reference ✗ adore me for telling you lies

Nov 24, 2010 07:25


Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Narvin is average in just about everything, physically. If he has abnormalities in appearances, it's either not very obvious or he's learned more than enough at this point to be easily adept at blending into crowds to make it not be obvious.

2. How old is he?
Younger than Brax and Vansell (the latter of whom was a comtemporary of the Doctor), older than Romana. Work it out somewhere from there. Which is to say I don’t have any idea. He's damn old, just not that much by Time Lord standards, let's leave it at that.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
If you threw a book at his head it would probably start balancing on it (to the disappointment of many people in his life). The man has got great posture. When he's not playing a role.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Narvin is the head of the CIA, and extremely paranoid. The pencil pushing isn’t really by his choice for the most part, so he does like to keep himself in good shape, which is to say his best shape, just in case. It comes in useful considering Narvin hasn't exactly retired himself from field work on the occasions where the rest of his subordinates are too incompetent to do anything, which is more often than he'd like, or when he's doing something he wouldn't trust to anyone else, which is always often.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Narvin is very... not awkward, and if he is awkward, it’s an awkward that’s usually been carefully staged. He's not necessarily graceful, just... coordinated. It's a bit creepy, really.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
There is dust on the bottom of his boot that he cares more about, physically. Though he perceives himself in the mirror as a put upon man who has more than earned his share in a good night's sleep, though it's a reward he can't seem to always claim.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
He might occasionally seem a bit wan due to lack of sleep.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
His hair is a light and short smattering of brown, which he keeps neatly combed because he is a professional.

9. What color are his eyes? Blue.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He has a distinctively bulbous nose.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
Everywhere.

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?
Narvin more often than not, which is to say all the time, wears his CIA robes, and he wears them impeccably. No creases here. And since he so rarely trusts anyone else other than him to do anything competently, he probably irons them himself. If he's on an undercover mission, he usually wears something appropriate, but still impeccably. Narvin is very much a perfectionist.

As for colours, his uniform is already a neutral brown and white, and usually his undercover clothes are similar. As in, they are a touch bland.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They’re fit to his size because they’re his. And he's exceedingly comfortable in them. Perhaps too comfortable in them. Other than his natural skill in the job, he particularly enjoys the CIA for their robes. It is not a good thing to be in the middle of an assassination and get your robe stuck in a door.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Narvin doesn’t have free time.

He doesn't have FREEE TIMMMEEE either.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Maybe when he was a commander? Nark nark.

I don't know.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Narvin’s voice is very distinctive in his normal tones - very oily and the sort of smooth scrapings of a cello being stroked rather than actually played. Sinisterly.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He speaks very evenly. If he hesitates, then something terrible must have happened. Or it isn’t Narvin and you just found yourself a spy in disguise. That wasn’t Narvin himself I mean. Maybe it was Narvin disguised as an alien disguised as himself. I'm not entirely sure if I'm joking there.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
I believe he speaks in Received Pronunciation (i.e. the Queen's English Lady President's English?), because he is a pompous arse.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Narvin is a spy, and therefore has fluency in numerous languages in case the translation circuit on the TARDIS he's using ever shorts out.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Narvin’s a spy.

...

Yes.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
It would be better if he didn’t think about his words. Arguably he thinks about his words too much, sometimes. It makes no one trust him. Then again, when he should think about his words (i.e. when faced with an entire room of alien diplomats all aching to find an excuse to go to war with Gallifrey) he has a great ability to stuff his feet down his throat with amazing speed and acumen. If his feet were basketballs and his mouth the net, then Narvin can slamdunk like a pro at some very unfortunate times.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
As I said before, Narvin is eloquent to a fault. Whenever he isn’t eloquent, you should seriously start to worry because either it’s something big that would make Narvin ineloquent, or it isn’t Narvin.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Narvin, very appropriately, is the textbook definition of book-smart, as are most Time Lords, really. He was a technician before going into the CIA, so his expertise was initially doing lots of programming and working with his hands. Though it's not as if the CIA didn’t give him plenty of other uses for his hands. But even for a Time Lord, Narvin himself is extremely intelligent, sometimes terrifyingly so. That sort of intelligence is not the kind you'd want walking around in the head of someone whose job is well documented as being for complete bastards.

