Character Meme
Character Meme! In my defence this time, a fellow student has pushed me into this, so this is a totally legitimate excuse. Or she's hatched a secret plan to make me fail... *eyes suspiciously*
Birch Ryman (friend suggested I do it chronologically)
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's a little short for a guy, and well-built, but not overweight. Kind of average.
2. How old is he?
Varies (obv), but eighteen at first appearance as he starts university.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He slouches a little, which is part of his avoiding being conspicuous when he was younger, but he loses this over time when he becomes more comfortable and happier.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Definitely not fit, and his cholesterol probably isn't great later in life due to all the grilled cheese, but he just about manages to stave off being overweight. He has a bit of a short attention span, but was never diagnosed with any kind of condition relating to it.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
A bit clumsy, if anything. He almost never moves with any urgency, all laidback.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He doesn't have the confidence to be considered sexy, but he may be considered downright adorable and he has a very good smile. He likes his appearance, but he's not arrogant about it, it's just what he looks like and he's good with it.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Exactly how it looks in the legacy, converted to real life: obviously dark-ish, but it's not actually the darkest possible IRL.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Rather bright blonde and entirely natural. Very curly and kind of dry, hence the dredlocks.
9. What color are his eyes?
Surprisingly pale blue. He has been asked before if he dyes his hair and wears contacts since his appearance is so unusual.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not especially.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
................? Erm, being stood cooking all the time probably gives him back and shoulder aches.
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?
Everyday clothes tend to be functional - can't go spilling cheese everywhere! But otherwise casual, whatever works, or if Carla has some say he'll probably go with that. Most of his clothes look the same since if one thing works, why not wear it again?
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Little bit loose, but they're necessarily comfortable and easy to wear, so he doesn't even have to think about them.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He would if he could, but work doesn't really allow wearing your own apron and stuff, so he wears the work uniform.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Generally whatever he was given. Probably briefs, but nothing fancy.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Medium-ish. Fairly deep, but can go much higher when he's complaining or if he were scared.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Generally slow and laidback, though he can get faster and more erratic if he's very excited. He may be hesitant if it's a very important person or occasion where he;s speaking, but in that instance he'll probably do his best not to talk at all. Otherwise talks easily without thinking about it.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
[Lol, 'like, you know,' I could have written this myself!] Erm, not really. I've kind of always wanted to give my sims regional accents based on British ones, but I have no point of reference, so. Kind of suburban?
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
In-game? Simlish, barely anything of the others. IRL? English, a few bits and pieces of very basic French, Spanish, etc; hello, goodbye, stuff like that.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Not unless they're more like references to things he's heard from other situations.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Depends what he's responding to. Chatting maybe, deep discussions not really.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Fairly inarticulate really, but covers it with a nice smile.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Lol, neither? He tends to be a bit lost in the clouds, so not street-smart, and he was never that fussed with books. Very good in the kitchen and with food though, kind of instinctive in that way. Can be quite perceptive about emotions too, once he notices that something's wrong.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He could probably use time to deliberate but generally wings it.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Intuitive and idealistic as a bit of a dreamer, but when he's actually forced to do something, he'll just do what he can with what's in front of him.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
High school, and did well enough to get into a big university with not too high standards, but dropped out. Might have finished if it were a cookery college, but his family sure as heck weren't paying for that, and the university didn't offer cookery as a degree.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Cookery, cookery, and more cookery. Also: Carla.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introverted around strangers where he cannot be certain he won't be rejected for his unusual tastes, but extroverted around his loved ones. And/or when he's cooking, when he forgets his insecurities.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Even-tempered , laid-back and positive as a general rule, but he was far less of the latter two growing up, and in situations reminiscent of those times, he may become more melancholy and nervous.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Very cautious with new people, though he gains confidence over time until he learns to just not care since he has his family who loves him regardless. He finds new situations interesting though, so long as he also has a supply of grilled cheese also accessible eventually.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React generally.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Flight, unless one of his loved ones is being threatened.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Jokes, puns, bathroom humour yes (though he tries to hide the last since Carla disapproves), not a fan of gallows humour or pranks where the victim doesn't find it funny too.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Weeeeeelllllll, is having a great obsession with a particular form of sandwich a mental disorder? If so, he embraces it wholeheartedly, especially once he's left his birth family. Otherwise he used to have anxiety and low self-esteem from trying to hide who he was, but it lessens once he's independent.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The discovery of grilled cheese sandwiches as the perfect kind of food, first being told that his obsession was abnormal and wrong, leaving home, ~CARLA~, becoming a father, becoming a famous and applauded chef.
