everything you could ever in a million years want to know about Kessler
(Some vague attempts at figuring out the main behind the curtain. Contains major spoilers for inFAMOUS.)
body and appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
According to one rather terrified account of a meeting with Kessler, he's pretty much built like a mountain. (A manly mountain at that.) He's tall and sturdy, broad-shouldered, but not overly muscled-- might have been at one point, but age has since worn down his physique. Regardless he's not exactly the type of guy you'd want to pick a fight with, even without the powers.
2. How old is he?
In reality he's about 110, but physically he only looks to be in his late 50's or early 60's. (Thank god for the First Sons.)
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Kessler has a very imposing stature and personality, and tends to hold himself like he means business-- he doesn't fuck around with anything, and he likes to give a lasting impression of himself. Thus: pretty great posture.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
His biggest downfall is his advanced age. Besides that, an unidentified incident in the past caused horrible damage to his right arm, presumably forcing him to have it amputated and replaced with a prosthetic of the First Sons' invention. He also has a machine attached to his chest, although whether this is also due to an injury or a way for him to better focus his powers (and therefore most likely the source of his longevity), he's not saying. More superficially, his face and body bear a few minor scars.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
The epitome of grace. Kessler is utterly in tune with the shape and the energy of the world around him-- he can ride the electricity in the air so fast it's like he's teleporting, if he chooses to. With power comes a hell of a lot of self-assured confidence (ie, he damn well knows he's got the abilities of a particularly nasty god), and he tends to be very relaxed with the way he moves, although that can change to deadly speed at a moment's notice. The only time this falters is when he's been exerting himself too hard, and-- due to his age-- can't always move as fast as he used to be able to, but so far, the only person who's managed to push him to true exhaustion is Cole MacGrath. (Which is, if anything, just the way he wants it.)
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Physically, Kessler knows he isn't altogether very attractive-- what tends to attract people to him is his power and sheer dominant personality, and since he's got no interest in pursuing a relationship, he really doesn't care what people see him as, so long as they're at least a little bit intimidated.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Generally pretty pale and sunken-looking with a few minor scars. He's seen the worst of the world, and it shows.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
He doesn't have any left at this point-- it was always kept pretty short, but he shaved it off when he assumed leadership of the First Sons (customary thing). A little while later, it just stopped growing back anyway.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue (we think).
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Cold, cold skin all the time-- he doesn't really feel it anymore, but he's always a little chilled, especially his hands.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His back, especially his shoulders, mostly due to his muscles beginning to weaken and his spine compressing. He also gets wicked headaches, both tension and non, and suffered a lot of them when power grids across Empire City started getting knocked out due to his body having trouble dealing with the lack of energy around it.
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?
His clothes are typical First Sons important-person-type clothes-- pale washed-out gold, with a hood that usually shadows his eyes, and lots of layers that only leave his hands and face uncovered. It's doubtful whether he actually owns any other outfits.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
He's very fond of his clothes, because when it comes to his cult gang organization, they represent power and unquestionable leadership. He wears them like a second skin.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Kessler has no life Technically they're the same clothes, but when he's within First Sons compounds and depending on his mood, occasionally he'll remove parts-- the trenchcoat, the hood, the scarf draped across his neck and chest. However, when he's out in public or meeting with someone, he'll always be in full attire.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
He would probably kill anyone who asked, but briefs. unless he's with Sasha in which case why is underwear even part of the equation
speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Deep, commanding, and very cultured. He's had a lifetime and a half to perfect it, after all.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Kessler's very confident with the way he speaks, just like he's confident with pretty much everything else-- he tends to know exactly what he wants to say and how to say it to get the point across. The only thing that ever makes him hesitate is questions about his own emotions, which have pretty much just become a muddled mess over the past few years.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He occasionally draws words out to put emphasis on them-- he has this way of doing it that really works with his low, deep voice. Dramatics are totally underrated.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Just English, very fluently.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
n/a
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Words are definitely one of his strong points. He's very good at reading others and manipulating conversations as he chooses, and-- having been in a position of power in the First Sons' ranks for so long-- is very good at pulling the politician and speaking at a moment's notice.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
The only time Kessler loses his eloquence is when he's talking about himself or his past-- both very touchy subjects and both things he doesn't generally enjoy discussing. He is very good at giving half-truths when it comes to his own feelings.
mental and emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
A bit of both. He's smart in the way you get from being utterly dedicated to a cause; smart in the way that comes from running and hiding, but also from fighting tooth and nail to get where you want to be. He's people-smart-- he knows what makes people work, how they interact, how they fit together, and he knows how to get them to do what he wants. He's borderline soulless when he needs to be, having seen the worst the world has to offer, and it's made him smart enough to be unafraid.