All the same, Narvin is a very sensible character and understands people in the way that people don't particularly want to be understood. Perhaps this could be attributed to the fact that he's Narvin and there are few people more cynical than him (even on Gallifrey and that is a high claim), but knowing how bad someone can be gives a lot to understand how good someone will be. He knows what to say at the right times, knows what nudges to give and what not to make people fall directly into his hands, though he doesn't do it to the extent of making tons of puppets. That's just his personal preference, and also his paranoia making him unable to trust that anyone will follow his string for too long. It's just very useful for information gathering, and Narvin has a lot of information.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
I’d say he wasn’t very good at thinking on his feet, at least not initially. But being an agent in the CIA has forced him more and more into the habit, because constant careful deliberation could easily get you killed on the field as a spy, so he definitely would have forced himself to learn how to do so very quickly, if harsh life lessons didn't get there first. That isn't to say he wasn't always a very good liar (a hobby that is known to require some quick thinking), but the lies don’t work as well when you need to take a moment of consideration when or if the conversation you're having takes a turn into an area you hadn’t thought out. In the end, however, he would infinitely prefer a thought out plan rather than a last-minute one, though he has admitted that "there's something to be said" for them.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical and practical to a fault, almost. Narvin has been known to dip into the idealism sometimes, and the thing he’s most idealistic about is Gallifrey. That hasn’t gone well.

But otherwise, he tends to think the worst of people in a pragmatic sort of way. It doesn't make him feel better when he's right.

... Then again he'd just feel indignant if he was wrong, so there's that.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
Narvin was in the Prydonian Chapter of the Academy. That means his education was the vast and overly conceited kind. Even for a Time Lord. Narvin is absolutely a product of his upbringing.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Narvin is well versed in the areas of lying, manipulation, and is also an quite a skilled technician and engineer. He would say that stealth isn’t really an area of expertise, as it isn’t really something you study, but he’s still very good at it.

Also he is a bastard. And he's quite the expert at that, as many people can testify.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Narvin is definitely an introvert if only because of the fact that he's unendingly paranoid of people, the fact that he genuinely is a terrible cynic, and the fact that he isn't the most pleasant person to be around, nor with the greatest reputation, as the head of an entire agency of lying back-stabbers. At the same time, his profession requires him to know many people and be around some of the worst of the lot, so Narvin is basically in constant misery, really.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Narvin is the sort of even-tempered person that you always want to punch in the face because he isn’t just even-tempered, he’s smugly even-tempered. Even when someone else loses their own temper at him, his face is calm, maybe calmer, and always smug. Especially if he knows that he is in no actual danger. He's very good at keeping a level-head about things, particularly since keeping calm and smug usually makes the other person even angrier, and opens them to mistakes, and besides, he learned to control his temper, and that makes him so much better than them. What isn't there to be smug about? He's better than them, and he knows it. But to be fair, being surrounded by a lot of politicians who are basically the same, it sometimes isn't quite as obvious in him.

So he just generally doesn't lose his own composure that often, purely for the fact that it would be exceedingly stupid for him to do so, because that would make him act irrationally and Narvin does not have a job where acting irrationally can be tolerated. That said, many things do get him hair-rippingly annoyed and the Lady President Romanadvoratralundar is definitely one of them.

As for driven, Narvin is as driven as a car ridden by an octopus man, which means very, and he's good at multitasking it too. Though by all appearances, including his aforementioned even-temper, he has tried to create an illusion that he's at least relaxed, if not utterly blasé about a very taxing job, but Narvin is actually rarely as relaxed as he tries to project. Still, when Narvin catches onto something, he rarely leaves it unfinished and it's very scary if the thing he's being driven against is you. Considering that he's also very driven about covering up his tracks, it's good advice to tread lightly if you do make him angry, or in a few weeks your loved ones might be wondering why such a contented person like you committed suicide so unexpectedly.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Narvin is always hesitant and suspicious about new people, and he has to be, was trained to be, and probably grew up being so. Being the best at everything (as he inevitably was) was not an entirely good thing when surrounded by bitter opportunists. In fact, part of why he's so suspicious of people is probably because of how suspicious a person he is himself and his awareness of that fact. Anyone can be as much of a scheming, conniving bastard as he is, although admittedly they're rarely as good at it. It's safe to say that he doesn't really trust anyone he meets, even after getting to know them, but he at the very least trusts them to be them. Which is an important distinction, and is also what makes him such a good schemer. The best way to off-put him, actually, would be to do something unexpected.

