Got a file on you~
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Thin and very, very tall- though he's not without muscle mass, and is surprisingly strong.
2. How old is he?
Thirty.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He tends to stand straight and is capable of sitting straight, too, though it's debatable as to whether he actually ever does. He likes to sprawl over things (read: armchairs, sofas, floors, John's bed). When walking, he strides.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He really shouldn't be as fit as he is what with his lifestyle, so he has to be pretty resilient. All the same, he does sometimes crash due to not eating enough or coming down from an insane caffeine rush. He doesn't get sick easily but when he does, it tends to be quite serious- or at least, he tends to play it up. He's in far better health than he was when he was injecting himself with cocaine, but he's certainly not in top form.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
He's got cat-like reflexes and is quite graceful; certainly not clumsy. In some ways, his movements are very deft- years of hanging around and investigating crime scenes will do that to you- but he's also frequently theatrical. He gestures when trying to explain something.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Sherlock's attractive to a lot of people. Maybe not very typically. He's half-way between pretty-boy and corpse, which is a lot less healthy-looking than fans of vampire novels might imagine, and there's a dash of mad scientist in there too. He doesn't really care much about physical appearance, though he likes to dress well; he's more vain about his mind than his body.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale, even pasty, but clear.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Black-brown, curly, often a little mad.
9. What color are his eyes?
Grey.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Cheekbones, ooft.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Wha'? His neck's very sensitive, and if you do something unexpected to it- breathing on it, for example- he will at least shudder and try to get away.
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?
Black trousers, dark coloured shirts tucked in, neat, smart, sharp-shouldered black jacket, the enormous black coat, cashmere scarves, leather driving gloves, high-quality shoes.
Of course, he also has a huge wardrobe of various clothes he uses for disguise.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yes and yes.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Inapplicable to Sherlock. I suppose you could say he's more likely to dress when he's working. When he's without a case he'll sometimes just lounge around in his pajamas instead.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Oh, Lord. Boxers, I think.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Deep, rather rumbly, a little husky sometimes but rarely hoarse (unless he's just been strangled).
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
With confidence and very quickly. His voice can sound monotone, especially when giving quick-fire deductions, but it gets very animated when he's excited about something.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He has an upper-class Southern English accent.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
English, French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian, Latin - fluent.
Russian, Welsh, Polish, Cantonese, Mandarin - able to carry out a fairly simple conversation
Japanese, Finnish, Portuguese, Arabic - knows a few words and phrases.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He can imitate accents fairly well, and slip into languages easily, but he only does it when it's necessary to lie to someone about who he is or communicate in that language- he doesn't do it for fun and it doesn't happen accidentally.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Impromptu.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's normally very eloquent. This rarely ever changes. It's hard to make him speechless. Sometimes, however, he finds it difficult to convey what he's thinking because his brain is going so quickly, leading to him shouting things which make perfect sense to him but none at all to other people. He finds this incredibly frustrating.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Ohhh, boy. He's ridiculously clever and he's got both. An excellent education- home-educated by his mother, sent to a very strict public boarding school, then Cambridge- and an enormous library mean he's intelligent in the bookish sense of the word. However, he doesn't really know anything that doesn't relate to crimes (or bees, or classical music). Prime Minister? Nah. Solar system? Nah. Nothing. He's also street-smart, very literally, having a perfect map of London in his head. He understands people in that he can be incredibly manipulative and knows how to get what he wants, and he understands psychology, but he has very little empathy and more illogical emotions can leave him confused.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can do both, depending on the situation. He does like having time to work things out, but sometimes a set time is exactly what he needs to kick his brain into action.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical and practical and fairly selfish, as well.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
He had one and a half years of primary school which didn't go well at all; he was too clever for the class he was in and so didn't feel interested in any of it. Also, he was already noticing everything automatically but too young to take all the brightness and loudness of the classroom, so rather than participate in the class he'd find the darkest place he could and put his hands over his ears, or he'd run off the school grounds. Eventually, his mother educated him at home, which worked much better.
