Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
The usual 'tall and kinda lanky' build. Manco's 6'0" tall. He likes to compare himself to a giraffe. He's not that bad though.
2. How old is he?
Manco is twenty years old.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Manco stands up perfectly straight, even when he doesn't have quite enough headspace, which means he tends to bang his head in cramped spaces.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Although generally possessing pretty good health, Manco does not react to bright sunlight very well. He tends to get sunburned and migraines very easily. Since he lives in Nevada... sucks to be Manco! He has ocular albinism, which besides making his eyes a fabulous shade of pink means he's sort of legally blind. As a rule, he can read if he holds the letters close to his face, will never be able to drive, and recognizes people more through their voices than faces.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Generally, Manco's pretty clumsy and flailing all over the place. He moves as if he's only vaguely aware of the surrounding objects, and is therefore either moving confidently or stumbling towards the ground.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Provided you're not off-put by his coloration, Manco's actually a bit of a bishie. However, Manco himself thinks he looks like a total unattractive dork and is genuinely surprised that anyone could find him physically attractive.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Manco is really pale- like I've said, he might well be an albino. And unless he's gone out dressed in burka, baseball cap, and sunscreen, he usually has some bright red limbs due to sunburn. Pleasant!
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Manco has thick shaggy orange hair which he wears in the ever-popular "stick out everywhere like a bird's nest" style.
9. What color are his eyes?
Pink!
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
A long neck, pointy nose, and prominent collarbones.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Manco's chief tension center is his throat. When he's really upset it tightens and dries up, and he'll often feel compelled to start yelling or trying to laugh things off.
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?
Manco favors neutral colors overall and often dresses like, well, he's planning on going on an adventure, throwing on such things as leather fingerless gloves, hiking boots, and utility belts over a casual t-shirt and pants combo. His wardrobe isn't hugely varied, but it covers the essentials.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yes and yes.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
PALADIN Manco sometimes wears the uniform, and back when he volunteered at a daycare he dressed exactly the same.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Briefs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Manco's voice is of medium pitch, getting deeper depending on his mood. There's a certain smoothness to his words.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Quickly and easily, Manco speaks in a rapid-fire manner and can easily get loud if he forgets himself. It's a little hard to keep up with his words sometimes.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He has a Pacific Northwestern accent, which is sort of a blend between Californian and Midwestern accents... both of which are generally considered 'unaccented'. He's picked up a slight drawling tendency from god-knows-where and is overly fond of the word 'dude' and interjections like 'like' and 'uh'.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
He speaks English and has a very mild Spanish vocabulary.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
He only did so back in his high school Spanish classes, and he wasn't very good at it.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Manco's a fairly good impromptu speaker once he stops deliberately playing the fool.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Sort of both? His simplistic vocabulary and childish speech doesn't lend to the most eloquent turn of phrases, but he can get his point across most of the time and he can even be poetic on occasion. (Although he then has to make fun of himself afterwards.)
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Manco's no genius, but he's brighter than most people realize. He's probably closer to street-smart than anything else, thanks to years of goofing off and showing off in class when he should have been paying attention.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Manco prefers to think on his feet, simply because once he has time to hesitate the odds of him actually getting something done drop sharply.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Fairly intuitive, Manco has a way of taking a thought and latching onto a few key details in order to simplify the issue. Much like a sieve, thoughts pour in and only the heavy or interesting parts stay in, where they can be examined at leisure. He's something of an optimist and tries to look on the bright side of things.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
A fairly standard high school education, although it might be worth noting that he went to a private school. However, he didn't really get much more out of it than he would have out of a public school because he spent more time goofing off and hanging out with his friends.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Manco has a surprising artistic streak, in that he has an appreciation for poetry and will sometimes spontaneously write some of his own (Though they're not that great). Furthermore, he likes going to art museums, particularly examining the more avant garde stuff. He also gets along fairly well with young children and is getting used to handling them, and is seriously considering the idea of getting a teaching degree just so he can continue working with them.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Manco leans more towards extroversion, or at any rate requires other people in order to be fully happy and functioning.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Manco overall extends an aura of cheerfulness and happy-go-lucky feelings, and even when he's flipping out he'll constantly be trying to soften things with humor. His attitude isn't entirely positive, as he's heavily down on himself, but he's generally pretty chill about everything.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Manco's more enthusiastic about meeting new people than dealing with new situations. If it looks difficult, he'll draw back but otherwise Manco will be willing to keep an open mind about things.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Manco's more likely to react to situations than instigate them.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Despite his almost-passiveness, Manco's actually more of a fighter. Even if his tactics aren't quite so... violent as another character's, he doesn't give up easily and will defend if need be.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Manco's prone to goofing off, often by making himself act like a clown who's dumber than he really is. He'll laugh at pretty much anything, and has a strong but not overly sophisticated sense of humor. He enjoys slapstick, for instance.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nothing I'm deliberately writing him with.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
It's hard to boil down things to a single dramatic moment, but his parent's divorce, separation from Mercedes, and how the two of them dealt with it solidified their familial roles. There were also the flashbacks he'd get whenever he was twelve and touched people, before he got control over it, which defined him as a psychic and one of the weirdos.
