Lengthy character meme for the curious

[evillurks]

This strikes me as a terribly dangerous undertaking, particularly when I was in the middle of working on Nexus 100 prompts. Here, then, is The Shadow as I play him. I apologize in advance for any conflicts with other people's perceptions of the character, but with the limited insight Gibson gave to his motivations and personal psychology, there seems some room for interpretation.


Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Quite tall, I tend to think around six foot five or so, and with a thin wiry build. The height is merely a guess but it seems tall enough to be notably tall, but still enough to not stand out in a crowd if he slouches. He's never looked especially muscular, but wielding an automatic in each hand has built up impressive forearm strength and incredible grip in his hands.

2. How old is he?
I think I may have given an answer on the year he's in differently for a few people, in part because I started playing him just before Christmas and into the new year. I believe my official version is ninety-four, although thanks to a serum he was given by the monks he studied under, he appears to be around seventy and very fit for his age. He is still aging more slowly than average, although the effects are waning and now causing him to heal more slowly as well.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
When not deliberately altering his posture for purposes of disguise, he carries himself very well, and moves gracefully.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Apart from injuries incurred in his work, he's extraordinarily fit and flexible, thanks to a regimen of yoga and martial arts practice. He suffered from mild arthritis until recently, but that was halted by Metody Green reinforcing and altering his bones. Much of the damage to his bones from age and all the damage from breaks and gunshot wounds over the years was undone, and his entire skeleton was reinforced with enamel. This makes his bones slightly more prone to shattering if they are broken, but it also makes them much more resistant to breaking at all. If he has any phsyical liability now, it might be lingering lung damage from smoking when he was younger.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Naturally he is very fluid and graceful, but he has excellent control and focus and will often alter his ways of moving while in diisguises. Some of his most successful disguises rely more on physical mannerisms and stance than on make-up.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
This is slightly tricky to answer, because his real face is damaged and never shown to anyone. The face that he wears most often, which most people take for his, is distinguished and angular. He's not precisely attractive but neither is he ugly. His nose is unforgettable, just shy of comical, and so distinctive that no one can imagine it could be a disguise. Who, after all, would wear a nose like that deliberately? The Shadow wears so many disguises and pays so little attention to his real face that he doesn't really percieve himself in the mirror at all. His face and the disguises on it are just another tool in his arsenal. If he thinks of any face as his own, it's the one people in the Nexus are used to seeing, but he doesn't have much psychological attachment to it.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
His natural complexion is on the light side, and although his face is badly scarred that's always concealed by disguise. Ordinarily his scars don't show, but he is not self-conscious of them. Below the neck his skin is scattered with scars of various ages and types, everything from knife slashes to gunshot marks to burns. There is a very old and not terribly large tattoo of a cobra on the right side of his chest.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
His hair is light grey and gradually going paler, although there may still be a darker strand or two. It's slightly coarse, as hair tends to go when it turns grey, and he keeps it on the short side and brushed back.

9. What color are his eyes?
His eyes are intensely blue, an unusual shade. He has discovered the wonder of coloured contact lenses for disguise, which has been a wonderful help.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
The facial disfigurement is noteworthy, although I'm not sure I'll ever have it shown in character. His nose and much of his right cheek is missing, leaving a hole in the side of his jaw through which his teeth can be seen, although he's also missing a few on that side. His regular/James Rettigue disguise includes the distinctive Shadow nose, and angular cheekbones. The disguise extends across both cheekbones, making them slightly more angular than his would naturally be, but the span across his face helps to anchor the nose. His face is his own around the eyes and up, which is why his most natural expressions show there. Anything more than a mild smile is a forced act.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
Probably the shoulders, but he's very good at meditating and relaxing his own muscles. He meditates and does yoga regularly, because he can't afford painful muscle tension that might interfere with his movements.