14. What does he fear?
A world without grilled cheese sandwiches, having to return to live with his birth family (much the same as the first really), any harm befalling his beloved wife or children.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Marry Carla (done), have children (done), become a great chef (done).
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He doesn't really want his family to know about his childhood. He'd rather forget it himself.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Never knew his father, still doesn't know who he was, though he knows his mother met him at university. He loved his mother and his mother loved him, but she would never accept him for everything he was, and that really put a strain on their relationship. His relationship with his step-father was tough, they never really knew what to make of each other; he assumed that Birch was being difficult on purpose, while Birch assumed that he just wanted Birch out of the way.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Two half-sisters. They quite liked each other, but the sisters picked up on their parents' attitude towards Birch and would sometimes echo it, treating him as weird, but at other times adored their big brother for all his strangeness, leaving Birch generally uncertain.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
He was quite close to his mother's parents before they died, but he never got along with most of his step-family, to whom he was an unnecessary addition.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Only the one that he married, and he accepted (most of) his kids' choices of spouse as additional family members (he never met Count Christian, but he probably would have accepted him too, up until the violence against Terry).
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He had a few friends as a kid, but he never got that close with them since he didn't want his friends and his homelife to cross in case his friends started judging him too. Giving them up was worth it to have freedom to try and be who he was. And then CARLA.
6. Does he have other close friends?
He has some workmates in Simfield, but they're just colleagues, not much more besides bringing them home on occasion.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's a nice and friendly guy, so if people give him a chance and don't judge him or get weirded out, then he should get along with people well, though whether he becomes proper friends with them or not depends on commonalities and chemistry.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family, but in terms of his wife, kids and grandkids more than his own parents and siblings.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Married once and only once to the love of his life (grilled cheese notwithstanding).
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
NEVER.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He may have had a couple of small crushes on girls back in school, but he never would have had the courage to act on them. Then CARLA now and forever.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Carla? Erm, well obviously good looks and a nice personality are very attractive, but really the key thing he needed from anyone was acceptance and appreciation, validation of who he was. Carla just happens to be nice and pretty too.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Yup, five children and bucketloads of grandkids (once you take OWBC and apoc kids into consideration). He always relates to descendants in any way cheesy and loves it when they turn out to be, but he's going to accept and try to understand all of them as much as he can really. Where he might be aware of those with more villainous tendencies he'd probably just be very disappointed.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Well, Simon was his rival for Carla, but Birch won, and that was ages ago, so it doesn't really matter anymore, right? There may also have been other chefs who were jealous, but he never knowingly met any of them.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He identifies as straight and was brought up as such, looking at girls more, then he got Carla so it never really mattered anyway, but he probably could appreciate a nice male form, and with the right person in the right circumstances he could have been homosexually involved, but it was fairly unlikely and never happened.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He wasn't very sexually driven - possibly part of the low self-esteem - but then Carla happened, and he could never get enough of that. More about CARLA than necessarily the sex itself, though that's nice too.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
CARLA. Erm, like I said before, the love and acceptance works wonders above all. He'll do anything Carla wants to do really, and be grateful for it. He does love to cuddle.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
He's a Virgo. What that means probably varies according to who you ask, but he fits this version pretty well.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
No, not really. He's very thankful for what he has, but not necessarily to a particular celestial being. But if somebody were to tell him of the Grilled Cheese Deity, I daresay he'd take an interest ;)
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?
