The New, Improved Character Survey of Doom
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's 6', so pretty tall. He's also really, really skinny.
2. How old is he?
21. The Nathan tribute on Simon's YouTube gives his DOB as 15/03/89. And, yeah, okay, that's not the strictest canon in the world. I like to have something to go by, though. So 21.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He does slouch a bit, but besides that he carries himself pretty well.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
For someone who lives off food from vending machines, Nathan's surprisingly healthy.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
He's not exactly graceful, but he is very sure of himself.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's very much a pretty boy. Looks-wise, Nathan is pretty good looking. Or at least in his face. His body's probably a little too much on the scrawny side to be seen as all that attractive. Still, it's more his personality that turns people off. A combination of his narcissism and... everything else.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Clear and unscarred. His skin is pretty pale.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Brown and curly. He keeps it pretty long, apparently to give the ladies something to hold onto.
9. What color are his eyes?
I've no idea. I've seen them listed as blue in a few places, but they really don't look it to me. I'd say green or grey? It's always hard to tell on camera, though. And that said, they do look blue when I watch Cherrybomb. So maybe they are.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He has quite a few tattoos. A star on the inside of his right wrist, another star on the outside of his right wrist and what I'm pretty sure is a swallow with a banner on the inside of his left arm. There's also a star trail on his right hip.
I could swear there's something on his left shoulder blade, but when I finally got a clear shot of his left shoulder there was nothing there. Phantom tattoo? Filming out of order? I've no idea. OKAY, THERE IS SOMETHING ON HIS LEFT SHOULDER BLADE. It looks like it might be a small bird. I won't post a cap, though. The only clear cap I get could was when Nathan was pissing mid-stream. Which I don't want to subject anyone to. There was also that brainwashing tattoo, but lucky for poor Simon, that's long gone.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His face, hands, or shoulders, probably.
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?
Very casual. He has a variety of t-shirts, which he usually wears under either a shirt or hoodie. He wears jeans, usually baggy and occasionally ripped. He does sometimes where drainpipes, though. For footwear he favours either Converse or similar.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They fit fairly well. He's more likely to wear them baggy than tight, though. Nathan's all about the comfort.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Depends on the job? He doesn't wear his jumpsuit outside of Community Service, but he does wear his Santa suit most of the time when he has his Christmas job. Granted, he's not at that point yet, but still.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Briefs or boxer-briefs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Mid-range to slightly high. He's certainly not got a deep voice.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Loud and fast. Nathan rarely if ever hesitates.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Despite spending a lot of his life in England, Nathan has a very Irish accent. Port Laoise, to be exact.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
English. That's about it. He can probably understand some Irish Gaelic (apparently 42.6% of County Laois folk have some ability to speak it), but he speaks English with his mum and I'd bet a lot of his education was in England. I'd be surprised if he has much, if any fluency in Gaelic.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No. Never.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He's a very good impromptu speaker. More often than not he'll ruin this for himself for the sake of a joke, though. Usually his speeches are a build up to that.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's pretty eloquent, though he can be unclear a lot of the time.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He's smarter than people think he is, for sure. He's still definitely more street-smart than book-smart, though. And even that he tends to throw aside most of the time.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He probably should take time to deliberate, but he always thinks on his feet.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Intuitive and idealistic. Logic and practicality are two things that don't exist in Nathan's world.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
He's definitely done up to his GCSEs. I would guess he probably went to college, if only to claim EMA, but I would imagine he either never finished or just failed.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Nathan has no area of expertise. He's completely unemployable and damn proud of it.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Extrovert. Nathan and introvert don't belong in the same sentence.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
His default is fairly cheerful, but he's very prone to mood swings. As soon as things aren't going as he'd like, he gets sulky.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He's relaxed and enthusiastic. That said, he's usually more enthusiastic about finding ways to piss them off and/or hit on them than he is about the people themselves.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Both. He probably acts more than he reacts, though.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
It really does depend. Nathan loves winding up people, but he's very bad at actual fighting. Usually, fight, if only because he doesn't think. But if he stops to think things through he can usually realise flight would be better.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Gallows. Bathroom. Pranks. As long as he thinks it's funny and it gets him attention, it's right up Nathan's street. The more disgusting the humour, the better.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He definitely has issues with his behaviour, but no, he doesn't.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
I think he's been defined a lot by his relationship with his parents, but I'll go into that in the parents section.