He is not, however, smart enough not to think that since he's lost everything once, it won't hurt if he has to let it go all over again. Very much his own blind spot, there.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can think on his feet, but prefers not to. He always feels more comfortable about a situation when he has time to plan ahead-- think through possible difficulties, make sure alternate options will still work in his favor, the like.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very much a pragmatist-- he doesn't trust his own emotions very much, and will manipulate others but will rarely ever go with a gut feeling if there are facts telling him otherwise. Definitely prefers practicality.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Highschool. Was very close to finishing his college degree, but got pissed off at a professor and left. Bounced around from job to job after that, eventually settling on the courier service that ran packages around Empire City. Heaven knows he was smart enough to do better things, but he got a job and married Trish and had kids instead.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
a) Cole MacGrath and kinky torture sex, not at the same time
okay maybe a little at the same time
b) those pretty little Conduits Sasha keeps around
His areas of expertise aren't exactly the type you could put on a resumé.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert except where he knows it's necessary not to be. He did earn-- or at least manipulate his way into-- leadership of the First Sons, and he knows keeping their respect and making sure everything in their operation is running smoothly requires poking his head around a lot. He'd like to spend his days alone (there is genuinely no one he can stand spending more than a couple nights straight with), but duty calls and all.
(He does get a bit stir-crazy sometimes. It doesn't happen often enough for him to admit it to himself, but Kessler is, at the core of his being, sustained by adrenaline, and he gets restless. Sometimes this results in mind-blowing kinky sex (if he's feeling social), other times it results in him beating up a lackey (if he's really, really not), but most of the time he just ends up on the city's rooftops, reacquainting himself with the train tracks and power lines and wide-open night sky.)
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Scary-intense is a good way of describing it. He's calm and serious as all hell for the most part, but there's a dark, nasty little streak in him that doesn't take a whole lot to provoke (ie. the part of him that has mostly good intentions but still sort of enjoys throwing people off buildings). He's even scarier when he's angry, of course, and it happens often enough that most of the First Sons know how to recognize his stormier moods and get clear out of his way before they can come to a head.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Generally Kessler has three defaults when it comes to new people: intimidate, frighten, or charm. Sometimes certain situations require a mix of the three-- impressing someone usually means he'll need to both intimidate and charm them in some way, and when he wants a person out of his way, he's ruthless. Very good judge of character, very good at turning the tables in his favor, and very good at getting the most out of people whether he knows them or not.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Acting first is all he ever does nowadays-- he ran and reacted and let the world chart his course for him for far too long, and now he's fixing it. The best defense is a good offense, after all.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Definitely fight, because 99% of the time he will win-- often he'll at least try to reach a solution peacefully, but he'll never announce defeat unless physically incapable of doing anything else.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
If he has a sense of humor, it certainly doesn't show itself very often-- based on the way he seems to take everything else in life, I'd imagine it would be fairly dark and gallows-y, though. He sure as hell doesn't have time for childish jokes.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He tends to be very sadistic, but it's more of a character flaw than anything-- there's probably some PTSD lurking somewhere in the back of his mind, but hell if he'll let it show.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There are primarily three: the day he got married, the day his twin daughters were born, and the day Trish died. Everything else is just filler material in his mind-- he doesn't remember most of it, and doesn't want to.
14. What does he fear?
Failure. He's lost everything there is to lose at this point, but he fears what the consequences will be if he can't shape Cole properly.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
They’re less ‘hopes and aspirations’ so much as they are ‘necessities’. He’d like to die peacefully one day, at least.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
His true identity, and the fact that he and Cole are actually one and the same. (The only person who's come close to figuring it out is Sasha, and he intends to keep it that way.)
relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Occasionally difficult, but for the most part comfortable. They both had higher expectations for him than what he ended up achieving, but were exceedingly happy when he married Trish (young, pretty, successful woman that she was) and were both a significant part of their eventual grandchildren's lives. He doesn't know what happened to them after the Beast rose to power, and doesn't want to.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
n/a
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
n/a
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Currently the First Sons are about as damn close as he’s getting to anything familial, and that’s not very close. If anything they’re more a hornet’s nest for him to play with than a family.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Zeke Dunbar, the most goddamn important person in his life for a very, very long time. They met in college, a little while before he met Trish, and grew close through mutual college-kid stupidity and recklessness and absurd senses of humor. He was also the best man at his and Trish’s wedding. Kessler misses him a lot more than he’d ever tell anyone.
