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Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Herz is 6'3", and he's put on a lot of muscle recently, especially in his arms and torso. When he wasn't eating, drinking or smoking during JenJen's event, he was working out. He's probably lost a lot of body-fat.
2. How old is he?
Herz is stuck at 18, but he'd be 20 by boat standards in October
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Herz used to slouch, but he's starting to stand straighter. When he's nervous, he still curls his shoulders in, but left alone, or put at ease, he stands straighter and is more open.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Herz is pretty healthy. He keeps on a good diet, even when he's scared out of his mind. He's taken up smoking, though, and that's never good on one's lungs. Thanks to JenJen, it's gone from something he does to something he needs, so the damage will continue to grow.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Herz is awkward, but once he knows what to do with himself, he can actually be efficient, if not graceful. This shows when he's in Sergei's kitchen. As long as he's under control, things are fine. One pot out of place, though, and he could wind up knocking it over, or tripping on it, or any manner of ungraceful things. Herz also doesn't know how to pull punches. He has a lot of strength now he's not used to controlling, so sometimes he hits harder than he means to. When nervous, he's gittery, when he's relaxed, he's closer to fluid. Overall, I'd say he's mostly tense, like he doesn't quite know what to do with himself, and is afraid to try should he mess up.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
I designed Herz so he would be very attractive, in modern American terms, if not for his scars. He's got a strong jaw; big, previously chocolate eyes you could fall into; and a frankly adorable smile. And then I drew slashes through the smile, blacked out the eyes, and hid it all behind a mountain of hair.
Herz hates how he looks, and is terrified of mirrors. He thinks he's terrifying. Like he looks like some villain in a spy movie, and now with the black eyes, like a demon after losing a fight with a pissy angel. It'd be one thing if he were just ugly, but his scars also remind him how weak he is. How he failed to protect himself, and therefore has little to no hope of protecting anyone else. Guilt, on top of aesthetics. He also hates being photographed and taped.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Herz is a lucky-ass teenager. He has very little acne, and when he does feel some a brewin', he hits it dead with soap and water. Herz does not pick at his pimples; he really doesn't need any more scars.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Herz's hair is naturally curly. He rarely brushes it, so it's unruly and a little on the scary side. Right now, his bangs are inching closer and closer to his mouth, while the rest of his hair slowly makes his way down to the small of his back. He hates it. It's really heavy and tiresome. Oh, and it's a dark green <3
edit: Herz's hair is now cut! It's still disheveled and curly, but it's out of his face and off his neck. His bangs are just above his eyebrows--the back of his hair is cut closer to the scalp than the front. It's not the best hair-cut, but it's more than Herz could ask for.
9. What color are his eyes?
Right now? Black from corner to corner. They're kind of creepy. Originally? Dark brown.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Aww, man, this one's a toughy.
I guess, if you twisted my arm, I'd have to go with the four long gouges that go from ear to ear across his face.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His neck, shoulders and arms. When he's nervous, he tenses, curls his shoulders in to feel smaller, ducks his head to hide his face, and clenches his hands into fists.
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?
Herz likes overalls. Not all of his pants are also overalls, but, he has like, four pair. And the man doesn't own that many articles of clothing. Generally, he wears plain-color t-shirts with an undershirt, jeans, and his steel-toed work boots. BECAUSE. He likes base-ball t's, but he doesn't wear them often. They cling a little too close to his chest, and then he gets all worried he's showing off or something, and changes. Mostly he wears blues (his favorite color) and blacks.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Herz purposefully wears baggy t-shirts to feel less self-conscious about his choice to work-out, like, religiously. It's not that he doesn't like his body, he just doesn't want to call attention to it. He doesn't want it taken as a threat, or an invitation for a fight.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Herz has started pulling his hair back when he works at Sergei's. BECAUSE IT'S SANITARY THAT WAY. Or at least more so. He should really be wearing a hair-net, but no one's called him on it, yet. Besides, YOU don't wear a hairnet in your kitchen at home, do you? But anywho, he pretty much dresses the same everywhere. 'Cept his room. Usually he strips his t-shirt off and dicks around in his tank-top undershirt.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers, plz 8>
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Herz has a deep voice that matches his size, not his disposition. I base his voice off of a young Jeff Bridges (more specifically, his role as Lir in the Last Unicorn).
