OOC: Huge meme is huge.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Not counting his armor, standing straight up, he's just shy of seven feet tall, and his augmentations make him big and beefy, but if he gets to slack off enough, he'll develop just the tiniest bit of a gut.
2. How old is he?
Technically, 42, but between fried memory, the changes in his physique wreaked by SPARTAN-II, and subsequent reconstructive surgery based on an old photo, he only thinks he's maybe mid-thirties.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Generally, he tries to present himself as a loose, casual kind of guy, which involves a certain amount of slouching. Oddly enough, while his armor is designed with good posture in mind and encourages same, it's also flexible enough to let him slouch if he wants to. He will, however, straighten the fuck up if a fight breaks out, because that's how he was trained.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Before the civil war, it was fairly decent. During the civil war, he let himself go absolutely to shit, in the hopes that being fat and useless would get him shipped home, which didn't happen. And then he got run over by the tank, which was even worse and would've killed him except that he did get at least some help from his augmentations. Thanks to multiple rounds of post-war reconstructive medical work, however, he's now more or less at the at least mildly superhuman SPARTAN-II spec, and mostly works to keep himself that way.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Well, whether he wanted to or not, he did get through Basic training, and MJOLNIR armor requires SPARTANs to get a certain minimum of gracefulness ingrained into them so they don't hurt themselves. It helps that some of the training takes the form of chemically-encoded muscle memory injections, because if they'd tried to make him learn the traditional way, it would've taken forever. Since then, after the war, he's worked a little more on it for his own purposes and taken a couple of more advanced courses, so his movements are pretty graceful and fluid, although geared more towards straight-line, solid, boots on the ground fighting than anything acrobatic.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
To say that Grif is "unconventionally attractive" would be exceedingly kind. He doesn't really know whether his face is the one he's always had, or just since the SPARTAN-II process, but in any case, he's okay with generally being considered fairly ugly. (He even agreed, one time, with Sarge calling him, "hideously ugly." Granted, that was after he'd suffered the tank and subsequent Frankenstein-ification, but still, he doesn't really have any angst about not being a fashion plate.)
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
White, clear, a bit pale due to spending a lot of time in full body armor.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Brown hair, straight, generally well-kept. He probably had to keep it crew cut during the war, at least until the tank happened and he didn't have hair at all anymore. These days, he keeps it a bit longer, just enough to comb into a simple single-part style.
9. What color are his eyes?
Whatever color Brian Thompson's eyes are, I swear I have never been able to tell for sure just what that is.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
His chin and mouth are probably the core of how odd he looks. Given the amount of damage he's taken over the years, he's a lot less marked up than he should be, thanks to the marvels of reconstructive surgery. When his helmet's off, the small metal plug of his neural implant can be seen set into the back of his head, where the base of the skull meets the spine.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Shoulders, arms, hands. The armor handles its own weight, but if he tenses up with wanting to do something, that's generally where it'll collect.
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?
