Post by obe on Jan 26, 2012 15:58:03 GMT -5
(I have decided to leave Bear's history as it was, because frankly, it makes me chuckle. But also, I actually think I could work with it. Anyway, I'm removing the WIP status so I can watch and see how y'all respond to this... I apologize ahead of time.)
Name: Barret "Bear" Bardsley Burnham Bloodworth Jr.
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Species: Hare
Occupation: Private - Galloper/Runner (because, frankly, they couldn't figure out what else to do with him)
Physical Appearance:
Bear's height is nothing short of short. He is short. And also, he is not very strong, like, at all. He could probably bench press a tomato, if he tried. Really, though, he's got some muscle, primarily in his legs, because his chest and arms are narrow. He can run a lot, so I guess that's something. Problem is, he's also kinda chubby, due to his unusual lack of metabolism (hares usually have quite high metabolisms). Just don't try to make him to push-ups, or pull-ups, or sit-ups, or ever yell "heads up," because he will actually lift his head up.
His fur is...umm...Well I think hares have brown fur, so let's go with that. And for giggles, let's just say he's got a patch of white fur that runs from his throat-area to his ribcage-area. Bear also has these two things lodged in his head. We call them eyes. They have black dots in the middle, and those dots are surrounded by the color brown. It is a very dark brown, so really, it's more like he's just got really big pupils. Now, if I'm going to be completely honest here, Bear actually has what is considered a "cute face." That is to say he's got one of those child-like faces that females tend to call "cute." And for the sake of repetition...People say the word "cute" when referring to his face.
Bear wears...er, whatever Long Patrol hares wear...Oh! I got it. As for clothing,
Possessions:
(What does your character carry around with them?)
Bear likes books, so he keeps a lot of them. He isn't strong enough to carry very many, though, so he limits himself to four books at a time (these are very large books, mind you). As for weapons, people generally don't trust Barret to not kill himself and/or other people, so he doesn't actually own any weapon. Sometimes, he is given one when necessary, but that weapon will invariably not be a sling...never again...
Personality:
Bear the hare is highly energetic and so eager that it's stupid. The first thing anyone will notice about Bear is that he really really wants to be in the Long Patrol and work extra hard. But he isn't really good at anything...at all. Frankly, Bear is living proof that "wanting it" does not make it happen. Because Bear wants it. He really wants it. But no matter how hard he tries, he is simply not talented...at anything. But, ever the optimist, he does not let failure deter him.
Bear is a quirky fellow, to say the least. He lives in Salamandastron, but he fears heights. He likes diving into deep water, but he can't swim. He loves running, but gravity.* He also tends to zone out frequently as his mind wanders the universe; his body may be standing to attention, but his mind will be contemplating the migration patterns of coconuts. Furthermore, he has a particular way of doing some things. For instance, he always knocks on a door before opening it (even if he's on the inside), he always arranges silverware so that forks are to the left of his plate, and he counts his steps as he walks from here to there. These are only a few examples.
An interesting aspect of Bear's quirkiness is the fact that he is a seer. One might be tempted to say that this ability of his compensates for his lack of skill in almost every activity imaginable. But this is not the case. Unfortunately, Bear's ability is highly limited. His visions are sporadic and virtually meaningless; oftentimes, they will relate to nothing at all. And to top it all off, Bear isn't even aware that he is a seer at all. Bear's mind has a tendency to operate in a somewhat unpredictable manner, so his visions appear to simply be some figment of an easily distracted mind.
Strengths:
- Bear is a genius -- his mind works at alarming speeds, and his powers of logic are rather imposing. Plus, he's like a walking encyclopedia with ears, and feet the size of Green Isle.
- Bear is a seer. Unfortunately, this is hardly a strength, because he is unaware of his ability, and because what he "sees" is often useless.
- Bear's optimism is near impossible to deter. Thus, he is almost always cheerful.
- Like any good hare, Bear can shovel food down his gullet at the speed of sound.
- Bear is ridiculously observant.
Weaknesses:
- Bear is not good at fighting. At all.
- Bear cannot swim. At all.
- Bear is not strong. At all.
- Bear is not brave. At all.
- Bear should never be left alone with a dangerous weapon. At all.