As for new situations, he’s been trained to accept and adapt to unexpected things very quickly, so even if you do throw him off a little by doing something he would never expect you to do, he'd probably think up a counter for it pretty quickly. There have been very very few times that Narvin was caught in a situation that he didn't have an answer for. He is, after all, still alive (though a few might say just barely). And he did not, as he'd point out, earn his position by being a toad, unlike some of his predecessors. And it's because of that he basically feels that he has to be suspicious. Of everything and everyone. It's hard to blame him, he does work with politicians, but as long you don't have a record of wanting to steer Gallifrey in a direction he doesn't approve of, he probably doesn't care about you, though he is mostly likely still wary.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Narvin reacts. For someone who is known for pulling the strings behind, he’s usually just the person jerking them back if someone gets too rowdy.

... And maybe having them assassinated quietly if they don't stop.

It's also safer, and less noticeable.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
He definitely defines himself as no coward, but if there is no way to win that he can see, then it will will be flight. As far as he's concerned, there is no point in martyrdom.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Narvin owns an extremely dry sense of humour. It goes very well with his voice. And his martinis. That he does not drink.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
If “Being a Bastard” is a mental disorder, it’s safe to say that Narvin accepted his affliction with ease. Maybe even with open arms.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The Timonic Fusion Device: The Timonic Fusion Device was the first large project Narvin was a part of, though he was initially only tagged on as an assistant to the head scientist Glower. Nonetheless, he became very involved in it and proved to several people, especially so quickly after leaving the Academy, exactly what he was capable of. It caught the attention of the CIA, and was subsequently why they became so interested in him, it was why he gave up engineering to become a spook, why the animosity came about between him and Braxiatel (although it'd existed before), and set up the entirety of the rest of his life keeping the word of its existence and subsequent disappearance a secret until it came to light several, several years later.

Narvin joins the CIA: And he likes it. A lot. He becomes very good at it. People worry. Vansell is one of them.

President Romana is elected, Narvin becomes Commander: Flavia was considered a very weak-willed president easily pushed about the CIA in her time before being put out of power, so the victory of Romana, in contrast, put the entire organisation on edge, especially when she began sweeping in the radical ideas she'd promised (politicians delivering on their promises? what is this). This was Narvin's introduction into politics, and he hated it. Narvin being as he is, as in, a person thoroughly lacking ambition, he didn't much enjoy being promoted, leaving behind field work to be a presence in the Capitol, but it was Vansell's insistence that forced all choice from the matter. (Vansell's insistence is not actually categorised as insisting.) As such, Narvin began to live in politics, which, even for him, was an extremely depressing experience. But he did learn a lot about politics though. Which was an extremely depressing piece of information for anyone who knew him.

Anti-time and the death of Vansell: Narvin is appointed to Acting-Coordinator, and in the end (after much deliberation) accepts it as his official position. Being that Coordinator of the CIA is a very high profile and doesn't lend itself to slipping away and watching in the shadows, to say that Narvin took his decision seriously would be one hell of an understatement. As the leader of the CIA, he becomes the face of the organisation, and therefore couldn't exactly be caught with his fingers in as many pies. Ostensibly, anyway. But considering that he quickly established himself to be, as usual, a bit too good for his job than he had any right being, he managed to do a lot more string pulling than most Coordinators. Even compared to what bastards the previous Coodinators managed to be even while they were in the spotlight, Narvin most definitely proved his finesse in manipulation to a level that made everyone nervous. Than they already were, even. Being promoted to Coordinator also began a great, shining career of shouting at his President every day. And as one of the few who would. Or could without Romana outright headbutting him. She probably wanted to, though. The feeling is mutual.

