Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Zilch is 5'9" tall and yeah, he's pretty rangy. All long, slender limbs.
2. How old is he?
Zilch is fifteen, literally a few weeks from being sixteen.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Zilch's a perpetual sloucher. He automatically hunches up unless he makes a concentrated effort to stand up straight.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Not too great. Zilch isn't about to die if you so much as breathe on him, but he can't run for too long or lift heavy things very easily. Not to mention he has a shitty immune system and not only always catches whatever flu it is that's going 'round, but he always gets laid up for a while because of it. Plus he's prone to headaches. Other than that though, he's fine!
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Remarkably fluidly. He's very much aware of where he is in relation to everything else and can scoot around things quite easily.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's got a surprisingly handsome face lurking under his sickly complexion and poor fashion sense. He's easy to overlook, but he'd probably clean up nicely. Zilch doesn't really perceive himself as much of anything.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Paaaale. Maybe not so deathly white as his picture indicates, but he does look a bit sickly and colorless.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Zilch's hair is a rather plain black, shaggy and cut into no particular style, although it's continually falling into his face. It's quite soft and feathery to the touch.
9. What color are his eyes?
A rather steely grey-blue. Just how blue depends on what he's wearing.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He has long, elegant fingers, a thin pointed nose, a long neck and a perpetual poker face.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Mostly his head. Stress has a tendency to give him headaches.
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?
Very casual and pretty random for the most part. Zilch really does not give a flying ferret about fashion, and buys pretty much all his clothes second-hand, just getting stuff that fits and is comfortable to wear. As a result, his wardrobe is surprisingly varied and odd, with no particular style. That said, he generally won't wear anything too odd looking, like pink paisley skirts.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
His clothes sometimes swamp him or are a bit tight, but always in a way that's comfortable.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
There's the PALADIN uniform which, bright colors aside, is pretty military for his usual wear.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Zilch's voice is a little bit on the deep side and of clear tone.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Soft and evenly, with a quiet underlying firmness.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Oh lor'. Zilch has an extremely odd and very noticeable verbal tic, where he'll string multiple synonyms together. For example: "The rain in Spain stays mainly, mostly on the plain." "I'm Zilch. Well, that's what everyone calls, addresses, dubs me." "The weather's been bad, crummy, lousy lately." Beyond that, he lives in California so extrapolate what kind of accent he'd have from there.
4. What languages does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Just English. He's picked up some Japanese vocabulary from his biomum, but nothing he could get by on.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Nope! He can't, so he doesn't.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He's a decent impromptu speaker except for the part where he actually has to stop before he speaks in order to remember not to use the extra synonyms.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's surprisingly eloquent overall, although he's an infrequent speaker. When he's really upset, he'll just seize speaking entirely and settle for a cold glare.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Zilch is pretty bright overall, although most of his knowledge is just stuff he's regurgitated from books... and he doesn't read much nonfiction either. He's sharp enough to catch onto things, but inexperienced and his knowledge base is more odd/interesting facts than practical knowledge.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Zilch can think on his feet quite well. He's constantly taking in the environment around him when he isn't deliberately trying to drown it out, which makes it fairly simple for him to make a decision when one comes up.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Zilch's thoughts could be likened to a stream, running over everything and constantly flowing, and from an outside perspective it can appear to be placid, boring water, but underneath the surface there's an entire world of its own. Every now and then this world will get disrupted by a stray thought or idea swimming to the surface, seemingly at random when in fact he's probably already thought it over several times. He leans to the logical side, but is generally optimistic, particularly about people.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Zilch's education has been a little spotty in parts. He's missed the first two years of his high school education and isn't highly knowledgeable about certain subjects, yet at the same time he's managed to accumulate a decent knowledge base just from his constant reading.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Reading, whether it's books or people. But seriously, he has a good dose of fiction in him and well aware of how stories work. He's generally mildly interested in everything, but doesn't specialize in anything in particular.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Zilch, while an empath and generally fond/tolerant of others, finds too much socialization tiring. So, introvert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Generally, Zilch is even-tempered, fairly passive and soft spoken, without an abundance of visible emotions. That said, due to his empath powers he's affected by the moods of others more than he might otherwise be. To a certain degree, it's as if he's feeling their emotions himself. Therefore his moods under the surface tend to swing about depending on his environment.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Provided Zilch isn't encountering a threatening new person/situation, he usually responds with mild interest, although he's too cautious to demonstrate much enthusiasm.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Zilch is rarely ever aggressive enough to act out, and just generally prefers to go with the flow. Definitely a reactor over actor.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Provided the threat isn't something that might harm his loved ones, Zilch is more likely to run from his troubles than fight them off.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
He's a deadpan snarker, with emphasis on the deadpan. It's easy for Zilch to see the absurd side of things, and with the right person he's quite happy to point them out for their amusement. He also has a tendency to be self-deprecating, and avoids making fun of other people's foibles. Out loud, anyway.
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?
Among the most important would probably be the birth of his younger sister, the first time he sensed somebody's emotions, dropping out of school and being drafted into PALADIN.