It's pretty varied, although most Nexus folks usually only see the armor. In his own universe, though -- and occasionally when he's visiting other worlds -- he's got UNSC-issue sweatsuits for working out, casual wear for generally hanging around in, suits for when he's engaged in business. Some of his clothes -- including at least one tuxedo -- are scaled up so they'll fit well over his armor, which he originally started on because of needing the armor's life support but now maintains so he can occasionally dress in style while keeping protected in the Nexus. He's taken his armor's color scheme to heart, and thus tends towards black with orange accents.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They fit him very well. The Mr. Freaky-Big clothing chain greatly appreciates Mr. Grif's business, and his regular tailor is always available if he needs any alterations done on anything they sell.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Given the number of jobs he has and how they intersect at different points with what he might consider "free time," I'm just going to say that he varies his style according to the situation he's in at the time.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
All of the above, really. Out of armor, he'll go with boxers or briefs depending on what else he's wearing -- for example, probably boxers with suits, but briefs if he's working out -- but when he's armored up, the under-layer of the armor replaces any actual underwear he might otherwise wear.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Kind of mid-ranged, I guess? Maybe a little high, at least when he's acting up. idk, I've never been good with this kind of thing. It is, in any case, not necessarily the sort of voice you might expect a guy his size to have, mainly because he wasn't originally that huge.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He's usually a bit loud, but fairly even-paced. He's definitely a talker and a half, enjoying the sound of his own voice.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He's come up with some wild mispronunciations from time to time, but those were mainly part of his Fat Lazy Dumbass routine. He does tend to swear a lot, call people "dude" and "man" (and sometimes "cockbite"), and can generally put what he's feeling -- or what he wants to present the impression of feeling -- into his voice, in place of his face being hidden behind his helmet's visor.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Technically, he's only fluent in English, but he's spoken lots of other languages with the assistance of translation software he can load into his neural implant. (And yes, 34th century translation technology is good enough that it's basically equivalent to native fluency. It probably got a boost, somewhere in the last 800 years, from discovered Forerunner tech.) SPARTANs have artificially enhanced memory, though -- at least for anything after the augmenations, anyway -- so he's probably picked up the odd word here and there, although probably not anything close to conversational capability.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He's pretty good with being impromptu, but SPARTANs' thought processes are sped up enough that he can generally give whatever he's about to say a looking-over before he lets it fly. (Back during the civil war, this was crucial to being able to make sure what he said was as dumb as possible and that he had the tone right for making it sound like he was just saying it without any filter between his brain and his mouth.)
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Excepting the Fat Lazy Dumbass routing, he can generally be pretty eloquent. Despite his lower class roots, he's a con man turned businessman who took the time, back when he needed to be retaught the use of language due to the ravages of SPARTAN-II on his brain-meats, to learn how to use language well as well as how to use it badly, and can switch between them as the situation requires. Being caught off-guard by something sufficiently fucked up can render his inarticulate, though, while he recovers mentally and figures out what just happened.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He's not any sort of academic, but he's very sharp, crafty, and cunning. Generally, this is more street-smart than anything else, but he's done some book learning when it's suited his interests.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Being a SPARTAN lets him split the difference: He thinks on his feet, but his brain augmentations let him do it quickly enough to get some deliberation in as well.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Mostly logical and practical -- he's often known for being the Voice of Reason, albeit generally in comparison to very unreasonable surroundings -- although he does have some ideals he will at least sometimes try to keep to and he's learned to go with some of the intuitive leaps that his SPARTAN-enhanced senses and thought processes sometimes provide him.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Somewhat mixed, really. While he didn't quite live on the streets, he did spend a lot of time there as a kid, and learned quite a bit there. He actually managed to graduate from high school, albeit not with the greatest grades ever. He didn't ever plan on college, focusing instead on practical trade knowledge from whatever job he was working to provide for himself and his sister. Once he was drafted, though, he knew he needed a better class of plan, and arranged to abuse a UNSC education initiative to take a distance-learning business school program from Harvard. (Yes, that Harvard. Grif is, in fact, a Harvard Man.)
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He's good with people, and with planning/logistics. He's an expert wheelman, and a surprisingly natural sniper. He's been learning how to use a sword from Martel, who he teaches how to use a gun. He also keeps up on the latest historical and archaeological research on the 26th century, with sidelines into whatever's been discovered about the Covenant and the Forerunners, in an attempt to get a better handle on just what all the craziness of his earlier life was about.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Totally an extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He generally presents himself as a laid-back, cheerful, friendly kind of guy, even if he isn't necessarily always like that, because he knows that that's generally going to get the best response from others. He does have some pretty heavy mood swings on occasion, though -- and something of a temper -- and he's sometimes a bit melodramatic about them.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Unless there's some immediate situation requiring his attention involved, he'll usually be pretty relaxed about meeting new people, but with some mild suspicion behind it. Friendly, but not unquestioningly so.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React, but usually to such a degree that he'll start taking active steps to make sure whatever made him react doesn't give him any more trouble.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Once upion a time, it would've been flight. These days, between his ongoing "recovering coward" status and his temper, it'll probably be fight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He's got a fairly decent sense of humor. Jokes are good, puns are okay if they're not too horrible. Pranks are generally more trouble than they're worth to him, and also tend to involve the person playing the joke being an asshole, which he's not really down with. His own jokes tend to involve the surreality of his own life, finding reasons to laugh so he doesn't have to dwell on how horrible it is.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
I don't really know from diagnosable, but he's definitely got some long-standing trauma from the draft, training, living with Sarge's constant abuse for years, etc. He should probably get some therapy -- especially since it's something he recommends to others -- but instead opts to use the Nexus and the occasional anger management refresher course as his substitutes. Also, getting involved in situations in the Nexus sometimes let him release some of his temper, which might not be healthy but makes him feel better.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
His mom leaving him in charge of his sister, then abandoning them.
