Army life was not what he expected, yet, it was not unexpected. Ask thought it would be hard, knew it would be tough but never thought he would genuinely appreciate the rigidity or deathly discipline of its routines. He learnt hard and fast, though his hot headedness and stubborn nature got him into a fair amount of fights with his fellow cadets and into trouble with his commanding officers. Social grace was not something he had much of, considering he mostly kept to himself as a child, and it is true that he was almost kicked out of the army. Truthfully, Ask was lucky that his Corporal was a kinder, more forgiving man than his squad mates were. Under his tutelage, Ask picked up the broadsword, learnt to run, move and fight his way through his duties. More importantly, he learnt the importance of discipline and order (even if rules and orders were some he did not agree with). Ask learnt how to drink like a fish, caught the reputation of a hot head and the fists of a street fighter. Being stationed out of Tyrol was an irritant since it meant he would be away from family most of the time, but he had his wife's handkerchief and the short visits he had at home were the most emotionally intense and happiest Ask had ever been in his life.
In his early twenties, Ask got wind of his wife's second pregnancy and decided it was time to get more ambitious. Even with the shop doing well, he did not believe his meager pay as a private would be able to sustain his family. With the dogged persistence fueled by the need to provide for his family, Ask worked towards the rank of Corporal. On his 26th birthday, Ask was promoted. With permission to take leave, he travelled home to share the good news with his mother, wife, daughter and toddler sons. It was probably the best night of his life. They ate well, his mother spent most of her time laughing, the children were happy and his wife did not stop smiling. There was nothing to indicate that by the next morning, his wife would vanish with his two sons, leaving nothing but a tear stained note filled with foreign writing he did not understand. Even his mother was at a loss to explain what had happened. If not for the need to return to camp, Ask would have personally torn the neighborhood apart to look for his wife. It was that afternoon that he realized the silken handkerchief he had kept by him since their first meeting was also gone.
The entire episode left him a changed man. Ask threw himself into work, but found the distance harder to bear - who was going to take care of his mother and daughter? His mother was aging and could not be around all the time and his daughter - bless her young heart - as much as she tried to stoically take over her mother's responsibilities in the house, he could not let her waste her youth away. He threw in his request for a transfer back to the city to join the Guard. The transition itself took longer than Ask would have liked, presumably because his Captain did not want to lose a good man. Ask was sent back into the city on the pretext of controlling the influx of Others first, but it wasn't until recently that his request (he was persistent and sent in 2187638123 many requests, I gather) was finally granted. To date, Ask has been with the Guard as a Sergeant for two years and is still bent on finding out just what happened to his children.
Family: Wife (Other), twin boys Cavell and Vaill (8), girl Elle (15) - He is sure his wife has given them other names and addresses them by it when he is not around (his momma told him so). All tied into the SECRET NAMES Ask has no knowledge of
Personality: Personality Keywords: What would happen if Bailey and Novea had a baby
A creature of habit, Ask likes his routine - he has worked hard to achieve some semblance of stability in his life and he doesn't like it being disrupted. He loathes to be idle since there are far too many things that need attending to - if not his young daughter, who is determined to work the shop on her own, then it is work. As it is, he spends most of his waking time busy and rarely takes time out to enjoy himself. When he does, he prefers to sit back with a mate or two in silence over some alcohol. Maybe have a good laugh.
He does things with a single-minded persistence and stubbornness he clearly inherited from his mother. He believes in the economy of motion and that often, you must be cruel to be kind. He delineates his work persona from his non-work persona very clearly and possesses the ability to mentally "switch off" once he is off duty. To his men, he is primarily a problem-solver, not a listener: he might be amiable to some degree but if you want to cry about something personal to him, you'd have to catch him when he is not at work or when he is in one of his rare moods. It is true that he is friendlier and easier to approach outside of work - he worked hard to learn these social graces okay!!
With a hot and quick temper, self-discipline and tolerance is a skill he has had to actively cultivate over the years. Losing your shit in front of your men is the quickest way to lose respect - or so he was taught. Still, it isn't like he's reached the state of zen - that is probably something that will elude him forever for a long time.
Appearance: Ask is broad shouldered and muscular, making sure to keep in shape due to the nature of his work. It is a miracle that he does not yet have a beer gut. Generally, he keeps his hair cropped short and tries to remember to shave every other day. At most, you'd see some stubble but no more than that. Facial hair itches. His facial lines and wrinkles map 90% of Ask's emotional spectrum: when he is not raising his brows at your stupidity, frowning in impatience or clenching his jaw in anger, it is a variation or mixture of one of the above. He does smile but it is often wry or some variant of a scoff. The nicest, sweetest ones are the ones for his daughter. When he laughs, it is one of those times where his entire body is thrown into motion and he cannot stop till it is done.
He keeps his appearance neat and tidy and when not in uniform, has the dullest closet known to mankind. Ask is not in the business of fashion and will probably never be - his attire is driven by practicality and comfort. There is a faint scar on the apple of his left cheek, his skin is rough and tanned from his work and his hands are calloused.