Nathan's changed a lot during his Community Service, so I'll start there. Killing and burying their first probation worker, along with the powers they discovered after the storm, cemented a relationship between Nathan and the other ASBO kids that he never would have had otherwise. It's highly unlikely they would've become as close as they had done if it wasn't for that. Particularly when you look at Curtis (who thinks he's a prick) and Alisha (who still insists she isn't his friend). He's also become a lot more careless since his first death. Up until then he was careful enough to avoid dying. Now he doesn't see the point, even if it isn't exactly one of his favourite things to do.
His relationship with Ruth was another defining point for him. Through talking to her (and later discovering her true age) he realised it wasn't fair of him to deny his mum happiness with someone else and reluctantly admitted to himself that he couldn't give her everything she needed. He stopped trying to sabotage her relationship with Jeremy after that, even turning down the chance to move back in with her, telling her he was happily living in a flat with his mates. Especially since he's really homeless, it was a very big step for him to take.
I think meeting Marnie will turn out to be a defining point, too, but I'll leave that out and write more if I ever update him.
14. What does he fear?
The powers in Misfits are extensions of a character's personality. People always point out that Nathan's immortality reflects how the things people say to him don't hurt him, but I think it also shows his fear of being left behind. His dad abandoned him when he was very little and he's never really been able to hang onto friends. Being immortal, it's inevitable he'll be left alone one day, even if he doesn't seem to have realised that yet.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He... really doesn't have any. He's far too proud of being a screw up and hasn't really thought that far ahead head.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Nathan's a very open person, rarely ashamed of the things he does. I don't think he wants people to realise how vulnerable he can be, though. He's also slightly ashamed of that time he tripled himself.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Nathan's clearly always been very close to his mum. He loves his mum. He has an almost Freudian relationship with her. He's very possessive and he really doesn't like it when she has a man in her life who isn't him. Granted, this is probably partly his dad's fault for leaving them when he was very young, but Nathan takes this dislike to extremes. He'll do anything to drive his mums boyfriends away, even going so far as to accuse one of them of sexually abusing him to get her to leave him. It's this kind of behaviour that eventually leads her to kick Nathan out to allow her to giver her relationship with her current boyfriend a chance.
His dad, on the other hand, is someone Nathan despises. He resents him not being there when he was growing up and for leaving him and his mum. Deep down, he would like to make amends, but can't keep himself from pushing his dad away every time he tries to sort things out. Recently, he has started making a bit more of an effort to work things out, if only for the sake of his dead brother. He's never going to have a perfect relationship with his dad, though. Too much has happened between them for that to ever truly happen.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He had a half brother called Jamie, who shared his father. Nathan only knew of his existence a few days before he died, but he still seemed to get along with him in that short time. He started looking out for him, even letting him have his bed in the community centre. He also tried to get him to work things out with their dad. He was clearly upset when he found out Jamie had died and if he hadn't I expect they would have become very close.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
He never mentions any that I can remember, so probably not.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Not really. He probably should consider his mum's boyfriend a part of the family, but he doesn't even after he reluctantly accepts him. He can't even acknowledge what he is to his mum, calling him Jezza to her and him, and the guy who lives with his mum to everyone else.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Either Kelly or Simon. He met both of them through Community Service. He grew closer to Kelly more quickly, partly because he fancied her, partly because she's one of the few people who'll give him a slap when he needs it. He has a lot more respect for her than he does for most people, even after she turns him down. Whereas if most people shagged a gorilla, Nathan would relentlessly make fun of them, he showed Kelly sympathy, something that's rare from him at the best of times.
Simon used to be Nathan's most frequent target for bullying. He's a weird, creepy outsider and made it easy for Nathan to make fun of him. He still seems to consider him a friend even before Simon confronts him on all the names he calls him, but Nathan shows him a lot more respect after that. He still calls him Barry, but he drops all the other names he called him. He looks out for Simon in his own way, though the best examples of this are after his current canon point.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Curtis and Alisha. Although it's debatable how much they return the sentiment.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He has a lot of trouble getting along with people. His extremities and fondness for taking the piss tends to put people off being friends with him.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends, unless it's his mum or Jamie. Especially his mum. He only knew Jamie for a few days, after all.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. He's never been married.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Probably one of his mum's friends or his teachers. His most recent crush is Kelly, but she's turned him down.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
I think he likes someone who can keep him in line and take care of him. It's also important for them to be fun. Mostly, he's more interested in a sexual than a romantic relationship, though.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Not at his current canon point, no.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Enemies? Nathan? But he's universally popular!