Being drafted.
The SPARTAN-II process and his subsequent mental recovery from same.
The tank and Frankenstein-ification.
Discovering that being blasted to The Future had eventually just led them back to Blood Gulch.
Finding the Nexus.
...Look, if I start naming everything that's happened since then, we're going to be at this all day. Let's just say he's had lots of opportunities to discover or change something about himself.
14. What does he fear?
Bats. He doesn't know why -- he knows that he used to know, but it's among the memories that SPARTAN-II burned out of him -- but even just mention of them will usually give him a moment of panic unless he makes an effort to stamp it down. Aside from that... surprisingly little, mainly because after having been scared by Sarge and then Tex for years on end, he's pretty much gotten his fill of it from professionals and no one else is likely to stack up.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
His biggest hope is to someday get out of the Army, preferably before he finally decides he actually kind of likes it there.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
About the only secret he tends to actively keep from anyone is how his business operates, with the selling popular toys at heavy markup to desparate last-minute Christmas shoppers and all.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
HaaaAAAaa ha ha ha ha ha. His dad was almost entirely absentee. About the only thing of note about him that Grif can recall is that he resurfaced for pretty much just long enough to get Mom pregnant with Kaikaina. As for Mom, well, she was vaguely around, but largely preferred for little Dexter to get out and play with the other kids than spend any time at home. And then she eventually abandoned both her kids to join the circus. Needless to say, Grif doesn't particularly care too much about the fact that either of them are long dead out here in The Future.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He has one sister, Kaikaina. She's about ten years younger than he is, although he doesn't really remember how old either of them are himself. They don't really have a relationship now, because she's somewhere lost in space traveling at relativistic speeds with an ONI search and rescue team looking for her and has been since not long after he was drafted, but before the civil war, he looked after her and raised her for years after Mom abandoned them. This involved a lot of yelling, becuase she's kind of an idiot, but he does love her and want her to be safe.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
None at all.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
He's had a group of friends that made a pseudo-family of themselves, a while back. They've since largely gone each their own way, but Grif still cherishes the experience. On the whole, he's willing to treat any friend he's spent enough time with like family... which, given how his real family life was, doesn't really necessarily say as much as it might coming from others.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
They don't spend nearly as much time together anymore, but it's probably still Mack Sumner, who he met in a bar in the Nexus.
6. Does he have other close friends?
It's probably currently more accurate to say that he's got some fairly close acquaintances that he is friendly with, when the opportunity arises.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He gets along with people very well. Consider that even the WoD types, who totally hate all the technology stuff that he's covered in, tend to get used to him pretty quickly.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Since he doesn't usually have family around, this is kind of a moot point for him. If Kaikaina was around, she'd always be top priority, though.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No, and he may not have ever been.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Any crushes he might've had before the draft are lost memories, and he doesn't really have crushes anymore.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't. Thanks a lot, SPARTAN-II.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
He's had his fill of child-rearing from the years he spent raising Kaikaina.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He's probably got some business rivals, but nothing that really bothers him on any sort of ongoing basis.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Ha ha ha. Before the draft, I'd say he was straight, somewhere between 0 and maybe 1 on the Kinsey scale. Thanks to SPARTAN-II, however, he's now solidly an X. (Suppressed sexual drive is a known, albeit relatively rare, potential side effect of the catalytic thyroid implant augmentation procedure. He just considers himself lucky he didn't get elephantiasis.)