6. Does he have other close friends?
what are you even talking about, Kessler doesn’t have friends
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He’s never made friends easily, even when he was still living life as Cole MacGrath-- he tends to be a little too grumpy for it.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends, though I think it depends on what day you ask him. His friends are family and his family was friends first, and it all sort of meshed together after awhile. He's running a little short on both at the moment, though.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Widowed. Will never, ever remarry. Doesn't want to talk about it.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
His and Sasha's relationship isn't exactly 'romantic', per say-- their romantic endeavors amount to Sasha leaving a newly-turned Reaper in Kessler's room to vomit tar all over his bed-- but it's. Well. It's a relationship, anyway.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Some spunky little girl in his second-grade class, probably; honestly he doesn't really remember. No one currently.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Likely not vomiting all over his bed is a good start. It's questionable whether he even knows-- Trish was a fair embodiment of what he used to admire in people, and some of Zeke's qualities probably fit that too, but now his mind is so far removed from the idea of emotional relationships that he probably has no idea.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Had; a pair of twin girls, Leah and Catherine. They were his life. One or both of them might have been a conduit, but they died too young for him to ever find out. If it's possible, some days he misses them more than he misses Trish. Catherine died when she was seven; Leah about a year and a half later.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
As follows:
- Cole, to an extent. It's a bit of a one-sided rivalry.
- The Beast, for somewhat obvious reasons.
- Alden Tate, but again: a little one-sided. He's more amused than threatened, but it's getting tedious-- the ironic part is that Alden's actually a number of years younger than him, but looks decades older. (Still acts like a baby, though.)
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Straight with exceptions. (Specifically about a 2.) He’s largely more attracted to women, but other guys have never really been out of the question.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Sex and sexuality in general is very much not the most important thing in Kessler's life at this point, and he doesn't spend much time thinking about it (or questioning it). It's never that difficult to procure in his current position of power, but if he had to go without it, he probably wouldn't miss it too badly-- there was a time where sex meant the comfort of physical closeness and emotional connection to him, but now it's just an outlet. well, he'd maybe miss it a little bit. Especially with Sasha. It's been awhile since he's found someone as open-minded as her, and besides that she shares her pets.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Unsurprisingly he likes power a lot-- asserting it, having others assert it, the like. Besides that a lot of his real-life philosophies seem to have carried over into the bedroom, and because of that he’s pretty sadistic when it comes to sex-- not traditionally kinky, maybe, but definitely into some pretty serious edgeplay, and he appreciates someone who can keep up. (The best part is that he probably doesn't know what the word 'edgeplay' even means, but.)
beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit his type?
He's a Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, and a Taurus in Western astrology. Both of them tend to be a little stubborn and fierce, and occasionally self-centered-- basically him to a tee.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Severely agnostic. In his world, he is the god.
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?
At this point his morals are pretty much nonexistent. He tries to avoid killing people if he can, and he won't let his flunkies kill children, but everyone else is pretty fair game (as was demonstrated by the blast in the Historic District-- no bodies lying around to make him feel guilty, at least). He will lie, cheat and steal to get where he needs to be, and if that includes ruining a few lives then it's far from his problem.
(There is a side of him that occasionally comes out to play that's about as fucked-up as you can get, though. During preliminary experiments on the Ray Sphere, Kessler had a 'pet' in the form of a man named David who he inflicted countless Sphere trials on. The resulting creature subsisted on neuro-energy, and Kessler got his daily kicks out of feeding homeless people to the guy. It was sort of messy.)
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
It's a challenge is what it is. He's sort of got a history of, you know, leading a cult, so if anything a discrepancy in beliefs is just a chance for him to test his powers of persuasion.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
None that we're aware of. He's sort of biased against most people in positions of government influence, but not nearly to the same degree as Cole-- mostly that's just leftover college-kid resentment.
daily life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Pretty goddamn comfortable. His job doesn't really pay in the same way a normal job does, but the First Sons had a pretty considerable amount of funds stashed away when he rose to power, all of which are currently at his disposal to do as he pleases with (and a large amount of them went towards funding the development of the Ray Sphere, but even with that he's still fairly well-off).