14. What does he fear?
I think Manco's afraid that he'll let others down somehow, or fail to help somebody he could have saved. He's terrified of seeing someone set on the path to destruction and being unable to do anything about it.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Despite not liking school, Manco's interested in becoming an elementary school teacher, or at least having some other job working with kids. He has a strong paternal streak and has a definite interest in becoming a father- he's probably more interested in becoming a father than a husband. (Not that he'd mind! It's just the fatherly role is more important to him right now than finding his One True Love.)
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Hmm. I think he's a little afraid of people seeing how deeply affected he can be by traumatic events. He'd prefer it if people thought of him as somebody who sadness slid off of like water off a duck's back.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Manco's father is called Antonio Manco, and their relationship is a little strained because Antonio... does not get Manco. He considers his son to be effeminate and overly passive, and is constantly critical of him. Manco for his part, tries to pacify his father by agreeing with him a lot and trying to laugh things off, which just serves to piss Antonio off because, to a certain degree, he wants Manco to strike back. In Antonio's defense, he mostly wants Manco to become 'manlier' more out of concern than embarrassment. Basically, he wants Manco to fit his mental image of toughness because he's afraid that otherwise the world will break him.
Manco's mother is named Blair McNeill. Their relationship is less antagonistic than Manco's relationship with his Dad, but also much more distant. They were actually really close when Manco was young, but as time passed by Blair began to bond more with Mercedes and became more uncomfortable with Manco's personality. She also was just drifting away from the family in general. Once she and Antonio got divorced and she moved out, Manco and Blair stopped talking almost entirely. Blair feels a bit guilty and awkward around Manco, and Manco misses his mom, or at least their early relationship.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Manco has his (twin!) sister, Mercedes. The two of them aren't close, because Mercedes is more outwardly moody and needy and finds Manco embarrassing. Not that Manco's innocent, since he's prone to teasing her in a way that can be a bit nastier than normal for him. I think Manco subconsciously resents the fact that Mercedes ended up getting the bulk of the reassurance and caring after their parents divorced, while he mostly got brushed off. It doesn't really help that Mercedes lives with Blair and Manco lives with Antonio, and the two of them outright haven't seen each other since graduation.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Nope. Other blood relatives exist, and are alive, but I have no idea who they are and Manco doesn't know them at all.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
He has strong paternal/big brotherly attachments to a few of the kids at the daycare he works at, particularly Alexa Anholts and Ayden Pusztai. He's observed that those two are a bit more neglected than the others by parents/staff, so he tries to pay extra attention to them. They're pretty much where he's concentrating his mostly untapped paternal instincts. They mostly like Manco back, although Ayden prefers to be alone and thus gets annoyed with Manco quickly.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Manco's best friend is probably Makayla Balan, who he met at the daycare he works at. He isn't her best friend, but she's his best friend... They're still good friends even outside of work and Makayla considers Manco someone she can confide in. It helps that Manco's feelings are purely platonic.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Through Makayla, Manco's friends with her real best friend, Katelyn, and the girls' mutual male friend, Connor. (Manco mentally calls him Connor II, because he already has a friend called Connor.) Slightly awkwardly, Katelyn is still in high school, although she's near graduation. Connor, oddly enough, is something of a punk by whatever 2024's standards of punkitude would be.