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Ha ha, nothing. He might make the occasional masturbation joke, particularly if he ever feels like acting like an affable yutz again, but really, any part of his mental faculties that might relate to sexual activity or even interest are pretty much gone.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
None.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
For lack of canonical evidence, I made Grif's birthday August 28th, largely because that was Brian Thompson's birthday and Grif is probably not likely to ever find it out anyway. That would make him a Virgo, which... I can't even tell what Wikipedia is trying to say about what Virgos are like. Whatever, he doesn't really consider astrology to be worthwhile anyway, what with how it's all Earth-centric and that becomes kind of meaningless in a galactic society. About the only other thing to note is that an acquaintance of his once assigned him to Aquarius, which I can't understand the Wikipedia explanation for either.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
None of the above. He knows ghosts exist, because he knew a couple, and has occasionally pondered the question of whether or not there's really a God making everything happen according to a plan or what-not, but generally doesn't really concern himself with any of that in the day-to-day.
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?
He has one, but it's pretty simple and largely based around personal freedom. There's not much room for compromise there, mainly because it's based in the thing he wants but can't have.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Tolerant and curious, as long as it's not one of his hot buttons like mad scientists believing they have a right to experiment on people without their consent.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He's had some Bad Experiences[tm] with one particular Smart AI that he knows gives him an unfair perspective with the type as a whole. On the other hand, he knows that what he's seen of Mad Science makes the few ethical types he knows the exception rather than the norm.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He's pretty well off. His cut of his company's profits during the years he was out of the loop of running things was pretty meager, but built up over 800 years, plus what he gets now that he's back in control, he makes more than enough that he could live comfortably pretty much anywhere he wanted to (if it weren't for the "stuck in the military" thing) and still have enough to do the occasional wacky thing in the Nexus.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
It's changed a lot. Back in his original life, he was pretty low-class, although that's still not really all that bad in the 26th century. Currently, he's considered more or less an also-ran of mid-range galactic business, which gets him into a party or two every so often but otherwise isn't worth a whole lot. Militarily, his ONI assignment gives him better access than his rank would imply, which is kind of weird but not really much of a factor most of the time because he doesn't care to use it if he doesn't have to.
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 lives by himself in an otherwise abandoned military base in a box canyon on a planet out in the ass-end of the galaxy. It's... unique, especially since he took the time a couple years back to get the barracks level gutted and redecorated to be more home-like.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Clothes, entertainment when he's out on other planets for business, stuff to help out his friends in the Nexus.
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 considers his day job to be as a businessman, which is something he's very good at. The UNSC considers his job to be as a SPARTAN-II super-soldier, which he's not nearly so good at and tries to avoid doing anything with if at all possible.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Being a super-soldier does, however, facilitate the taste for adventure he's acquired since finding the Nexus, which is generally what passes for a hobby for him. Helping people, looting Zombie Earth liquor stores while gunning down zombies and encountering survivors to help escape, sometimes providing combat training, etc.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He likes to eat, and eat well. While he'd never consider himself a chef, he did have a few kitchen jobs before the civil war, and he still has the skills he picked up. (Which was a good thing, during the war, when he had to keep an eye out for Simmons trying to poison his meals on Sarge's behalf.) He also likes to drink, but since he got a fresh, fully SPARTAN'd liver, it doesn't get him drunk like it used to, so he mostly drinks for the taste.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Orange.
2. Smell? Booze.
3. Time of day? Between the Nexus and the weird orbital mechanics of the planet Blood Gulch is on, this question's largely meaningless.
4. Season? Christmas season is the season of money.
5. Book? 26th century history texts that include a footnote about Dexter Grif, the One Drafted Man.
6. Music? Creed. (Look, don't judge.)
7. Place? The Nexus, I guess?
8. Substance? Um. Booze?
9. Plant? Not so much.
10. Animal? Big cats: pumas (like his jeep, no, it's not a warthog) or tigers (orange and black, like his armor).
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}
(And, just for comparison, the results from last time I did a meme like this.)