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Kessler-now is pretty much nothing like the Kessler of eighty-someodd years ago. As Cole, his life pretty much amounted to 'glorified paperboy' and he got about the amount of courtesy you'd expect for it; nowadays he's at the top of the underground, respected just as much as he's feared, powerful as fuck and worshiped accordingly. He'd like to pretend it hasn't gone to his head but it really, really has.
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?
The First Sons' facilities are a lot bigger than even most of the people who associate with them are aware; as such he lives within the quarters that were graciously provided to him when he killed their last leader, Richard Tate. It's about as much of a home as one might expect.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Not a hell of a lot, actually-- maybe the occasional aftershave? He really doesn't get out much.
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 is, for lack of a better term, the head honcho of a sciencey-magical cult called the First Sons who are known for employing psychics and conduits, encouraging psychosis as a hobby, wearing gasmasks and wanting to know everything there is to know. To him it doesn't really matter whether he enjoys it or not, and because of that he doesn't really stop and think about it very often-- it has to be done, and he is, at the end of it all, the only person left alive who can make it happen.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
What free time?
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Three solid meals a day, and occasionally the same thing every day for a week if he's feeling uncreative. Variety isn't particularly important to him, but he can be a bit of a food snob if the occasion calls for it (ie, taking a potential beneficiary out to dinner, which he's done once or twice). He can also out-drink anyone in any given room ever.
associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Bronze.
2. Smell? Ozone.
3. Time of day? High noon.
4. Season? Late summer.
5. Book? n/a
6. Music? “Detroit” by Black Gold, “A Wolf At The Door” by Radiohead, and “Sick Sick Sick” by Queens of the Stone Age.
7. Place? The top of the world.
8. Substance? Lead.
9. Plant? Statice, for remembrance and mourning and love that won't die. He puts a bouquet of these (and Queen Anne's Lace) on the grave Cole builds for Trish the day after she dies.
10. Animal? flying rats and chimpanzees The death's-head hawkmoth, which is superstitiously believed to carry damned souls who are forced to revisit moments from their past lives.
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body and appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
According to one rather terrified account of a meeting with Kessler, he's pretty much built like a mountain. (A manly mountain at that.) He's tall and sturdy, broad-shouldered, but not overly muscled-- might have been at one point, but age has since worn down his physique. Regardless he's not exactly the type of guy you'd want to pick a fight with, even without the powers.
2. How old is he?
In reality he's about 110, but physically he only looks to be in his late 50's or early 60's. (Thank god for the First Sons.)
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Kessler has a very imposing stature and personality, and tends to hold himself like he means business-- he doesn't fuck around with anything, and he likes to give a lasting impression of himself. Thus: pretty great posture.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
His biggest downfall is his advanced age. Besides that, an unidentified incident in the past caused horrible damage to his right arm, presumably forcing him to have it amputated and replaced with a prosthetic of the First Sons' invention. He also has a machine attached to his chest, although whether this is also due to an injury or a way for him to better focus his powers (and therefore most likely the source of his longevity), he's not saying. More superficially, his face and body bear a few minor scars.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
The epitome of grace. Kessler is utterly in tune with the shape and the energy of the world around him-- he can ride the electricity in the air so fast it's like he's teleporting, if he chooses to. With power comes a hell of a lot of self-assured confidence (ie, he damn well knows he's got the abilities of a particularly nasty god), and he tends to be very relaxed with the way he moves, although that can change to deadly speed at a moment's notice. The only time this falters is when he's been exerting himself too hard, and-- due to his age-- can't always move as fast as he used to be able to, but so far, the only person who's managed to push him to true exhaustion is Cole MacGrath. (Which is, if anything, just the way he wants it.)
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Physically, Kessler knows he isn't altogether very attractive-- what tends to attract people to him is his power and sheer dominant personality, and since he's got no interest in pursuing a relationship, he really doesn't care what people see him as, so long as they're at least a little bit intimidated.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Generally pretty pale and sunken-looking with a few minor scars. He's seen the worst of the world, and it shows.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
He doesn't have any left at this point-- it was always kept pretty short, but he shaved it off when he assumed leadership of the First Sons (customary thing). A little while later, it just stopped growing back anyway.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue (we think).