Accept people, due to his own lack of it in his youth. Also generally being nice, both as a part of acceptance, his upbringing generally, and his natural personality. He'd only go against it when somebody was being blatantly and deliberately cruel to somebody else and thereby deserved harshness.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Errr, he tries to convert people who don't like grilled cheese, but he doesn't force it too much. He's generally tolerant and curious. Only when people go against the nice and acceptance stuff, being mean and/or judgemental, is he likely to not be tolerant.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He was a bit prejudiced toward Simon, since Simon might be considered... aesthetically challenged and, in Birch's opinion, generally definitely not good enough for Carla (not that he's saying he is). Otherwise... maybe a bit suspicious of step-parents due to his own experience, and possible assumption that step-parents can't treat their step-children as they would their own, but he could be easily dissuaded of that by the right person.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Comfortable in his youth as his family were lower middle class, getting by. Less money as a student and outright poor for a fair amount of time when he and Carla first started their family, but they gradually made their way back to comfortable by the time he passed on.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Always middle class really, regardless of wealth. Never really bothered him, since the dip was accompanied firstly by the freedom to be himself, and secondly the gain of Carla, so he could scarcely care less.
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?
House, although his and Carla's first house was more of a shack than anything, and that certainly wasn't good condition, but they improved it to a cosy little homestead that the family could love.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Things for Carla and the kids (grilled cheese is a basic necessity), he doesn't need much himself.
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?
Chef; very; the fourth love of his life.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Cooking, playing games with colleagues or the kids (bit of a big himself kid in some ways), anything with Carla.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Grilled cheese, will never miss a meal where this is an option. Carla occasionally forces him to have other things. Milk's his favourite drink; he doesn't really do alcohol except socially, which is rare. The closer a food is to cheese, the better.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue
2. Smell? Cooking cheese sandwich
3. Time of day? Morning
4. Season? Autumn
5. Book? ... Cookery book (involving cheese)?
6. Music? ..... something cheesy? X)
7. Place? Chef's kitchen
8. Substance? Cheeeeeese
9. Plant? Birch tree X)
10. Animal? Lion for appearance, mouse for apparent taste in food :P
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}
It's a long one, but if anyone wants to nab, go for it. Or if anyone wants to see me do any other characters, prompt away, numerous characters if you want.
Birch Ryman (friend suggested I do it chronologically)
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's a little short for a guy, and well-built, but not overweight. Kind of average.
2. How old is he?
Varies (obv), but eighteen at first appearance as he starts university.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He slouches a little, which is part of his avoiding being conspicuous when he was younger, but he loses this over time when he becomes more comfortable and happier.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Definitely not fit, and his cholesterol probably isn't great later in life due to all the grilled cheese, but he just about manages to stave off being overweight. He has a bit of a short attention span, but was never diagnosed with any kind of condition relating to it.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
A bit clumsy, if anything. He almost never moves with any urgency, all laidback.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He doesn't have the confidence to be considered sexy, but he may be considered downright adorable and he has a very good smile. He likes his appearance, but he's not arrogant about it, it's just what he looks like and he's good with it.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Exactly how it looks in the legacy, converted to real life: obviously dark-ish, but it's not actually the darkest possible IRL.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Rather bright blonde and entirely natural. Very curly and kind of dry, hence the dredlocks.
9. What color are his eyes?
Surprisingly pale blue. He has been asked before if he dyes his hair and wears contacts since his appearance is so unusual.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not especially.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
................? Erm, being stood cooking all the time probably gives him back and shoulder aches.
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?
Everyday clothes tend to be functional - can't go spilling cheese everywhere! But otherwise casual, whatever works, or if Carla has some say he'll probably go with that. Most of his clothes look the same since if one thing works, why not wear it again?
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Little bit loose, but they're necessarily comfortable and easy to wear, so he doesn't even have to think about them.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He would if he could, but work doesn't really allow wearing your own apron and stuff, so he wears the work uniform.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Generally whatever he was given. Probably briefs, but nothing fancy.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Medium-ish. Fairly deep, but can go much higher when he's complaining or if he were scared.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Generally slow and laidback, though he can get faster and more erratic if he's very excited. He may be hesitant if it's a very important person or occasion where he;s speaking, but in that instance he'll probably do his best not to talk at all. Otherwise talks easily without thinking about it.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
[Lol, 'like, you know,' I could have written this myself!] Erm, not really. I've kind of always wanted to give my sims regional accents based on British ones, but I have no point of reference, so. Kind of suburban?