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Not counting his armor, standing straight up, he's just shy of seven feet tall, and his augmentations make him big and beefy, but if he gets to slack off enough, he'll develop just the tiniest bit of a gut.
2. How old is he?
Technically, 42, but between fried memory, the changes in his physique wreaked by SPARTAN-II, and subsequent reconstructive surgery based on an old photo, he only thinks he's maybe mid-thirties.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Generally, he tries to present himself as a loose, casual kind of guy, which involves a certain amount of slouching. Oddly enough, while his armor is designed with good posture in mind and encourages same, it's also flexible enough to let him slouch if he wants to. He will, however, straighten the fuck up if a fight breaks out, because that's how he was trained.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Before the civil war, it was fairly decent. During the civil war, he let himself go absolutely to shit, in the hopes that being fat and useless would get him shipped home, which didn't happen. And then he got run over by the tank, which was even worse and would've killed him except that he did get at least some help from his augmentations. Thanks to multiple rounds of post-war reconstructive medical work, however, he's now more or less at the at least mildly superhuman SPARTAN-II spec, and mostly works to keep himself that way.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Well, whether he wanted to or not, he did get through Basic training, and MJOLNIR armor requires SPARTANs to get a certain minimum of gracefulness ingrained into them so they don't hurt themselves. It helps that some of the training takes the form of chemically-encoded muscle memory injections, because if they'd tried to make him learn the traditional way, it would've taken forever. Since then, after the war, he's worked a little more on it for his own purposes and taken a couple of more advanced courses, so his movements are pretty graceful and fluid, although geared more towards straight-line, solid, boots on the ground fighting than anything acrobatic.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
To say that Grif is "unconventionally attractive" would be exceedingly kind. He doesn't really know whether his face is the one he's always had, or just since the SPARTAN-II process, but in any case, he's okay with generally being considered fairly ugly. (He even agreed, one time, with Sarge calling him, "hideously ugly." Granted, that was after he'd suffered the tank and subsequent Frankenstein-ification, but still, he doesn't really have any angst about not being a fashion plate.)
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
White, clear, a bit pale due to spending a lot of time in full body armor.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Brown hair, straight, generally well-kept. He probably had to keep it crew cut during the war, at least until the tank happened and he didn't have hair at all anymore. These days, he keeps it a bit longer, just enough to comb into a simple single-part style.
9. What color are his eyes?
Whatever color Brian Thompson's eyes are, I swear I have never been able to tell for sure just what that is.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
His chin and mouth are probably the core of how odd he looks. Given the amount of damage he's taken over the years, he's a lot less marked up than he should be, thanks to the marvels of reconstructive surgery. When his helmet's off, the small metal plug of his neural implant can be seen set into the back of his head, where the base of the skull meets the spine.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Shoulders, arms, hands. The armor handles its own weight, but if he tenses up with wanting to do something, that's generally where it'll collect.
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?