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Cold, cold skin all the time-- he doesn't really feel it anymore, but he's always a little chilled, especially his hands.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His back, especially his shoulders, mostly due to his muscles beginning to weaken and his spine compressing. He also gets wicked headaches, both tension and non, and suffered a lot of them when power grids across Empire City started getting knocked out due to his body having trouble dealing with the lack of energy around it.
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?
His clothes are typical First Sons important-person-type clothes-- pale washed-out gold, with a hood that usually shadows his eyes, and lots of layers that only leave his hands and face uncovered. It's doubtful whether he actually owns any other outfits.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
He's very fond of his clothes, because when it comes to his cult gang organization, they represent power and unquestionable leadership. He wears them like a second skin.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Kessler has no life Technically they're the same clothes, but when he's within First Sons compounds and depending on his mood, occasionally he'll remove parts-- the trenchcoat, the hood, the scarf draped across his neck and chest. However, when he's out in public or meeting with someone, he'll always be in full attire.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
He would probably kill anyone who asked, but briefs. unless he's with Sasha in which case why is underwear even part of the equation
speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Deep, commanding, and very cultured. He's had a lifetime and a half to perfect it, after all.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Kessler's very confident with the way he speaks, just like he's confident with pretty much everything else-- he tends to know exactly what he wants to say and how to say it to get the point across. The only thing that ever makes him hesitate is questions about his own emotions, which have pretty much just become a muddled mess over the past few years.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He occasionally draws words out to put emphasis on them-- he has this way of doing it that really works with his low, deep voice. Dramatics are totally underrated.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Just English, very fluently.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
n/a
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Words are definitely one of his strong points. He's very good at reading others and manipulating conversations as he chooses, and-- having been in a position of power in the First Sons' ranks for so long-- is very good at pulling the politician and speaking at a moment's notice.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
The only time Kessler loses his eloquence is when he's talking about himself or his past-- both very touchy subjects and both things he doesn't generally enjoy discussing. He is very good at giving half-truths when it comes to his own feelings.
mental and emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
A bit of both. He's smart in the way you get from being utterly dedicated to a cause; smart in the way that comes from running and hiding, but also from fighting tooth and nail to get where you want to be. He's people-smart-- he knows what makes people work, how they interact, how they fit together, and he knows how to get them to do what he wants. He's borderline soulless when he needs to be, having seen the worst the world has to offer, and it's made him smart enough to be unafraid.
He is not, however, smart enough not to think that since he's lost everything once, it won't hurt if he has to let it go all over again. Very much his own blind spot, there.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can think on his feet, but prefers not to. He always feels more comfortable about a situation when he has time to plan ahead-- think through possible difficulties, make sure alternate options will still work in his favor, the like.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very much a pragmatist-- he doesn't trust his own emotions very much, and will manipulate others but will rarely ever go with a gut feeling if there are facts telling him otherwise. Definitely prefers practicality.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Highschool. Was very close to finishing his college degree, but got pissed off at a professor and left. Bounced around from job to job after that, eventually settling on the courier service that ran packages around Empire City. Heaven knows he was smart enough to do better things, but he got a job and married Trish and had kids instead.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
a) Cole MacGrath and kinky torture sex, not at the same time
okay maybe a little at the same time
b) those pretty little Conduits Sasha keeps around
His areas of expertise aren't exactly the type you could put on a resumé.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert except where he knows it's necessary not to be. He did earn-- or at least manipulate his way into-- leadership of the First Sons, and he knows keeping their respect and making sure everything in their operation is running smoothly requires poking his head around a lot. He'd like to spend his days alone (there is genuinely no one he can stand spending more than a couple nights straight with), but duty calls and all.
(He does get a bit stir-crazy sometimes. It doesn't happen often enough for him to admit it to himself, but Kessler is, at the core of his being, sustained by adrenaline, and he gets restless. Sometimes this results in mind-blowing kinky sex (if he's feeling social), other times it results in him beating up a lackey (if he's really, really not), but most of the time he just ends up on the city's rooftops, reacquainting himself with the train tracks and power lines and wide-open night sky.)