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Herz has a strong stutter. It gets worse the more nervous he becomes, and lessens the more comfortable he is made. He almost always hesitates before he speaks, though often that makes him even more nervous because he begins worrying over what he's saying. It's something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He says 'warsh' instead of 'wash'. Western Kansas, duders. He also slips in passive phrases like 'you know' and 'right' to make his statements less direct.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
He only speaks English with anything near fluency. He knows a few german words and could probably learn to read German if he really buckled down and tried. Speaking languages are kinda...yeah. Not going to happen.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Not really? I guess when he's more relaxed, he chops his words more, but that's it.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
When Herz talks without thinking, he rambles, meanders around his point without making it. He doesn't do this often, because in the past, it really pissed people off. Now he over thinks his word choice and phrasing and inflection, and it's just as obnoxious.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Normally, he's fairly inarticulate. Not terribly so, but he still kinda sucks at expressing himself. However, if given the chance to write out what he wishes to say, he could prove he can most definitely do eloquent. Also, when he reads, his stutter is pretty much nonexistent.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Herz is book-smart, but he's read mostly fiction since forever, so his common-sense and ideas of how the world works are very skewed. His school probably taught Creationism, now that I think about it. But whatevs, the point is he's a smart boy, he's just now learning how to communicate with other people, keep friends, do relationships, so on and so forth.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Herz is too nervous to think on his feet. When shit hits the fan, he panics, he can't think clearly and usually jumps to the first solid thought that manages to break through. That thought is, typically, 'run'.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Herz's thoughts are a bundle of insecurities, experiences and creativity. When he's trying to work through a problem, he can easily lose himself in the what ifs and the could happens. This was a lot worse when he was younger, but he hasn't managed to completely out-grow it. Just occasionally scare himself into focus. Herz is as idealistic as he is selfish and self-centered. He has a very difficult time seeing things from other's points of view, even if he is the first person to bend to another's will. He always expects people to react how he perceives he would in their position. Usually they prove him wrong, and that's very confusing. Herz is very down on himself, and second-guesses most every action. He fights in his own head a lot about what he should be doing, how he should be acting, and why he makes the choices he eventually does. He's rarely ever satisfied with anything he does, and instead takes his comforts in the surprising actions of others.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Herz was home-schooled until Junior High (grade 7) by his very religious mother. After that, he's gone through to his junior year at a rural, tiny Highschool that wasn't too well staffed. Not the highest of educations. Right before being put on the boat, he'd just finished his first month at a much better school near Kansas City, Kansas.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Herz loves to cook and write. He's horribly creative, but only allows his brain those two outlets. Cooking, because it benefits others, and writing because...well, he loves to write. He'd like to learn to build things, to repair things--all things. Mainly motorcycles and cars and houses (and whatever you may have in a house). Learning to act is a buried dream of his. It's likely he'll never persue theater thanks to his insecurities, but ever so often he thinks about it. He's sitting on a few plays, actually.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Herz is an extrovert who was man-handled into being an introvert. If given the right attention, the right social cues and enough care, he can be very personable, talkative and outgoing. This, however, can be lost at any moment's time. The other shoe falls, and he shuts down again. It's a defense mechanism.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Herz has the mood-swings you'd typically expect from a teenage boy who's just about done growing. One day he can be in the best spirits imaginable, the next the sky is falling. Generally, though, he tries to be cheerful, in a quiet sort of sad way. Wouldn't want to be too excited and make himself a bother, you see, or too sad and get you worrying about him. He's a nice fellow about 90% of the time. The other 10% is for when his life goes to shit, as it has a tendency to do, which he takes very personal and very hard. This is usually when he finds himself lashing out or losing his temper.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
New people excite Herz, because they are new opportunities for friendships. He always approaches with caution, on the off chance they are actually violent, repulsive and/or just mean. He'll do his best to be friendly and helpful, which is why, even if he's been told he's really hard to listen to, he keeps approaching new arrivals and offering them food.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
This seems to flip-flop with Herz. He likes to act. He'd like to act more. His cowardice keeps him stuck just reacting. Case-in-point, how he handled the Jen-Jen fiasco. Herz wanted to help, but he was terrified of failure, of pain and of death. He stayed in his room and did push-ups until his arms fell off (only not literally). Very soon after Jen-Jen was locked away, he decided to do something about those stupid graves. Didn't do shit, but he tried.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Flight.