It's pretty varied, although most Nexus folks usually only see the armor. In his own universe, though -- and occasionally when he's visiting other worlds -- he's got UNSC-issue sweatsuits for working out, casual wear for generally hanging around in, suits for when he's engaged in business. Some of his clothes -- including at least one tuxedo -- are scaled up so they'll fit well over his armor, which he originally started on because of needing the armor's life support but now maintains so he can occasionally dress in style while keeping protected in the Nexus. He's taken his armor's color scheme to heart, and thus tends towards black with orange accents.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They fit him very well. The Mr. Freaky-Big clothing chain greatly appreciates Mr. Grif's business, and his regular tailor is always available if he needs any alterations done on anything they sell.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Given the number of jobs he has and how they intersect at different points with what he might consider "free time," I'm just going to say that he varies his style according to the situation he's in at the time.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
All of the above, really. Out of armor, he'll go with boxers or briefs depending on what else he's wearing -- for example, probably boxers with suits, but briefs if he's working out -- but when he's armored up, the under-layer of the armor replaces any actual underwear he might otherwise wear.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Kind of mid-ranged, I guess? Maybe a little high, at least when he's acting up. idk, I've never been good with this kind of thing. It is, in any case, not necessarily the sort of voice you might expect a guy his size to have, mainly because he wasn't originally that huge.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He's usually a bit loud, but fairly even-paced. He's definitely a talker and a half, enjoying the sound of his own voice.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He's come up with some wild mispronunciations from time to time, but those were mainly part of his Fat Lazy Dumbass routine. He does tend to swear a lot, call people "dude" and "man" (and sometimes "cockbite"), and can generally put what he's feeling -- or what he wants to present the impression of feeling -- into his voice, in place of his face being hidden behind his helmet's visor.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Technically, he's only fluent in English, but he's spoken lots of other languages with the assistance of translation software he can load into his neural implant. (And yes, 34th century translation technology is good enough that it's basically equivalent to native fluency. It probably got a boost, somewhere in the last 800 years, from discovered Forerunner tech.) SPARTANs have artificially enhanced memory, though -- at least for anything after the augmenations, anyway -- so he's probably picked up the odd word here and there, although probably not anything close to conversational capability.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He's pretty good with being impromptu, but SPARTANs' thought processes are sped up enough that he can generally give whatever he's about to say a looking-over before he lets it fly. (Back during the civil war, this was crucial to being able to make sure what he said was as dumb as possible and that he had the tone right for making it sound like he was just saying it without any filter between his brain and his mouth.)
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Excepting the Fat Lazy Dumbass routing, he can generally be pretty eloquent. Despite his lower class roots, he's a con man turned businessman who took the time, back when he needed to be retaught the use of language due to the ravages of SPARTAN-II on his brain-meats, to learn how to use language well as well as how to use it badly, and can switch between them as the situation requires. Being caught off-guard by something sufficiently fucked up can render his inarticulate, though, while he recovers mentally and figures out what just happened.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He's not any sort of academic, but he's very sharp, crafty, and cunning. Generally, this is more street-smart than anything else, but he's done some book learning when it's suited his interests.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Being a SPARTAN lets him split the difference: He thinks on his feet, but his brain augmentations let him do it quickly enough to get some deliberation in as well.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Mostly logical and practical -- he's often known for being the Voice of Reason, albeit generally in comparison to very unreasonable surroundings -- although he does have some ideals he will at least sometimes try to keep to and he's learned to go with some of the intuitive leaps that his SPARTAN-enhanced senses and thought processes sometimes provide him.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Somewhat mixed, really. While he didn't quite live on the streets, he did spend a lot of time there as a kid, and learned quite a bit there. He actually managed to graduate from high school, albeit not with the greatest grades ever. He didn't ever plan on college, focusing instead on practical trade knowledge from whatever job he was working to provide for himself and his sister. Once he was drafted, though, he knew he needed a better class of plan, and arranged to abuse a UNSC education initiative to take a distance-learning business school program from Harvard. (Yes, that Harvard. Grif is, in fact, a Harvard Man.)
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He's good with people, and with planning/logistics. He's an expert wheelman, and a surprisingly natural sniper. He's been learning how to use a sword from Martel, who he teaches how to use a gun. He also keeps up on the latest historical and archaeological research on the 26th century, with sidelines into whatever's been discovered about the Covenant and the Forerunners, in an attempt to get a better handle on just what all the craziness of his earlier life was about.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Totally an extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He generally presents himself as a laid-back, cheerful, friendly kind of guy, even if he isn't necessarily always like that, because he knows that that's generally going to get the best response from others. He does have some pretty heavy mood swings on occasion, though -- and something of a temper -- and he's sometimes a bit melodramatic about them.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Unless there's some immediate situation requiring his attention involved, he'll usually be pretty relaxed about meeting new people, but with some mild suspicion behind it. Friendly, but not unquestioningly so.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React, but usually to such a degree that he'll start taking active steps to make sure whatever made him react doesn't give him any more trouble.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Once upion a time, it would've been flight. These days, between his ongoing "recovering coward" status and his temper, it'll probably be fight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He's got a fairly decent sense of humor. Jokes are good, puns are okay if they're not too horrible. Pranks are generally more trouble than they're worth to him, and also tend to involve the person playing the joke being an asshole, which he's not really down with. His own jokes tend to involve the surreality of his own life, finding reasons to laugh so he doesn't have to dwell on how horrible it is.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
I don't really know from diagnosable, but he's definitely got some long-standing trauma from the draft, training, living with Sarge's constant abuse for years, etc. He should probably get some therapy -- especially since it's something he recommends to others -- but instead opts to use the Nexus and the occasional anger management refresher course as his substitutes. Also, getting involved in situations in the Nexus sometimes let him release some of his temper, which might not be healthy but makes him feel better.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
His mom leaving him in charge of his sister, then abandoning them.