By the time he was eleven, he was getting a lot better at regulating the attention he paid to the outside world, but still didn't feel comfortable in loud, bright places, so he was deliberately sent to the most austere boarding school they could find. After that, he went to Cambridge, and graduated with a first class degree with distinctions in Chemistry, despite being nearly sent down a few times for substance abuse, a waning interest in school work and being a general genius nuisance.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Crime, chemistry, music, bees, and all sorts of things relating to the them.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
I don't know if this really applies. He doesn't like many people, but he's willing to put himself in social situations and he desires approval. He wouldn't consider the best way of having fun to be going out with other people, but he does like having company when he goes out, and having someone to talk to. Or at. Whichever.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Moodswings. It all depends on whether he has a case or not, frankly. If he's caseless, he'll get miserable, bored, snappish, irrational, apathetic, listless, even ill. If he's got a case, he'll be cheerful, driven, excitable, energetic, even manic.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Always suspicious, always gathering information. He's neither timid nor enthusiastic about meeting new people; they're nothing more than puzzles to him.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
More likely to act.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Depends which is the most logical in the situation.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He has a very black sense of humour that a lot of people don't pick up on at all. He appreciates people who do, however, and people who can make him laugh in turn.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He was incorrectly diagnosed as a sociopath at age nine. He does admittedly act like one quite a lot, but it's mostly due to the fact that since he was told he was a sociopath, he just gave up on the empathy idea, considering it futile. He has serious trouble understanding emotion and empathising with other people, and is likely somewhere (undiagnosed) on the autistic spectrum.
He also has an addictive personality and a habit of risk-taking, which could even be diagnosed as being passively suicidal. He has attempted suicide in the past, and has depressive tendencies.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The time he announced his father's affair in front of the whole family, age nine; his parents' divorce; the first time he solved a case; the first time he took cocaine; the first time he realised he enjoyed danger and illicit thrills; the start of the feud between him and Mycroft; the time his mother found out about the cocaine; meeting John; meeting Moriarty.
14. What does he fear?
Losing his mind. Or his intelligence. Losing control. Being locked up. Hospitals, when he's the patient. And John finally getting sick of him and buggering off.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
I don't know if he really has any long-term aspirations. He'd like to win against Jimbo, but mostly he just wants a new case.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
His fears and weaknesses. He's also never too comfortable when his past as a coke addict is revealed; people tend to react by making assumptions, which he hates, but he's not actually ashamed of it. Much.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Siger, his step-father, barely ever looks up from whatever book he's reading at that point. They still manage to be close in a way that doesn't involve talking much, and Sherlock considers him much better than his real father. They tend to gravitate towards each other at family occasions, neither of them wanting to be too closely involved in the mania that is the Holmes family. (Violet was born a Holmes; Siger took her surname when they married, ten years ago).
His mother Violet is the most fearsome women in the world, in Sherlock's eyes at least. She raised both him and Mycroft, after all. She home-schooled Sherlock from the age of six to nine- when he was nine, her relationship with his father Branwell finally broke down completely and left her severely depressed. Sherlock stayed at home with her, but there wasn't much schooling going on. She had a hand in getting him off drugs. They're close, but Sherlock still feels an irrational anger towards her sometimes. He's also fairly sure that his mother prefers Mycroft, who is basically the perfect son, and vies desperately for her attention.
His father and his mother always had a very rocky relationship, alternating between furious fights- sometimes violent, on both sides- and saccharine sweetness. Willing to put up with everything but, Violet determinedly ignored any evidence that he'd had an affair, but when Sherlock was nine he deduced it in front of the entire extended family, and everything went to hell.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Ohhh boy. Mycroft has always been incredibly protective of Sherlock, but they've always vied for their mother's attention as well, and are very competitive. Sherlock blames Mycroft for leaving him alone with his mother when she was depressed and not helping; Mycroft hates the fact that Sherlock upset her in the first place, even though Sherlock's always quick to point out it was their father's fault. Mycroft is still protective; it's really Sherlock keeping the feud going. Nevertheless, if someone were to try to hurt Mycroft, Sherlock would hunt them down.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
The Holmes family is wide and varied and far too insane to be documented in detail here. However, he does have a French grandmother- Adelaide Vernet Holmes- who spent three years in prison and likes to give dangerous Christmas presents. They're very fond of each other.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
John seems to have been adopted into the Holmes family by Violet. And possibly Mycroft.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
It has to be John, doesn't it? They were introduced by a mutual acquaintance and Sherlock decided off the bat that they should be flatmates.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Haha.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
To say he has trouble getting along with people is the understatement of the century.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Ehh, this one's difficult. He's not really sure whether he has a friend or not, though he knows he likes spending time around John a lot more than around his family.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. Very single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Depends on the verse.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Errr, I don't think 'crush' applies to John exactly, but that's what Jimbo would call it...
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't actively look for things, but things that are good are excitement, the ability to make him laugh, the ability to understand him a little bit more than other people do and neverending patience.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No and oh god no.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
How long have you got?