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
In-game? Simlish, barely anything of the others. IRL? English, a few bits and pieces of very basic French, Spanish, etc; hello, goodbye, stuff like that.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Not unless they're more like references to things he's heard from other situations.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Depends what he's responding to. Chatting maybe, deep discussions not really.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Fairly inarticulate really, but covers it with a nice smile.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Lol, neither? He tends to be a bit lost in the clouds, so not street-smart, and he was never that fussed with books. Very good in the kitchen and with food though, kind of instinctive in that way. Can be quite perceptive about emotions too, once he notices that something's wrong.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He could probably use time to deliberate but generally wings it.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Intuitive and idealistic as a bit of a dreamer, but when he's actually forced to do something, he'll just do what he can with what's in front of him.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
High school, and did well enough to get into a big university with not too high standards, but dropped out. Might have finished if it were a cookery college, but his family sure as heck weren't paying for that, and the university didn't offer cookery as a degree.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Cookery, cookery, and more cookery. Also: Carla.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introverted around strangers where he cannot be certain he won't be rejected for his unusual tastes, but extroverted around his loved ones. And/or when he's cooking, when he forgets his insecurities.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Even-tempered , laid-back and positive as a general rule, but he was far less of the latter two growing up, and in situations reminiscent of those times, he may become more melancholy and nervous.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Very cautious with new people, though he gains confidence over time until he learns to just not care since he has his family who loves him regardless. He finds new situations interesting though, so long as he also has a supply of grilled cheese also accessible eventually.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React generally.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Flight, unless one of his loved ones is being threatened.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Jokes, puns, bathroom humour yes (though he tries to hide the last since Carla disapproves), not a fan of gallows humour or pranks where the victim doesn't find it funny too.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Weeeeeelllllll, is having a great obsession with a particular form of sandwich a mental disorder? If so, he embraces it wholeheartedly, especially once he's left his birth family. Otherwise he used to have anxiety and low self-esteem from trying to hide who he was, but it lessens once he's independent.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The discovery of grilled cheese sandwiches as the perfect kind of food, first being told that his obsession was abnormal and wrong, leaving home, ~CARLA~, becoming a father, becoming a famous and applauded chef.
14. What does he fear?
A world without grilled cheese sandwiches, having to return to live with his birth family (much the same as the first really), any harm befalling his beloved wife or children.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Marry Carla (done), have children (done), become a great chef (done).
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He doesn't really want his family to know about his childhood. He'd rather forget it himself.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Never knew his father, still doesn't know who he was, though he knows his mother met him at university. He loved his mother and his mother loved him, but she would never accept him for everything he was, and that really put a strain on their relationship. His relationship with his step-father was tough, they never really knew what to make of each other; he assumed that Birch was being difficult on purpose, while Birch assumed that he just wanted Birch out of the way.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Two half-sisters. They quite liked each other, but the sisters picked up on their parents' attitude towards Birch and would sometimes echo it, treating him as weird, but at other times adored their big brother for all his strangeness, leaving Birch generally uncertain.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
He was quite close to his mother's parents before they died, but he never got along with most of his step-family, to whom he was an unnecessary addition.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Only the one that he married, and he accepted (most of) his kids' choices of spouse as additional family members (he never met Count Christian, but he probably would have accepted him too, up until the violence against Terry).
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
He had a few friends as a kid, but he never got that close with them since he didn't want his friends and his homelife to cross in case his friends started judging him too. Giving them up was worth it to have freedom to try and be who he was. And then CARLA.
6. Does he have other close friends?
He has some workmates in Simfield, but they're just colleagues, not much more besides bringing them home on occasion.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He's a nice and friendly guy, so if people give him a chance and don't judge him or get weirded out, then he should get along with people well, though whether he becomes proper friends with them or not depends on commonalities and chemistry.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family, but in terms of his wife, kids and grandkids more than his own parents and siblings.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Married once and only once to the love of his life (grilled cheese notwithstanding).