Being drafted.
The SPARTAN-II process and his subsequent mental recovery from same.
The tank and Frankenstein-ification.
Discovering that being blasted to The Future had eventually just led them back to Blood Gulch.
Finding the Nexus.
...Look, if I start naming everything that's happened since then, we're going to be at this all day. Let's just say he's had lots of opportunities to discover or change something about himself.
14. What does he fear?
Bats. He doesn't know why -- he knows that he used to know, but it's among the memories that SPARTAN-II burned out of him -- but even just mention of them will usually give him a moment of panic unless he makes an effort to stamp it down. Aside from that... surprisingly little, mainly because after having been scared by Sarge and then Tex for years on end, he's pretty much gotten his fill of it from professionals and no one else is likely to stack up.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
His biggest hope is to someday get out of the Army, preferably before he finally decides he actually kind of likes it there.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
About the only secret he tends to actively keep from anyone is how his business operates, with the selling popular toys at heavy markup to desparate last-minute Christmas shoppers and all.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
HaaaAAAaa ha ha ha ha ha. His dad was almost entirely absentee. About the only thing of note about him that Grif can recall is that he resurfaced for pretty much just long enough to get Mom pregnant with Kaikaina. As for Mom, well, she was vaguely around, but largely preferred for little Dexter to get out and play with the other kids than spend any time at home. And then she eventually abandoned both her kids to join the circus. Needless to say, Grif doesn't particularly care too much about the fact that either of them are long dead out here in The Future.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He has one sister, Kaikaina. She's about ten years younger than he is, although he doesn't really remember how old either of them are himself. They don't really have a relationship now, because she's somewhere lost in space traveling at relativistic speeds with an ONI search and rescue team looking for her and has been since not long after he was drafted, but before the civil war, he looked after her and raised her for years after Mom abandoned them. This involved a lot of yelling, becuase she's kind of an idiot, but he does love her and want her to be safe.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
None at all.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
He's had a group of friends that made a pseudo-family of themselves, a while back. They've since largely gone each their own way, but Grif still cherishes the experience. On the whole, he's willing to treat any friend he's spent enough time with like family... which, given how his real family life was, doesn't really necessarily say as much as it might coming from others.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
They don't spend nearly as much time together anymore, but it's probably still Mack Sumner, who he met in a bar in the Nexus.
6. Does he have other close friends?
It's probably currently more accurate to say that he's got some fairly close acquaintances that he is friendly with, when the opportunity arises.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He gets along with people very well. Consider that even the WoD types, who totally hate all the technology stuff that he's covered in, tend to get used to him pretty quickly.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Since he doesn't usually have family around, this is kind of a moot point for him. If Kaikaina was around, she'd always be top priority, though.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No, and he may not have ever been.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Any crushes he might've had before the draft are lost memories, and he doesn't really have crushes anymore.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He doesn't. Thanks a lot, SPARTAN-II.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
He's had his fill of child-rearing from the years he spent raising Kaikaina.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He's probably got some business rivals, but nothing that really bothers him on any sort of ongoing basis.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Ha ha ha. Before the draft, I'd say he was straight, somewhere between 0 and maybe 1 on the Kinsey scale. Thanks to SPARTAN-II, however, he's now solidly an X. (Suppressed sexual drive is a known, albeit relatively rare, potential side effect of the catalytic thyroid implant augmentation procedure. He just considers himself lucky he didn't get elephantiasis.)