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Scary-intense is a good way of describing it. He's calm and serious as all hell for the most part, but there's a dark, nasty little streak in him that doesn't take a whole lot to provoke (ie. the part of him that has mostly good intentions but still sort of enjoys throwing people off buildings). He's even scarier when he's angry, of course, and it happens often enough that most of the First Sons know how to recognize his stormier moods and get clear out of his way before they can come to a head.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Generally Kessler has three defaults when it comes to new people: intimidate, frighten, or charm. Sometimes certain situations require a mix of the three-- impressing someone usually means he'll need to both intimidate and charm them in some way, and when he wants a person out of his way, he's ruthless. Very good judge of character, very good at turning the tables in his favor, and very good at getting the most out of people whether he knows them or not.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Acting first is all he ever does nowadays-- he ran and reacted and let the world chart his course for him for far too long, and now he's fixing it. The best defense is a good offense, after all.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Definitely fight, because 99% of the time he will win-- often he'll at least try to reach a solution peacefully, but he'll never announce defeat unless physically incapable of doing anything else.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
If he has a sense of humor, it certainly doesn't show itself very often-- based on the way he seems to take everything else in life, I'd imagine it would be fairly dark and gallows-y, though. He sure as hell doesn't have time for childish jokes.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He tends to be very sadistic, but it's more of a character flaw than anything-- there's probably some PTSD lurking somewhere in the back of his mind, but hell if he'll let it show.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There are primarily three: the day he got married, the day his twin daughters were born, and the day Trish died. Everything else is just filler material in his mind-- he doesn't remember most of it, and doesn't want to.
14. What does he fear?
Failure. He's lost everything there is to lose at this point, but he fears what the consequences will be if he can't shape Cole properly.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
They’re less ‘hopes and aspirations’ so much as they are ‘necessities’. He’d like to die peacefully one day, at least.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
His true identity, and the fact that he and Cole are actually one and the same. (The only person who's come close to figuring it out is Sasha, and he intends to keep it that way.)
relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Occasionally difficult, but for the most part comfortable. They both had higher expectations for him than what he ended up achieving, but were exceedingly happy when he married Trish (young, pretty, successful woman that she was) and were both a significant part of their eventual grandchildren's lives. He doesn't know what happened to them after the Beast rose to power, and doesn't want to.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
n/a
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
n/a
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Currently the First Sons are about as damn close as he’s getting to anything familial, and that’s not very close. If anything they’re more a hornet’s nest for him to play with than a family.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Zeke Dunbar, the most goddamn important person in his life for a very, very long time. They met in college, a little while before he met Trish, and grew close through mutual college-kid stupidity and recklessness and absurd senses of humor. He was also the best man at his and Trish’s wedding. Kessler misses him a lot more than he’d ever tell anyone.
6. Does he have other close friends?
what are you even talking about, Kessler doesn’t have friends
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He’s never made friends easily, even when he was still living life as Cole MacGrath-- he tends to be a little too grumpy for it.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends, though I think it depends on what day you ask him. His friends are family and his family was friends first, and it all sort of meshed together after awhile. He's running a little short on both at the moment, though.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Widowed. Will never, ever remarry. Doesn't want to talk about it.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
His and Sasha's relationship isn't exactly 'romantic', per say-- their romantic endeavors amount to Sasha leaving a newly-turned Reaper in Kessler's room to vomit tar all over his bed-- but it's. Well. It's a relationship, anyway.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Some spunky little girl in his second-grade class, probably; honestly he doesn't really remember. No one currently.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Likely not vomiting all over his bed is a good start. It's questionable whether he even knows-- Trish was a fair embodiment of what he used to admire in people, and some of Zeke's qualities probably fit that too, but now his mind is so far removed from the idea of emotional relationships that he probably has no idea.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Had; a pair of twin girls, Leah and Catherine. They were his life. One or both of them might have been a conduit, but they died too young for him to ever find out. If it's possible, some days he misses them more than he misses Trish. Catherine died when she was seven; Leah about a year and a half later.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
As follows:
- Cole, to an extent. It's a bit of a one-sided rivalry.
- The Beast, for somewhat obvious reasons.
- Alden Tate, but again: a little one-sided. He's more amused than threatened, but it's getting tedious-- the ironic part is that Alden's actually a number of years younger than him, but looks decades older. (Still acts like a baby, though.)