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?
Outside of the costume he usually dresses on the conservative side, in slightly older suits. He doesn't wear a tie unless he feels he needs to, but he tends to think a button down shirt and uncreased slacks are casual. He does own one pair of jeans and some t-shirts, but reserves these for disguise or things like working on his car or aircraft. He tends toward fairly neutral colours. Some of his clothes are technically borrowed from Cranston.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
His suits may be of a slightly older style, but at his height and with Cranston's money, they are most certainly tailor-made. He's comfortable in them, because it's what he's worn for decades, and that's why he continues to dress that way.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
His working outfit as The Shadow also includes a black suit, and is therefore similar to his usual clothes. He has a handful of suits kept mostly for costume. In warmer temperatures he wears a cloak over the suit to conceal the gun holsters, in winter he wears a long coat and sometimes a cloak as well. In both cases he wears red scarf and black slouch hat. The convenience of the costume is that he can remove cloak, hat and scarf and blend in a crowd as just an older man in a business suit.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Oh bloody hells. I don't understand the obsession with this. I don't really think about it. Boxers, I suppose.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
His voice is slightly on the deep side, melodic and controlled. He knows how to project his voice, both loudly and softly, and how to speak in a low whisper that won't carry far.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
His way of speaking and his voice of course change depending on disguises, but most of the time he speaks smoothly, with deliberate inflection. Because he usually shows less emotion in his face, his vocal modulation is emotive to compensate. He may hesitate slightly or speak more slowly when he's thinking, but he never sounds nervous or anxious.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
His natural accent is that of a world traveler, a mild mix of accents that comes out as vaguely European or New England elite. The underlying tones are American, but slightly archaic.
If he ever comes off as sounding just a little too European, that's unintentional, but I do make an effort to make him sound American.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
I don't think I can make an accurate listing of this. The Shadow speaks English, French, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, Romani, Italian, probably German, and I don't know what else. All fluently, at least for basic conversation. Speaking all these languages and having traveled all these places is why he has the overall accent that he does.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He frequently uses whatever someone's native language is when dealing with them, because there's less confusion that way. He's also in the habit of using different accents or languages as a part of disguises.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Usually he's fine on the spot, as he tends to think quickly, but he may slow down when it comes to philosophical ponderings. The Shadow likes thinking about philosophy and religion, but it's not something his work gives him much time to dabble in.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Normally he's very eloquent, or at least capable of it. In work situations he believes in brevity, sometimes to the extreme, but when he wants to give information he's very clear and communicative. His agents are used to both interactions where all he says is 'Report.' and times when he follows 'Instructions:' with something very clearly laid out.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
The Shadow is a genius. He has a fair amount of book learning, but he's learned even more of what he knows through a sheer volume of experience. Certainly he is street smart, and has to be to match the criminals he deals with. He craves constant mental stimulation, and devours books when there isn't enough work to keep him occupied.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Usually he thinks on his feet, but he also takes time in his Sanctum to go over information and put puzzle pieces together. Having that less hurried research behind him makes it easier to think his way out of the more urgent situations he encounters on the street.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
The Shadow is practical in the extreme, but he does balance logic with a certain degree of intuition. His Eastern teachings have opened him to following the nudges and hints of his deeper thoughts.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
In the traditional sense of education, he never went beyond graduating high school. Going on to college was much less common in that era, and he was eager to help in the growing war. He worked in the Secret Service, as a pilot and a spy, and it's a safe bet they gave him an extensive education in the skills of that trade. He also continued to learn all he could as he went along, about everything, picking up languages largely from context. When he slipped away from government work he wandered all over the East, and ended up training under monks somewhere in Tibet. He picked up various martial arts and more languages in his travels. He has never stopped learning as much as he can along the way.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
His experise is superhuman in breadth, thanks to his intelligence and intense desire to learn. He's a skilled pilot, spy, mechanic, diplomat, and of course crimefighter. The subset of skills withing those fields is enormous. He's willing to learn more about everything. Since discovering the Nexus, his main focus has been in modern technology and magic.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He is very much an introvert, but he's been forcing himself to be more gregarious for the sake of experimentation and learning.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Although he is outwardly very calm and almost unemotional, he is also driven about his work to a degree that is clearly obsession. He is restless both mentally and physically unless he can keep himself occupied with work.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
His emotional distance from people allows him to be relaxed and analytical. He approaches everything in this way, keeping calm and watching, drawing his own conclusions. It's a very scientific method.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Whenever possible he prefers to act, to the point of using subtle influences to create the situations he wants.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
That depends very much on the situation. He's more likely to fight criminals and flee the police, because he doesn't want to complicate a situation with unpredictable factors and potential innocent bystanders. If there's no one in harm's way that doesn't deserve to be, in his opinion, then he'd usually rather deal with the criminals directly. There are times he must refrain from one fight to set things up for some later, more advantageous combat with the head of things.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
His sense of humour is slightly dark. He certainly laughs easily, but he's more likely to raise an eyebrow at low humour. Puns don't bother him at all, but he doesn't make them very often.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He's definitely abnormal. Probably borderline antisocial disorder. In a more extreme degree this means one is unable to percieve others as real. He simply has trouble percieving others as operating on the same level that he does. He tends to assume most people are less skilled and intelligent than he is, and because he's an experienced genius he's rarely proven wrong in his belief. This also makes it hard to connect emotionally with anyone, hence his social distance. He knows he fits this profile, and that it's more or less incurable, and it makes him well suited for his work. He doesn't see it as a problem most of the time, although it does leave him a little lonely. He has been, very awkwardly, reaching out to Myra in a mentor capacity. It's a struggle for him, but he feels some need for human contact.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
It's hard to say since so little of his early life is known, and he's shut it out of mind. His being hired by the Secret Service certainly set him on the path to learning the skills he needed to become The Shadow, and his time in the East probably altered his outlook and focused him in purpose. I imagine up to that point he was simply wandering and learning, but the monks taught him to slow down, focus his mind inward as well as outward, and respect life even if he felt an emotional disconnection.