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Ha ha, nothing. He might make the occasional masturbation joke, particularly if he ever feels like acting like an affable yutz again, but really, any part of his mental faculties that might relate to sexual activity or even interest are pretty much gone.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
None.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
For lack of canonical evidence, I made Grif's birthday August 28th, largely because that was Brian Thompson's birthday and Grif is probably not likely to ever find it out anyway. That would make him a Virgo, which... I can't even tell what Wikipedia is trying to say about what Virgos are like. Whatever, he doesn't really consider astrology to be worthwhile anyway, what with how it's all Earth-centric and that becomes kind of meaningless in a galactic society. About the only other thing to note is that an acquaintance of his once assigned him to Aquarius, which I can't understand the Wikipedia explanation for either.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
None of the above. He knows ghosts exist, because he knew a couple, and has occasionally pondered the question of whether or not there's really a God making everything happen according to a plan or what-not, but generally doesn't really concern himself with any of that in the day-to-day.
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?
He has one, but it's pretty simple and largely based around personal freedom. There's not much room for compromise there, mainly because it's based in the thing he wants but can't have.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Tolerant and curious, as long as it's not one of his hot buttons like mad scientists believing they have a right to experiment on people without their consent.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He's had some Bad Experiences[tm] with one particular Smart AI that he knows gives him an unfair perspective with the type as a whole. On the other hand, he knows that what he's seen of Mad Science makes the few ethical types he knows the exception rather than the norm.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He's pretty well off. His cut of his company's profits during the years he was out of the loop of running things was pretty meager, but built up over 800 years, plus what he gets now that he's back in control, he makes more than enough that he could live comfortably pretty much anywhere he wanted to (if it weren't for the "stuck in the military" thing) and still have enough to do the occasional wacky thing in the Nexus.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
It's changed a lot. Back in his original life, he was pretty low-class, although that's still not really all that bad in the 26th century. Currently, he's considered more or less an also-ran of mid-range galactic business, which gets him into a party or two every so often but otherwise isn't worth a whole lot. Militarily, his ONI assignment gives him better access than his rank would imply, which is kind of weird but not really much of a factor most of the time because he doesn't care to use it if he doesn't have to.
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 lives by himself in an otherwise abandoned military base in a box canyon on a planet out in the ass-end of the galaxy. It's... unique, especially since he took the time a couple years back to get the barracks level gutted and redecorated to be more home-like.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Clothes, entertainment when he's out on other planets for business, stuff to help out his friends in the Nexus.
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 considers his day job to be as a businessman, which is something he's very good at. The UNSC considers his job to be as a SPARTAN-II super-soldier, which he's not nearly so good at and tries to avoid doing anything with if at all possible.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Being a super-soldier does, however, facilitate the taste for adventure he's acquired since finding the Nexus, which is generally what passes for a hobby for him. Helping people, looting Zombie Earth liquor stores while gunning down zombies and encountering survivors to help escape, sometimes providing combat training, etc.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
He likes to eat, and eat well. While he'd never consider himself a chef, he did have a few kitchen jobs before the civil war, and he still has the skills he picked up. (Which was a good thing, during the war, when he had to keep an eye out for Simmons trying to poison his meals on Sarge's behalf.) He also likes to drink, but since he got a fresh, fully SPARTAN'd liver, it doesn't get him drunk like it used to, so he mostly drinks for the taste.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Orange.
2. Smell? Booze.
3. Time of day? Between the Nexus and the weird orbital mechanics of the planet Blood Gulch is on, this question's largely meaningless.
4. Season? Christmas season is the season of money.
5. Book? 26th century history texts that include a footnote about Dexter Grif, the One Drafted Man.
6. Music? Creed. (Look, don't judge.)
7. Place? The Nexus, I guess?
8. Substance? Um. Booze?
9. Plant? Not so much.
10. Animal? Big cats: pumas (like his jeep, no, it's not a warthog) or tigers (orange and black, like his armor).
END
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(And, just for comparison, the results from last time I did a meme like this.)