Flight, flight, flight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Herz? Is a dork. His humor is very dork-ie. He appreciates the little things like donut seeds (aka cheerios). Witty come-backs and nostalgic references usually make him smile. Funny quotes used at appropriate times, too. He doesn't like humor at anyone's expense (unless he doesn't realize it's at someone's expense or happens to dislike the person in question), he doesn't like dark humor, and he doesn't likes most vulgar jabs, though it depends. He is a teenage boy. Usually, though, erotic humor just makes him horribly uncomfortable. Pranks? Can be awesome. It depends. Comes back to it being at someone's expense.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Herz has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and bad. In Kansas, his family declined sending him to a psychiatrist, and instead he spent a lot of time praying for god to take his fears and pain away.
Of course, this did all of jack shit, 'cept reinforce some nice, healthy self-doubt. Why isn't god helping you, Herz? Could it be you're doing it wrong? Pray Harder!
On the boat, he's making much more progress. First, he accepted his homosexuality, which was a nice thorn in his side, and had been for as long as he could remember. Made him weird. Next, Kage acquainted him with Joe. Joe is the knife he tried and failed miserably to fend off Erol with. Later, he was instructed by Kage to name the knife and carry it on his person at all times. Joe always had to be around. Eventually, this fell by the wayside, but it helped Herz immensely.
There's several friends in his life that inspire him to be better--to make himself into a person he can love. Thinking of them and needing their respect, praise and approval keeps him trekking on the bad days.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Starting public school really changed Herz. He wasn't safe there from differing opinions like he was in his home or his church. Herz understood the teachers, but not the other teens. They were given freedom to disagree, and being disagreed with and strongly really hurt him. In church, at home, he was told how he was supposed to act and feel and think, and it made perfect sense. He could discuss all these things with people, and because of the environment, he was spared their ridicule. If other kid's his age were nasty in church, they were easily delt with. At school, the teachers did their best to keep him protected, but he would often make the biggest deal out of the littlest disagreement. He would get upset. That would lead to more bullying.
By highschool and after a lot of discussions with his parents, his brother, and his teachers, Herz had a epiphany. He was the problem. He was the one doing everything wrong. That's why people hated him, not because of the Devil's influence or their ignorance (his mother's two favorite fall-backs). He was just doing things wrong. Of course, by this point, Herz had already made his lasting impression, and in a small highschool, there was little to do besides keep your head down and hope for a miracle.
Which brings the next big impact; the cornfield. Herz isn't sure if he was just at the right place at the wrong time, or if he'd been personally selected for this, but one day on the way home from school, he was attacked by four other boys from school, who beat him, tied him up and tortured him. This effectively broke Herz. He blamed himself because he couldn't bring himself to blame god or the boys. It made him irrationally angry, and that anger scared him. It was much easier to hate himself more than learn to hate something new. For a long time it wasn't 'his attack', it was 'his accident'.
On the boat, Herz has had a lot of fun turning points. There was his trip into Carnival; the first time he actively sought danger for someone else. There was the confrontation with an eventual acceptance of his sexuality. There was receiving Joe; his first proactive step towards fixing himself, rather than waiting for an outside force to just...suddenly doing it for him. And there was the night he stabbed Leo with Joe; Herz was confronted with his darker side, had his first episode that physically harmed someone else, and was forced to face the fact that, even when things seemed to be at their worst, he still wasn't as bad as he was making himself out to be. Leo made him think about the betterment of himself as a real, obtainable goal.
14. What does he fear?
Herz fears being the weak, cowardly, unlikeable person he sees he thinks he is. Any shred of proof to reinforce this leaves him terrified.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Herz wants a family. He wants a husband and children and a house and a normal life. He wants normality. He wants to be, himself, normal. And, to him, normality brings love and acceptance.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He does a terrible job of hiding it, but he doesn't want people to know he's weak. He also doesn't want them to know he can be violent. A little contradictory, yes, but for different reasons. Herz doesn't want to be seen as weak, because, to him, it's affirmation that he must be weak. Other people are the ones who are right (unless their disagreeing with him), so they would know if he's weak or not.
He doesn't want to be seen as violent, because he, himself, hates violence. He doesn't want others to see him with the same fear and hatred he sees in the people who've hurt him.
Relationships
Coming Soon!