14. What does he fear?
Permanant infirmity. His greatest fear is not dying from what he does, but being injured in such a way that he has a long time left to live, but is unable to carry on his work in any way.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
The older Shadow lives in a world where he feels society has in many ways gone downhill. He's uncertain how to go about it, but he'd like to somehow set the world back on course to a better, more respectful culture.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He'd be extremely disconcerted to have anyone find out about his facial disfigurement, but more than that he doesn't want anyone to work out who he used to be. To his mind, the facial injury would be a very good clue for someone intelligent and resourceful to working that out. It's a slightly irrational worry by this point, since he's old enough the necessary information would be very hard to track down.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
He cut all ties with them when he left to fight in the War. That probably doesn't speak well of them, but his lack of emotional attachment plays a part in that.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
if he had any, his connection was probably even less with them than with his parents.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Again, he severed all ties to his upbringing and blood relations.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
His agents aren't family, but at this late date in time he feels a certain attachment to Harry Vincent and Burbank, because they're the last of the old guard. He's not friendly with them, but he is protective of them. He feels a distant slightly fatherly responsibility towards Harry, and more recently towards Myra.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He doesn't have one, but he's felt able to talk with Myra in ways he doesn't with others because she's both familiar with the Nexus, and someone who knew him in the past. They met through the Nexus, and he was very much surprised to see her much younger and alive.

6. Does he have other close friends?
He'd hesitate to call anyone a friend. He did get along well with Lamont Cranston, for a number of years, but it was also easy enough to let him go when the other man aged faster and retired South.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He talks with people easily, but he's always analyzing them when he first meets them. If he likes them, he files them away mentally as someone who'd potentially make a good agent. It's a slightly distorted social approach, but it's as close as he's capable of coming to people.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Agents, I suppose.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Very single, never been married, but not a virgin. He had a few flings when he was young, before the facial injury. He was a pilot in the Great War, women were grateful, and he's only human. He hasn't been with anyone since his face was injured, at least not more than a one night stand or two that he found awkward. He's since taken up a monastic lifestyle, and is married to his work. That he wears the girasol on the third finger of his left hand is a sign of this devotion.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
See above.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
It's very hard to say, I deliberately avoid delving into his early life, because he's mentally cut himself off from it. He liked Myra, when they were closer to the same age. He was never certain how much he liked her, and he never expressed it beyond a dinner where they discussed their work. By that point in his life he had sworn off romance.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't. He knows he's incapable of that kind of relationship by now.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Oh dear gods I hope not, but it is remotely possible there's some elderly French lady that found herself with a child after a brief fling with a dashing pilot during the war. It's a terrifying thought. Certainly he's not aware of any, and doesn't think about it at all.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He's had many enemies, and Shiwan Khan was one of the worst, but not the only one that's been recurrent in his life. Dr. Rodil Mocquino came back to haunt him, for one. More recently he went to fight in another dimension someone he thought was an alternate of Khan, but who turned out to be an alternate of himself. That's left some psychological scarring he's not inclined to discuss.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
I'm not familiar with this... very heterosexual, partly because of the culture he grew up in, but it doesn't seem to matter much since he swore off that kind of thing many decades ago.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He's not dead, and he notices beautiful women. The urge is quickly stifled, however. For the most part he doesn't even think about it, and due to the lack of emotional involvement he doesn't miss it much, either.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
He's privately attracted to all the usual standards of female beauty. He prefers some measure of modesty and politeness, but a little leg doesn't hurt. Stupidity in any of its many incarnations repels him.
He sleeps alone, so I couldn't say. I don't suppose sleeping with his disguise on counts. He only takes it off in the Sanctum.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
I've never seen anything definitive on his birthdate, but late January seems easiest to keep track of and I've seen fanfic authors lean that way. I'd imagine he's an Aquarius, precisely because that does fit. They're supposedly loners, radical thinkers, revolutionaries but slightly detached from individuals. They also dislike authority. If that doesn't fit him I'm not sure what does.
According to a little math from information from Walter Gibson, The Shadow was born in 1892 and is therefore a Dragon. These are said to be passionate, self-assured, authoritarian but devoted and loyal. Again this seems to suit, and he might pay more attention to the Chinese calendar for such things.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
I don't think he's particularly religious, although I imagine he was raised in Christianity. I think when he studied in the East he was surprised and fascinated by the difference in religious approaches, and took a lot from their ideas on spirituality. I don't think he's ever quite divorced some of the beliefs he was raised with, but the Eastern teachings are a stronger influence on him. It's shaped some of his ideas about justice and morality and karma.