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Straight with exceptions. (Specifically about a 2.) He’s largely more attracted to women, but other guys have never really been out of the question.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Sex and sexuality in general is very much not the most important thing in Kessler's life at this point, and he doesn't spend much time thinking about it (or questioning it). It's never that difficult to procure in his current position of power, but if he had to go without it, he probably wouldn't miss it too badly-- there was a time where sex meant the comfort of physical closeness and emotional connection to him, but now it's just an outlet. well, he'd maybe miss it a little bit. Especially with Sasha. It's been awhile since he's found someone as open-minded as her, and besides that she shares her pets.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Unsurprisingly he likes power a lot-- asserting it, having others assert it, the like. Besides that a lot of his real-life philosophies seem to have carried over into the bedroom, and because of that he’s pretty sadistic when it comes to sex-- not traditionally kinky, maybe, but definitely into some pretty serious edgeplay, and he appreciates someone who can keep up. (The best part is that he probably doesn't know what the word 'edgeplay' even means, but.)
beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit his type?
He's a Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, and a Taurus in Western astrology. Both of them tend to be a little stubborn and fierce, and occasionally self-centered-- basically him to a tee.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Severely agnostic. In his world, he is the god.
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?
At this point his morals are pretty much nonexistent. He tries to avoid killing people if he can, and he won't let his flunkies kill children, but everyone else is pretty fair game (as was demonstrated by the blast in the Historic District-- no bodies lying around to make him feel guilty, at least). He will lie, cheat and steal to get where he needs to be, and if that includes ruining a few lives then it's far from his problem.
(There is a side of him that occasionally comes out to play that's about as fucked-up as you can get, though. During preliminary experiments on the Ray Sphere, Kessler had a 'pet' in the form of a man named David who he inflicted countless Sphere trials on. The resulting creature subsisted on neuro-energy, and Kessler got his daily kicks out of feeding homeless people to the guy. It was sort of messy.)
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
It's a challenge is what it is. He's sort of got a history of, you know, leading a cult, so if anything a discrepancy in beliefs is just a chance for him to test his powers of persuasion.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
None that we're aware of. He's sort of biased against most people in positions of government influence, but not nearly to the same degree as Cole-- mostly that's just leftover college-kid resentment.
daily life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Pretty goddamn comfortable. His job doesn't really pay in the same way a normal job does, but the First Sons had a pretty considerable amount of funds stashed away when he rose to power, all of which are currently at his disposal to do as he pleases with (and a large amount of them went towards funding the development of the Ray Sphere, but even with that he's still fairly well-off).
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Kessler-now is pretty much nothing like the Kessler of eighty-someodd years ago. As Cole, his life pretty much amounted to 'glorified paperboy' and he got about the amount of courtesy you'd expect for it; nowadays he's at the top of the underground, respected just as much as he's feared, powerful as fuck and worshiped accordingly. He'd like to pretend it hasn't gone to his head but it really, really has.
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?
The First Sons' facilities are a lot bigger than even most of the people who associate with them are aware; as such he lives within the quarters that were graciously provided to him when he killed their last leader, Richard Tate. It's about as much of a home as one might expect.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Not a hell of a lot, actually-- maybe the occasional aftershave? He really doesn't get out much.
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 is, for lack of a better term, the head honcho of a sciencey-magical cult called the First Sons who are known for employing psychics and conduits, encouraging psychosis as a hobby, wearing gasmasks and wanting to know everything there is to know. To him it doesn't really matter whether he enjoys it or not, and because of that he doesn't really stop and think about it very often-- it has to be done, and he is, at the end of it all, the only person left alive who can make it happen.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
What free time?
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Three solid meals a day, and occasionally the same thing every day for a week if he's feeling uncreative. Variety isn't particularly important to him, but he can be a bit of a food snob if the occasion calls for it (ie, taking a potential beneficiary out to dinner, which he's done once or twice). He can also out-drink anyone in any given room ever.
associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Bronze.
2. Smell? Ozone.
3. Time of day? High noon.
4. Season? Late summer.
5. Book? n/a
6. Music? “Detroit” by Black Gold, “A Wolf At The Door” by Radiohead, and “Sick Sick Sick” by Queens of the Stone Age.
7. Place? The top of the world.
8. Substance? Lead.
9. Plant? Statice, for remembrance and mourning and love that won't die. He puts a bouquet of these (and Queen Anne's Lace) on the grave Cole builds for Trish the day after she dies.
10. Animal? flying rats and chimpanzees The death's-head hawkmoth, which is superstitiously believed to carry damned souls who are forced to revisit moments from their past lives.
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