Jim's probably the big one, the one who can actually damage him. Then there are countless people who just hate him. He'd also consider Mycroft an enemy- to which Mycroft just rolls his eyes, I'd say.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Tough one. He could in theory be attracted to someone of any gender. He doesn't tend to like many women, though, and much prefers men in almost every way.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Thanks to various issues with trust and control, Sherlock often doesn't like to be touched. Physical contact not initiated by him can put him on edge, and it's worse when it's unexpected. Ergo, if he were to have sex, it would have to be with someone he trusts in order for him to properly enjoy it. He has a lot of trouble switching his mind off and just enjoying sensations rather than analysing them, but it could in theory happen. He's had about...three or four experiences, none of them terribly enjoyable.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Turn ons include danger, adrenalin, nice hands, nice wrists, pain (both giving and receiving), trust and being spoken to. He also likes to be in control, but he could give that up with the right person. There are numerous things that make him uncomfortable, but because he likes a little bit of fear and nervousness, they could be turn-- again, with the right person.
Turn offs include not trusting the other person, feeling used, cheesy lines, anything that fails to keep his interest and those things he feels uncomfortable with happening with the wrong person. There's plenty of stuff he doesn't like. He'd also never get involved in anything with more than one person. That's a big no.
Weird bedroom habits- does sleeping in John's bed because it's more comfortable count? Aside from that, he can get antsy when another person touches him, so he tends to be more comfortable paying attention to the other person. The one area he's not selfish, perhaps, but only for selfish reasons.
This section seems longer than the others. Apparently I think too much about this.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Capricorn. I'm not sure- Capricorns are supposedly practical and logical, and that fits, and I suppose he's career-obsessed, too...but only because he loves his 'career', not because of anything else. He's really not organised, either- or not in ways other people can understand.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Oh, no, he's neither. It says Church of England on the birth certificate, but he never made his first Communion or Confirmation. He doesn't believe in God because it's just not logical and he's far too scientific to be spiritual.
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?
Ehhh... It's difficult to say. He's not immoral, more amoral. He just doesn't get it. He wouldn't murder someone in cold blood- because it's not as fun as solving murders, and because you don't get as much praise for it.
He uses John as a conscience a lot. If John says something is Not Good, he'll probably try to avoid it.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
It depends what they are. Frequently, he'll argue just for the sake of arguing. He's good at that.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He dislikes women just because they're women. God knows where that came from, he's just not a very nice person. It doesn't mean that women can't occasionally impress him, though, and in fairness, Sherlock rarely likes anyone.
He also assumes everyone's an idiot.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Well, he can't afford the rent on his own. He gets a lot of money sent to him by Mycroft, which he accepts because he likes high quality things, but he's really useless with money. He just doesn't care about it at all. He gets paid sporadically, but in quite large amounts, which are usually spent within three days.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Well, he was born into a very upperclass family. At one point, he wasn't exactly sleeping rough, but definitely 'of no fixed abode', staying in B&Bs until he got kicked out and not doing anything to bring in money aside from pickpocketing. Now, he's still recognisably posh, and fairly comfortable in terms of money and living space. And he's occasionally a little bit of a snob, even if he doesn't realise it.
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?
221B Baker Street! He lives with Dr John Watson, the most long-suffering man in the world. It's a very nice flat, but filled with tons of stuff and always a mess due to Sherlock's twin fears of a) throwing things away that could be useful later on and b) tidying.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
All sorts. Scarves. Sheet music. Various seemingly random things for his experiments. Nicotine patches. Red Bull. Things for disguises. Things that will come in handy one day, just you wait.
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?
He solves crimes. Only the interesting ones. He's the best and he loves it.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Er...he solves crimes. That's about it. He can do the Times cryptic crossword in ten minutes and sometimes does logic puzzles when incredibly bored. He also plays violin, does experiments, and irritates John for fun.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He never eats while on a case and he doesn't drink, preferring to keep his mind sharp. His eating habits are incredibly sporadic and really not very healthy. He usually eats out because despite being a brilliant chemist, cooking escapes him completely, but he likes John's cooking.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue or black.
2. Smell? Coffee, or the smell of streets after rain.
3. Time of day? Four AM.
4. Season? Winter.
5. Book? True crime.
6. Music? Classical.
7. Place? London.
8. Substance? Cocaine.
9. Plant? Something poisonous.
10. Animal? Bees!
END
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Everything you never wanted to know about Sherlock. Unless you're a creepy stalker. Yes, Jim- we're all looking at you.