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 has a very strong code of morals, and it was developed in part when he realized how easily his intelligence combined with emotional disconnection could lead him down a dark path. It's something he thinks about very intensely and very often, and if he did compromise it for any reason he'd be furious with himself.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Travel and learning about other cultures has left him very tolerant of other beliefs. His own are slightly muddled and he doesn't see any reason to criticize those of others.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He is slightly chauvinistic, in part because of the era he grew up in. That's not a good reason, but there are worse ones. When he sees an intelligent, resourceful woman, he respects that. He tends to gravitate more towards dealing with men, regardless, out of sheer cultural habit.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Thanks to channeling some of Lamont Cranston's money off into wise investments over the years, he's very well off. They came to an agreement, and their funds are now separated so that The Shadow's money is now legally his own (or that of James Rettigue, which is his most used alias now). He continues to work quietly at investing and keeping the money building, because of the continuous obscure expenses of his work.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He doesn't technically have one, being a legal non-person. James Rettigue is supposedly retired upper middle-class, but is also a person of few social contacts who easily slips through the cracks. The Shadow liked pretending to be Lamont Cranston sometimes, for the perks of the wealthy, but he considered those an indulgence.

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?
This is another one that's hard to pin down, as there's nowhere he really thinks of as home. The Sanctum is home base, but that's not the same, and he rarely sleeps there. It's more of an office. He keeps an apartment under the name of Rettigue, and a couple of other apartments, one in the Metrolite Hotel close to Harry, although he's never let him know it. He sleeps wherever is closest when he has a chance to sleep. These places are all neat, furnished in a spartan way, and have very little in the icebox. He uses the Rettigue apartment the most, and it has one or two pieces of decoration, but that's all that sets it apart.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Burbank and his assistant live in a hidden location with a mass of communication equipment, so their upkeep and the means for communication are an ongoing expense. Harry Vincent is alotted a generous monthly allowance to live on comfortably. There is the rent on the various places The Shadow keeps, as well as costs involved in his chemical laboratory and other work-related things. The Shadow may have a fair amount of money, but he has a great many expenses.

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 mentioned above, his living wages are made through various investments, and this does eat up a bit of time every week, checking on the markets and shuffling finances. He finds the task of handling these vast funds slightly tedious, because the details of playing the stock market are too imminently clear to him. He looks upon it as a regular chore, much like anyone would balancing the checkbook.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Languages are obviously an interest, since he knows so many, but his interests are eclectic and varied. He finds the ever-growing world of electronics and computers of great interest, and doesn't spend as much time puttering about with aircraft as he'd really like. He doesn't have time for hobbies, for the most part. Almost everything he does is in some way related to his work. When he retired, he had nothing but free time, and he read, traveled, and flew. He also found it so maddeningly boring that he came out of retirement in under a decade.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
The Shadow eats erratically, which may be part of why he's still thin now that his metabolism has slowed. He skips meals because his schedule is inconsistent, but he tries to get food whenever he notices that he's hungry. He drinks a lot of coffee, and eats out most of the time, although he's capable of cooking. It's simply not feasible to keep ingredients on hand when he lives out of three apartments scattered across the city. He likes real Chinese food, and prefers relatively healthy fare, but he's comfortable eating food of almost any culture. He usually only drinks as a part of a role, while dining with someone else he's subtly getting information from. He has a high tolerance and a cast-iron stomach.

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

1. Color? Blue.
2. Smell? Incense and make-up.
3. Time of day? Night.
4. Season? Autumn or Spring.
5. Book? Any. ;-)
6. Music? Swing or Blues, older jazz.
7. Place? New York city, but also Tibet.
8. Substance? Latex. Modern miracle of disguise.
9. Plant? Poppies and Crocus.
10. Animal? Old tiger. Thank you Myra.

END
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