(Actually, that's a lie. He's got a lot. More than he realises most likely.)
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
I don't know about the Kinsey scale, but he says himself he's about 98% sure he's straight. He's pretty obviously comfortable with his sexuality. He'll tell tales about the Thai ladyboys he's accidentally been with quite happily, or let you know if you've got a nice cock when you're standing next to him at the urinal.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He likes sex a lot. It's something he enjoys and it's important to him because of that. He's not going to go crazy without it, though. That's what he has hands for.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Nathan's turned on rather easily. You just need to be a moderately attractive woman and he'll probably go for you. He does seem to have a thing for barely legal girls. I seem to recall him mentioning those on a few occasions.
Turning him off isn't that easy. He's rather tolerant of what others might perceive as gross. There's that time he snogs Marnie when she's still pissing herself, for example. He doesn't like nasty surprises, though. If you suddenly turn into an old woman mid-shag, that'll turn him right of.
He doesn't have any weird bedroom habits he's really concious of, although if you'd like him to dress up in women's knickers he wouldn't say no. It's something he might even come up with himself. He does have a pretty hilarious come face, but it's not like he can help that. There's also the time when he tripled himself, but again, that was unintentional.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Nathan's a Pisces, born in the year of the Snake. Really, he doesn't fit either of these. He's much more like an Aries than a Pisces. I don't know what year would fit him better, but Snake is very, very wrong for him. The Rabbit is his internal Zodiac, which is also off. I have no way of knowing his secret Zodiac, but the most reflective of his personality would be the Tiger. Not that he bothers with Zodiac to begin with.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He's Catholic, if only through upbringing. It's not something that's that important to him at all, really, but he will occasionally do something that indicates some kind of belief, like crossing himself "just in case it really is Jesus". But he doesn't attend church services, shrugs off Jesus' supposed resurrection and on the whole shows zero interest in religion.
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?
Not really? Nathan loves going against morals. Although he can be a little more sensitive to his friends if he realises they need it.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Indifferent, mostly. As far as he's concerned, he's right. No one else's opinion matters.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Nathan will stereotype people like there's no tomorrow. He doesn't hold anything against people, but he still spouts the most ridiculous racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc... comments ever.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Very, very poor. Nathan has no means of income. He must get some money from somewhere, but I'm not sure you can claim dole money when you're doing Community Service. So it's likely he gets what little he does have off his mum.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He's right at the bottom of the pile. Being homeless and unemployable doesn't leave you with much of a status to uphold.
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 squats illegally in a community centre. It's just somewhere he can crash. He doesn't do anything to take care of it, but there are cleaners, so it's in a pretty good state.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Cigarettes. Alcohol. Drugs. Condoms. He will try and get out of spending his money wherever possible, though. He's especially reluctant to pay for the necessities.
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?
At his current canon point he's doing his Community Service. Is he good at it? No. He'd rather be doing other things, but it's not as bad as he expected it to be.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Is being annoying a hobby? He honestly doesn't seem to have much in the way of interests. He might go clubbing. He might go drinking. He might go out and try to pull someone, or just stay in for a wank. He was seen bowling in a flashback in one episode, but I'd be willing to bet he's banned from that place now.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Nathan has horrible eating habits. He lives off food he steals from vending machines and alcohol.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? I tend to associate orange with all of them. I know it's mostly because of the jumpsuits, but whatever. Orange.
2. Smell? Whatever he last smoked.
3. Time of day? Night. Good for clubbing.
4. Season? Summer! So he can get himself an all over tan.
5. Book? Ffff. Nathan's not a big reader. So none.
6. Music? Er. I associate him with the Prodigy and War, definitely, if only for the S1 finale. Genre-wise I'm pretty sure he's into EDM, pop, alternative rock, funk... maybe some other stuff.
7. Place? The nearest boozer.
8. Substance? Marijuana. Barring that, tobacco or booze. He won't say no to anything harder, though.
9. Plant? Cannabis plant.
10. Animal? Party animal, duh. (Seriously, though. I'm not entirely sure. Naughty puppy? Fox? Jackal? I'm just listing random things here.)
END
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