- Bear can't handle negativity. At all. So, he chooses to ignore it, whenever possible. When it is not possible, he suffers a mental-emotional breakdown.
- Bear is afraid of heights. A lot.
- Bear sometimes has trouble understanding the social aspects of...well...life. This leads to all sorts of unusual behavior, most of which is awkward, and some of which results in a palm or fist to the face.
- Bear is clumsy.
- Bear is curious. Perhaps too curious.
- Bear is so easily distracted that his ADD actually frightens small homeless children.
- Bear is highly gullible. He'll believe just about anything, so long as his genius mind doesn't interfere by detecting deception logically. (Interestingly, detecting lies is a skill typically acquired via social experience, which Bear does not have... Much.)
- Bear has an unnatural fear of poultry.
History: Barret Bardsley Burnham Bloodworth Jr., or Bear, as his friends opt to call him, was born in the middle of spring, which is unfortunate, as he is allergic to spring. Fortunately, his father was a healer, and his mother was, incidentally, also a healer. Well, they really didn't think they could take care of the new baby hare, because they were also pirates who were running from other pirates who were, at the time, one treasure chest short. Who would have suspected the cabin boy was both a demonic little otter-thing and an expert tracker? Apparently, only the demon cabin boy.
Anyway, short story shorter, Barret Bardsley Burnham Bloodworth Jr. found his infant self in the care of two seemingly friendly rabbits. They raised him, and as it turns out, Bear's biological parents managed to not pass down their idiot-genes. Bear turned out to be quite the observant young fellow. Perhaps a bit too observant. Barret never paid attention to anything for very long, because he was basically a mixture of energy, fur, and Sherlock Holmes. Much like the Energizer Bunny, but more talkative, more hare-like, and he burps, Bear liked to make lots of noise with sideways drums.
Now, rabbits are all about book-smarts, so that is basically what they tried to burn into Bear's mind. They succeeded, but now Mr. Bunny has a heart condition and a possible case of schizophrenia. One thing is for sure -- Mrs. Bunny (whose real name, as she will tell you, is actually Lady Ladington) never did like the idea of parting from the written word. The home that Bear grew up in looked fairly normal from the outside, but inside, the walls were lined with books, paper, and basically anything that had ever touched ink, octopi aside. Mrs. Bunny was entirely convinced that Kotir was still a threat to Mossflower, which is why Barret was never allowed to travel too far east. That is not to include the times when Barret's guardians were completely unaware of the young hare's absence as he had wandered off in the woods for weeks.
Fortunately, for Barret's sanity, the young lad was allowed to spend plenty of time with other beasts his age. In fact, he spent most of his time out of the house. For a long time, it didn't occur to him that his friends' parents were deeply concerned about the environment he was forced to grow up in; all Bear knew was that he got to stay at his friends' houses for days at a time.
Eventually, young Barret came to realize how unstable his guardians were -- it was probably the frantic anti-rain-dance they performed annually, when the sun was out. And so he convinced them, through sly trickery (better known as "lying"), to let him go to Salamandastron. Right now, they think he is on the roof of their home, trying to plant a garden of magic beans. It is a wonder they kept him fed at all.
In reality, Bear is at Salamandastron, where his only apparent skill involves tripping down a flight of stairs and losing consciousness.
Relationships:
- Mr. Mister Misterson and Mrs. Lady Ladington - Guardians (self-named)
- Mr. Barret Bardsley Burnham Bloodworth Sr. and Mrs. Delilah Cartwright Frostglove-McJoebob Bloodworth
- Gill, Namah, Joktan, and Hunt - Friends that are Barret's age (otter, hogmaid, shrew, and another shrew, respectively)
Other:
Please note that Barret isn't totally incompetent at everything. If he were, he probably would have never been able to join the Long Patrol in the first place (I think.). That said, it is safe to assume that I will take this incompetence-thing, and run with it as far as I can, because fun. That said, I seriously do intend to use Barret as a serious character. Seriously. Which means I will not make him do stupid things constantly. He'll actually do normal, good-character-like things. Like character development -- that'll be involved. (*cough* heavily *cough*)
* This implies falling down. Like, he trips and falls a lot. He's running, and then BAM. Gravity. Hello, soil.
Just a few things I would like to see done. 