Pandora: Entirety of this chronicle is told in the Gallifrey audios, which you should listen to. The short version of it is that Narvin tried to tip Romana off her seat to elect someone he agreed more favourably with, but the person he teamed up with was Darkel, who is about as scheming but a hundred times more ambitious than Narvin could ever be. A few bad decisions in his trust ended up with him learning a harsh lesson and throwing Gallifrey into civil war, which, although he'd never admit it, hurt a lot. Emotionally. Narvin loves Gallifrey. If Gallifrey had a national anthem he'd be the one trying to discreetly wipe his tears every time it was played.

Civil War: Narvin goes through a lot of changes during this time, although he's still not entirely the most trustworthy, he chooses Romana's side during the civil war because he finally comes to understand that however misguided he thinks Romana is, she's still doing the best she can for Gallifrey, which is something he can respect, especially after the things she'd gone through. Particularly in contrast with Darkel and Pandora, who only wanted the planet for power and control. Seeing his planet go to ruins, partially by his hand, was not a very happy time for him, but on the plus side, it got him back on the field. Being a field agent had a bit of a nostalgic tinge by that point, especially the opportunity to work with his hands by himself, not relying on subordinates to carry it out in his place, was a welcome change. And it was in this way he got along surprisingly well with Leela and they ended up forging a tentative... friendship? Partnership? He didn't hate her. Close enough.

Post-War: It's probably indicative of how far his character's come that Narvin backed Romana all the way by this point, even against Matthias. Not that Matthias seemed like a bad choice, but Narvin was getting tired of watching people make political power grabs, and Romana was the one candidate he knew was not out for herself.

14. What does he fear?
Gallifrey being destroyed. Spoiler alert: sucks for him.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Narvin is very... unambitious. It is the key thing that sets him apart from the politicians he works with, and actually categorises him closer to Romana and Leela. He just wants to protect Gallifrey, the planet that he loves, and becoming the Coordinator was just a way to enforce that. Considering how powerful he actually is as the head of the CIA, he probably could have taken the Presidential Office at least at some point during his career, being a member of the High Council and all, but in all honesty, if he did, he would never really want to.

Narvin is driven by many things, but the one thing he's absolutely not driven by is ambition, and despite the fact that he's usually considered the bad guy (and usually is) in most situations, his indifference to political power and gain is more than you can say about Matthias. Narvin dislikes standing out, prefers to move pieces from behind the curtain, or if not that, have nothing to do with politics whatsoever. He's good at it, but it's very exhausting for him sometimes because he doesn't like dealing with obsequiousness or snivelling sycophants. It gives him a headache, mostly purely out of annoyance and depression.

Basically what I was trying to convey in that very long ramble is that Narvin doesn't have a whole lot of hopes or aspirations. He's fairly content with where he is.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he’s actually something of a decent person.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Would Pandora count as a parent? It was implied that she at least affected his gene pool to make him who he was. If so, he hates the bitch.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? N/A

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand? N/A

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? Hah, family.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Narvin is not the sort to make best friends. His wrists are heartbreakingly clean of BFF bracelets.

6. Does he have other close friends? See above.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He can make friends very easily. If he wants to. He usually does to get information. And he can get along famously with people. If he wanted to.

(He doesn't.)

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? His job.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? As if. Thinking about it is hysterical though.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Can't. Imagine. Narvin. Romance. Same sentence.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? In my head canon, Narvin has a bit of a crush on Leela and Romana. He respects them both greatly by the end of the third series, after being with them throughout the entire civil war, more than he did before it, even, and he respected them a lot (if begrudgingly) then as well. He had no illusions as to Romana's, or even Leela's, competence, no matter how derisive he was to the latter. Especially with Torvald/Andred having been revealed and subsequently murdered, Narvin lacked confidants after the war and basically took up Leela as one. He calls her a savage, still, but I'd say it's more affectionately these days. Some of their interaction by the final episodes of Gallifrey is very close to what we're told about Andred and Leela before the former regenerated and took on Torvald's personality.

His first love was his first job by the CIA. It's an ongoing romance.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? Someone who isn't trying to kill him? That does rule out Leela though. Shame.

Not that Narvin is looking for romantic partners. He's better than that. Or he thinks he is.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any? Narvin would be the worst with children ever. The worst.

Ever.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? Have you got five years for the list?