There's also Manco's own male friends from high school called Conner (Conner I in Manco's head) and Tyler. They three of them were considered a bunch of clowns in high school, but nowadays they've been drifting apart due to separate life goals and interests.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Manco's an easygoing, friendly, and clownish guy. He makes friends quite easily for the most part, although he can be a bit annoying.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Although Manco would automatically answer 'family' to this, the truth is he isn't really close to his family at this point, or at least his biological one.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Manco is single, and at age twenty he has never been married.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Nope.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Manco's first crush was in middle school, on a blind boy named John. Interestingly, Manco didn't recognize his feelings at the time and thought it was just some sort of 'bromance' thing that made him so protective of the guy. He didn't realize his feelings had been genuinely romantic until midway through High School, when he developed a crush on a popular girl named Mary and began to compare his feelings. Right now, Manco has a crush on a fellow worker at his daycare named Jessica... but since Jessica is happily engaged, there's no way in hell Manco's going to go after her.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Manco likes a person with similar interests, and a mutual fondness for kids and humor. Someone he can have good conversations with.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Manco has no children, but I think it's pretty obvious at this point that he wants to have some eventually.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
There are a few coworkers and parents at the daycare who aren't comfortable with letting a young man work with young children, but Manco isn't hostile back at them.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
A 2-3 on the Kinsey scale. I think he has a very slight preference for females (If only because he sees himself with a wife.) but wouldn't mind if a guy expressed interest in him or if he felt attracted to a guy. Put simply, he's bisexual.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Not hugely important- Manco's also fairly picky about mood and atmosphere, so he'd actually be unlikely to say 'yes' if it was randomly proposed, even if he liked that person! Not that he dislikes it, he just wants everything to be right.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Let's not get into that here.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Manco was born on October 14, 2003, making him a Libra. Libras are considered to be peacemakers, social, and justice loving. These aren't his most prominent traits by any means, but I can see it. He's more of a homebody than the usual Libra, and less of a charismatic charmer and more of a jokester. According to a quiz, he's about 67% Libra.
His birthdate also makes him a Water Sheep, and from what I can see that actually fits him quite well. I'll just leave this here: "Like their element, Water Sheep go with the flow of things, content to stroll through life like a Sunday evening walk. They are easy to get along with and live with and can make quite lovable roommates and companions. They enjoy the security of their homes and will generally plant their roots and stay in one place. They are well-spoken and witty, but lack self-confidence. They can pout when they don’t get their way."
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
He's not particularly religious or spiritual, and he doesn't think very much about the subject anyway. However, he's prone to being less than skeptical of the paranormal. Probably because he's a psychic in a world being invaded by aliens.
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?
Manco doesn't have an extreme sense of morals, although he does try to protect 'innocents', an instinct that only got stronger as he got older. His code, such as it is, isn't highly set in stone and on a certain level Manco believes you have to be a bit flexible. Not harming innocents however is something strongly ingrained in him, to the point where it would take trickery to get him to budge on the issue.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Religious-wise, he's pretty indifferent. Otherwise, he'll probably just stand down and be indifferent, provided the other person isn't actually doing something he finds offensive.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Hm. Well, for a guy who's interested in being a teacher, he was a bit disrespectful towards his own, particularly in High School? I think he's also predisposed towards having female friends.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
His dad's actually fairly well off, and since Manco has yet to find his own place that means he's living in a quite comfortable, classy apartment. (To be fair to Manco, he does contribute to the rent and grocery bills.) On his own, Manco's actually only making minimum wage, but with his dad's support Manco's more than comfortable. He's slowly trying to make the break to independence though.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Upper Middle Class since birth, although the family finances destabilized somewhat while Blair and Antonio were getting divorced.
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?
Manco lives in a nice apartment that he splits with his Dad. It's about as nice a place as you can find in Las Vegas without being a billionaire, and Manco takes fairly good care of it. (His Dad's actually more of a slob than Manco is...)
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Weird trinkets and doohickeys that catch his eye, art gallery and museum trips (Which is where he finds most of his souvenirs for that matter...), fast food, music and poetry, and presents for people. He's quite fond of giving people presents, actually.
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?
Manco works at a daycare, where he spends his time trying to keep a bunch of toddlers and small children entertained, safe, disciplined and fed until their parents pick them up. He actually quite enjoys his job, which makes him perform fairly well, although he's no Mary Poppins by any means.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Outside of work and hanging out with friends, Manco likes to write poetry and song lyrics, go to avant-garde art galleries, window shop in weird stores, watch television, and probably various other things.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Manco isn't much of a drinker outside of the odd social occasions. He tends to order in pizza more than is good for him, and isn't much of a chef outside of very simple meals like boxed macaroni and cheese. He's also a compulsive carrot snacker, since when he was younger he used to hope it would improve his vision.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Associate: Orange. Favorite: Red.
2. Smell? Associate: n/a. Favorite: Melted cheese.
3. Time of day? Associate: n/a. Favorite: Evening.
4. Season? Associate: Spring. Favorite: Spring.
5. Book? Associate: The Best of Alden Nowlan. Favorite: Any poetry books.
6. Music? Associate: When can I see you again? Favorite: Classical music.
7. Place? Associate: Las Vegas. Favorite: Probably his workplace.
8. Substance? Associate: n/a. Favorite: n/a.
9. Plant? Associate: Flowers. Favorite: Flowers.
10. Animal? Associate: Puppies and deer. Favorite: Deer.