14. What does he fear?
Zilch primarily fears being unable to stop bad things from happening to his family, and that he'll one day stop caring about the people around him.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Zilch hopes to someday gain control over his powers and be able to rejoin society. Beyond that, he doesn't have very many aspirations, probably because he's fifteen and all.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
That he not only can sense people's moods, but that he's affected by them to the point where he's a little afraid that he doesn't have emotions of his own. And that if he doesn't keep his shields up at all times, people will be able to hurt him.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
This is a little difficult, since he basically has four parents, but for the most part it can be summed up as "The parent is impulsive and irresponsible and Zilch is their patient support, although they deserve more credit than Zilch gives them." His adoptive father Chad is slightly disappointed in Zilch, his adoptive mother Melinda likes him but tends to forget he's there, his stepmum/aunt (It's complicated) finds Zilch weird but considers him a fond nuisance, and his biological mother Hiroko feels guilty for not providing for Zilch all that well. When they're together, Zilch and Chad have slightly terse discussions about Zilch's social and school life, Melinda talks at Zilch about whatever's on her mind, Ann ruffles Zilch's hair a lot and asks for his opinion on her latest painting, and Hiroko frets over how skinny he is.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Zilch has a younger, half-biological and half-adoptive sister named Noriko. Noriko, much like Zilch, is an eccentric person although in a much more cheerful way. The two of them get along pretty well, although Zilch's relationship with her is more like that of a doting, indulgent uncle than an older brother. He's actually pretty proud of her, and will show her off if you show any interest. Seriously, he keeps a picture of her in his wallet. It's a little weird.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
The only grandparents still sort-of around are Hiroko's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Koizumi. They're kind of not-at-all nice people, and Hiroko isn't on speaking terms with them and by extension so is the whole Burke family.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Part of his family? Not really know, since Juan doesn't exist in the PALADIN 'verse.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
...Honestly, his best friend is probably his sister Noriko, who he's known since she was born since she is his younger sister, after all.
6. Does he have other close friends?
There's his childhood friend Melody, whom he sometimes chats with online. They haven't been all that close since they were kids and Melody didn't mind the quiet Zilch hanging out and amiably filling whatever role was needed in house/tag/sugar rush/whatever games they played. There's also Liana, a girl from middle school who'd sometimes stick up for Zilch whenever the others picked on him. She's mostly his friend out of pity, and will sometimes invite him to hang out if she thinks he's been staying home too much.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Neither. Zilch is quiet and nice enough that he doesn't stir up too much conflict, but on the other hand he kind of weirds people out and that is not conducive towards friendships.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
His family is of a higher priority.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Zilch is and has always been single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Zilch has never had a crush on anybody.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
People with an affectionate nature, with a high degree of tolerance for others' quirks and hopefully with a few interesting quirks of their own. He also prefers people who are open and honest, and don't try to 'play games' with people.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Zilch has no children, and he has mixed feelings about whether or not he wants any.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He had more than his fair share of bullies back in middle and high school.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Zilch is asexual, which makes him an X on the Kinsey scale. Not that he's aromantic, but he literally feels no physical/sexual attraction to others, regardless of gender or appearance.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
He's indifferent, doesn't quite get why people find it so interesting, and would be perfectly happy being a virgin for the rest of his life. He could probably be talked into having sex with someone he was really close to, though.
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?
Zilch's birthdate is July 2nd, 2008. This makes him a Cancer and an Earth Rat. Both of these have things in common, although his Western zodiac sign is a much closer match to his personality. Cancers being caring, moody, and intuitive, although Zilch's emotions tend to be subtler. He lacks the magnetism of the Rat, but has the characteristic intelligence and protectiveness.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Zilch doesn't take much to organized religion, but he does have a certain sense of spirituality, believing in souls, ghosts, and reincarnation. His beliefs don't come up much in everyday life, and he feels no desire to defend them or try to push them on others.
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?
Besides the usual morals of a western society (Don't lie, cheat, steal, torture, kill), Zilch personally takes loyalty very seriously. If he considers you a friend, that means he's obliged to go to the ends of the earth for you if need be. He might compromise it if the greater good requires it, be he'd definitely lose sleep over it.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Quite tolerant, and depending on how the person presents their beliefs he may even be mildly interested. However, he's unlikely to take them seriously- he'll dismiss an entire religion for instance, if he doesn't like their stories.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He doesn't much like aggressive people, or people he sees as enjoying conflict. He find them irritating, basically.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
His family isn't that rich and tends to have to awkwardly scramble in order to pay for the rent.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He was genuinely middle class as a toddler, then 'temporarily embarrassed middle class' and then 'not poor' and right now he's 'well, there are starving children in Africa, we have it pretty good'. By which I mean, he's lower class and has been for most of his memory. He's mostly just shrugged off the disadvantages of his social status.
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?
Zilch lives with his adoptive mother and stepmother in the upper floor of a two story house that was converted into a set of apartments. The downstairs neighbors are an elderly couple with seven cats. It's not exactly what you'd call a nice building, but it's not a fire hazard at any rate. Zilch spends almost all his time at home in his room, so he does have a certain attachment to the place.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Books, music, books, snacks, books, and books.
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?
Zilch is both unemployed and a high school drop out. He does have his sudden induction into PALADIN, but that's early days yet.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Zilch spends most of his free time reading. He's also fond of music, and whenever Ann and Melinda are out he likes to sing along and dance with the music- he's actually surprisingly good at that, although he can't play any instruments. He also sometimes plays computer games, mostly crappy free-to-play MMOS.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Zilch tends to skip meals and eat lightly when he can, and then indulging whenever he's sure he can eat as much as he likes. He has a strong aversion to bitter foods.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Associate: Bright blue. Favorite: Green.
2. Smell? Associate: None. Favorite: Clean laundry.
3. Time of day? Associate: Night. Favorite: Sunrise.
4. Season? Autumn.
5. Book? Associate: Addie Pray. Favorite: None.
6. Music? Associate: Odd One. Favorite: Musical soundtracks.
7. Place? Associate: California. Favorite: None.
8. Substance? None.
9. Plant? None.
10. Animal? Associate: Ravens. Favorite: Rats.