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
NEVER.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
He may have had a couple of small crushes on girls back in school, but he never would have had the courage to act on them. Then CARLA now and forever.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Carla? Erm, well obviously good looks and a nice personality are very attractive, but really the key thing he needed from anyone was acceptance and appreciation, validation of who he was. Carla just happens to be nice and pretty too.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Yup, five children and bucketloads of grandkids (once you take OWBC and apoc kids into consideration). He always relates to descendants in any way cheesy and loves it when they turn out to be, but he's going to accept and try to understand all of them as much as he can really. Where he might be aware of those with more villainous tendencies he'd probably just be very disappointed.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Well, Simon was his rival for Carla, but Birch won, and that was ages ago, so it doesn't really matter anymore, right? There may also have been other chefs who were jealous, but he never knowingly met any of them.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He identifies as straight and was brought up as such, looking at girls more, then he got Carla so it never really mattered anyway, but he probably could appreciate a nice male form, and with the right person in the right circumstances he could have been homosexually involved, but it was fairly unlikely and never happened.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He wasn't very sexually driven - possibly part of the low self-esteem - but then Carla happened, and he could never get enough of that. More about CARLA than necessarily the sex itself, though that's nice too.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
CARLA. Erm, like I said before, the love and acceptance works wonders above all. He'll do anything Carla wants to do really, and be grateful for it. He does love to cuddle.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
He's a Virgo. What that means probably varies according to who you ask, but he fits this version pretty well.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
No, not really. He's very thankful for what he has, but not necessarily to a particular celestial being. But if somebody were to tell him of the Grilled Cheese Deity, I daresay he'd take an interest ;)
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?
Accept people, due to his own lack of it in his youth. Also generally being nice, both as a part of acceptance, his upbringing generally, and his natural personality. He'd only go against it when somebody was being blatantly and deliberately cruel to somebody else and thereby deserved harshness.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Errr, he tries to convert people who don't like grilled cheese, but he doesn't force it too much. He's generally tolerant and curious. Only when people go against the nice and acceptance stuff, being mean and/or judgemental, is he likely to not be tolerant.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He was a bit prejudiced toward Simon, since Simon might be considered... aesthetically challenged and, in Birch's opinion, generally definitely not good enough for Carla (not that he's saying he is). Otherwise... maybe a bit suspicious of step-parents due to his own experience, and possible assumption that step-parents can't treat their step-children as they would their own, but he could be easily dissuaded of that by the right person.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Comfortable in his youth as his family were lower middle class, getting by. Less money as a student and outright poor for a fair amount of time when he and Carla first started their family, but they gradually made their way back to comfortable by the time he passed on.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Always middle class really, regardless of wealth. Never really bothered him, since the dip was accompanied firstly by the freedom to be himself, and secondly the gain of Carla, so he could scarcely care less.
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?
House, although his and Carla's first house was more of a shack than anything, and that certainly wasn't good condition, but they improved it to a cosy little homestead that the family could love.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Things for Carla and the kids (grilled cheese is a basic necessity), he doesn't need much himself.
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?
Chef; very; the fourth love of his life.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Cooking, playing games with colleagues or the kids (bit of a big himself kid in some ways), anything with Carla.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Grilled cheese, will never miss a meal where this is an option. Carla occasionally forces him to have other things. Milk's his favourite drink; he doesn't really do alcohol except socially, which is rare. The closer a food is to cheese, the better.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue
2. Smell? Cooking cheese sandwich
3. Time of day? Morning
4. Season? Autumn
5. Book? ... Cookery book (involving cheese)?
6. Music? ..... something cheesy? X)
7. Place? Chef's kitchen
8. Substance? Cheeeeeese
9. Plant? Birch tree X)
10. Animal? Lion for appearance, mouse for apparent taste in food :P
END
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It's a long one, but if anyone wants to nab, go for it. Or if anyone wants to see me do any other characters, prompt away, numerous characters if you want.