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Narvin is not interested in your primitive savage rutting and cares about who he would do it with even less. Because he wouldn't do it.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him? Narvin is a Gallifreyan, a Time Lord and one of the more conservative ones at that. He is basically more repressed than the entirety of the Victorian era.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? PfffffHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Narvin does not have time for this bullshit.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
The closest Gallifrey gets to religion is their fanatical belief of Rassilon, who is basically their God, albeit a God that has been confirmed to exist. Narvin doesn't really care about spiritual beliefs unless it affects his work. He believes, as he knows from haunts into the Matrix, that Rassilon was a very powerful Time Lord, but Narvin, as a rule, doesn't believe in gods.

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?
Narvin is uncompromising about his ethics, even though he accepts that his ethics are rather strange, a bit vague, and somewhat few, considering what he is. But for example, he was very willing to support Darkel when they were scheming to push Romana from power, who he felt unfit to be President (and bad for Gallifrey), but as soon as his access codes were used in the possible destruction and proved a danger to his planet, he very quickly put his foot down because in his view, that was out of bounds. I suppose in the end that Narvin's ethic code is Gallifrey Gallifrey Gallifrey Gallifrey Gallifrey Gallifrey. But as a spy, he prefers most people to think that he has no moral code, and for the most part, he basically doesn't, although arguably he's fairer than most.

He is also almost fanatically loyal to his position, which just means that he will not disobey a direct order from his president. If he disapproves of the decision, he will of course fight it, argue it, shout it (and he has, a lot), but if he cannot change her decision, then what his president says is final and if it's a stupid decision no matter what she says, then he'll find a way to make it work for her. Indeed, the only time where he genuinely considered resignation was when Darkel was perilously close to being elected President during the aftermath of the war, purely because he knew that he wouldn't be able to obey her at all in all conscience. Or whatever he has left of his conscience.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
When it comes to how Gallifrey is ruled and governed, he is fairly intolerant about people who want to change it into something he doesn't approve of. In all other subjects, unless it gets involved in his world, he is utterly indifferent.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Narvin is pretty much prejudiced against everything because he thinks they're trying to kill him/overthrow Gallifrey. Some would say that he's racist, but he wouldn't categorise himself that way, just suspicious of everyone. But Gallifreyans usually aren't trying to go to war with their own planet, so yes, he is more suspicious of off-worlders, just as he's sure that off-worlders are overly cautious of Gallifreyans (and they are). And hell, it's not like he trusts any of his fellow Gallifreyans that much either, which is to say he doesn't trust them much at all. But at least he knows them.

Does he have good reason? Well, he was nearly killed (three times during in the audio series, excluding the normal hazards of his profession) and Gallifrey went to ruins. So yeah, he has reason. They're not necessarily good reasons, though.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Money is rather inconsequential to him. He's the head of the CIA.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
As shown above, his social status has changed quite a bit, from a field agent to political manoeuvrer, and the culmination of this is just that he's just gotten more dangerous and suspicious than he already was. And he was already fairly dangerous and suspicious.

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 lives in his quarters, which is very neatly kept. It's basically empty, in fact. He doesn't sleep that much because he's usually busy, so even as a place to crash, he visits it rarely.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
What else IS there to spend money on?

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?
As this entire survey has stated, Narvin is the Coordinator of the CIA. And he's very good at it. He's good enough to make people uncomfortable with how good he is at it and that's very good indeed. And he enjoys it a lot. He might complain about it unendingly, having to deal with Romana and Brax and the fact that with all jokes aside, his job is very difficult, but he loves being what he is. And that is being a conniving bastard with a whole lot free reign to be so, as long as he's careful. And Narvin is so very careful.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Narvin does not have free time.

(FREEEEE TIIIIMEEEE)

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Narvin doesn't skip meals unnecessarily.

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

1. Colour? I always think brown or beige. Not because he's indicative of that colour, but because it's something indistinct and forgettable and the sort of thing he'd like.
2. Smell? Metal. Papers.
3. Time of day? Midday. After meeting Romana first thing in the morning and a bit before anything terrible usually happens.
4. Season? Autumn.
5. Book? Something pretentious and conservative.
6. Music? Definitely a cello piece.
7. Place? His office.
8. Substance? Erm?
9. Plant? Any plant with burrs. They're sharp and they always get stuck to your clothes.
10. Animal? Fox. I hate being cliché, but I just can't say anything else in good conscience.

END
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