life like how it is today. He'll still be a gentleman and going around solving puzzles.

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?
"A true gentleman treats a lady with respect and kindness!" Layton follows the "codes" of being a true gentleman pretty well and that really takes place on how he acts around others. He likes to be considered a gentleman and he really proves it. He goes around helping others, tipping his hat, showing kindness, serving tea, and doing all of that. It probably started when he became around his middle teens and near the end of his high school year. My headcanon is that he was a pretty sweet kid and helping others, but he never really took the idea of really being a gentleman until probably something happened like his grandfather passing away.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
The Professor loves to learn new things. He's curious and would always like to listen to another person's large vast of knowledge, especially on subjects he doesn't know much in, like mythology. Now that he's in Johto and everyone is from a far future, he'll love to hear about the new technology and how everything is in the 2000s. He won't live that long to see it all come true, so he'll love to talk to someone around here and just listen to them ramble on while drinking a nice cup of tea.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He doesn't hold any prejudices at all. He likes to give everyone a first and second chance.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He lives in a pretty comfortable place. He's not rich or poor or in debt. He lives in a little house by himself and Flora, and it's livable for probably four people~

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Hershel is pretty much middle class throughout his whole life and it hasn't really changed.

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 nice house with a study for him to work in and three bedrooms, one for himself, one for Flora, and one for a guest. Really, he doesn't stay at home much, so it's kinda like his place to come to sleep and eat at. The Professor works a lot in his office back at the university and only leaves for home late at night. Then when he arrives him, he goes to his study to continue working. But he does like his home and would probably want to spend more time in it if he had the chance.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Lots of novels and puzzle books. He often roams around the bookstore, both new and used, for classics he used to read when he was younger and something good to read. I figure he's very prone to be nostalgic of the past, so he enjoys rereading his novels over and over. Other than that, I wouldn't really think he'll spend it on anything else. He saves his money pretty well.

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?
The Professor is...well, a professor! He teaches archeology at Gressenheller University, the same university he went to ten years ago with Clark and Claire. Not only that, he is also an archeologist, studying ruins and all of that. He loves doing his job and enjoys it greatly. He wouldn't give it up for any other career. His other "career" is a puzzle scholar, but that doesn't really pay him other than landing him on the covers of London Times. He just does it for fun.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
PUZZLES LOTS AND LOTS OF PUZZLES  God, his life just revolves around it and it really shows when you talk to him. He always has one up his sleeve to pull out at any time and he just has a puzzle for every little thing from wine bottles to matchsticks. He also spends his free time working on putting back fossils and vases for work, and reading novels. When he's with someone, he likes to go out to places with them. Now, I haff tvelve matchsteeks...

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Hershel eats three solid meals a day! Though sometimes when he's really focused on his work, he would accidentally skip a meal, and that can happen occasionally. He normally doesn't eat out, but rather do all the cooking himself, and he strays away from alcohol a lot. He does drink a little wine when he's eating out, but he would really rather not drink at all. He rather have some tea with that dinner. Nice bitter and sour hot tea~

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

1. Color? 
Brown, orange, and red~
2. Smell?
Something sour, but smoothing.
3. Time of day?
Morning. That is the best time to be solving puzzles!
4. Season?
Fall. Walking in a park, surrounded by bright coloured leaves is a wonderful hobby.
5. Book?
Puzzles Probably books about history. I imagine him enjoying "Flowers for Algernon" greatly.
6. Music?
Classic on his little gramophone~
7. Place?
Any type of ruins for him to study, but his office is good too.
8. Substance?
Puzzles and tea!
9. Plant?
Those cliche white roses~
10. Animal?
A stag will suit him pretty well, eh?

Hope that was a good read for you guys~ <3

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