Languages Known: Fluent in English (has an accent when spoken) and Dutch, very little Portuguese (enough to understand simple phrases and instructions, but he cannot converse or read it fluently), bad sign language with his wife lulz Skills: Can drink, can punch your shit out, handy with a broadsword and his fists, quick learner Strengths: Disciplined, focused, easier to get along with when drinking, can handle high levels of mental and emotional stress, healthy Weaknesses: Hot and quick temper, not very easy to approach, can be cutting, workaholic
In his early twenties, Ask got wind of his wife's second pregnancy and decided it was time to get more ambitious. Even with the shop doing well, he did not believe his meager pay as a private would be able to sustain his family. With the dogged persistence fueled by the need to provide for his family, Ask worked towards the rank of Corporal. On his 26th birthday, Ask was promoted. With permission to take leave, he travelled home to share the good news with his mother, wife, daughter and toddler sons. It was probably the best night of his life. They ate well, his mother spent most of her time laughing, the children were happy and his wife did not stop smiling. There was nothing to indicate that by the next morning, his wife would vanish with his two sons, leaving nothing but a tear stained note filled with foreign writing he did not understand. Even his mother was at a loss to explain what had happened. If not for the need to return to camp, Ask would have personally torn the neighborhood apart to look for his wife. It was that afternoon that he realized the silken handkerchief he had kept by him since their first meeting was also gone.
The entire episode left him a changed man. Ask threw himself into work, but found the distance harder to bear - who was going to take care of his mother and daughter? His mother was aging and could not be around all the time and his daughter - bless her young heart - as much as she tried to stoically take over her mother's responsibilities in the house, he could not let her waste her youth away. He threw in his request for a transfer back to the city to join the Guard. The transition itself took longer than Ask would have liked, presumably because his Captain did not want to lose a good man. Ask was sent back into the city on the pretext of controlling the influx of Others first, but it wasn't until recently that his request (he was persistent and sent in 2187638123 many requests, I gather) was finally granted. To date, Ask has been with the Guard as a Sergeant for two years and is still bent on finding out just what happened to his children.
Family: Wife (Other), twin boys Cavell and Vaill (8), girl Elle (15) - He is sure his wife has given them other names and addresses them by it when he is not around (his momma told him so). All tied into the SECRET NAMES Ask has no knowledge of
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Personality Keywords: What would happen if Bailey and Novea had a baby
A creature of habit, Ask likes his routine - he has worked hard to achieve some semblance of stability in his life and he doesn't like it being disrupted. He loathes to be idle since there are far too many things that need attending to - if not his young daughter, who is determined to work the shop on her own, then it is work. As it is, he spends most of his waking time busy and rarely takes time out to enjoy himself. When he does, he prefers to sit back with a mate or two in silence over some alcohol. Maybe have a good laugh.
He does things with a single-minded persistence and stubbornness he clearly inherited from his mother. He believes in the economy of motion and that often, you must be cruel to be kind. He delineates his work persona from his non-work persona very clearly and possesses the ability to mentally "switch off" once he is off duty. To his men, he is primarily a problem-solver, not a listener: he might be amiable to some degree but if you want to cry about something personal to him, you'd have to catch him when he is not at work or when he is in one of his rare moods. It is true that he is friendlier and easier to approach outside of work - he worked hard to learn these social graces okay!!
With a hot and quick temper, self-discipline and tolerance is a skill he has had to actively cultivate over the years. Losing your shit in front of your men is the quickest way to lose respect - or so he was taught. Still, it isn't like he's reached the state of zen - that is probably something that will elude him forever for a long time.
Appearance: Ask is broad shouldered and muscular, making sure to keep in shape due to the nature of his work. It is a miracle that he does not yet have a beer gut. Generally, he keeps his hair cropped short and tries to remember to shave every other day. At most, you'd see some stubble but no more than that. Facial hair itches. His facial lines and wrinkles map 90% of Ask's emotional spectrum: when he is not raising his brows at your stupidity, frowning in impatience or clenching his jaw in anger, it is a variation or mixture of one of the above. He does smile but it is often wry or some variant of a scoff. The nicest, sweetest ones are the ones for his daughter. When he laughs, it is one of those times where his entire body is thrown into motion and he cannot stop till it is done.
He keeps his appearance neat and tidy and when not in uniform, has the dullest closet known to mankind. Ask is not in the business of fashion and will probably never be - his attire is driven by practicality and comfort. There is a faint scar on the apple of his left cheek, his skin is rough and tanned from his work and his hands are calloused.
Languages Known: Fluent in English (has an accent when spoken) and Dutch, very little Portuguese (enough to understand simple phrases and instructions, but he cannot converse or read it fluently), bad sign language with his wife lulz
Skills: Can drink, can punch your shit out, handy with a broadsword and his fists, quick learner
Strengths: Disciplined, focused, easier to get along with when drinking, can handle high levels of mental and emotional stress, healthy
Weaknesses: Hot and quick temper, not very easy to approach, can be cutting, workaholic
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