Cress (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
makesitcool) wrote2012-08-04 01:20 am
makesitcool) wrote2012-08-04 01:20 am
SURVEYS
These surveys are all with keeping his experiences at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
smashacademy in mind.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Cress has a lean, compact build. He's rather petite for his age. If you compare him to Chili, who has a strikingly similar body type to his, he will have a bit less muscle development going on, especially in the arms.
2. How old is he?
17 as of 6/3/13
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Sparsely will you catch him slouching; that's just ~bad posture~ and it's not a habit of his. He's got good balance and isn't clumsy.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
It always depends on your standardsand let's face it BOY WHAT'S UP WITH YOUR HAIR, but considering how many llllladies he attracts, it's not a distant stretch to claim with security that Cress can be seen as attractive to some people. But it's all about taste. Cress is handsome and he knows it. He's pretty vain and can occasionally be caught admiring his reflection much to Chili’s distaste. HOWEVER. There's a flipside to this coin; Cress needs constant validation to feel perfectly assured. Even one measly compliment about how well dressed he looks is enough to shoot him to Cloud 9 because his ego is a hungry beast that must be fed and pampered.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
The flying spaghetti monster swam into a bucket of blue dye and settled upon Cress’s head at birth.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
His hair stands out the most because it looks like a tentacle monster. Other than that, no, nothing is striking about this dude. Unless high waters and pedal pushers are incredibly offensive to you.
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?
UHHH, EXCUSE ME? HE HAS 6 OF THE SAME SUIT!! Moving away from things besides his gym leader getup, his garments are usually somewhere between the lines of dressy and casual. You will see a trend of close-fitting selections- uhh, please don't picture latex body suits- I mean that he likes it when his clothes fit snugly against his body. None of that baggy nonsense because eww how shabby. You will also notice that Cress is notorious for never having his pants reach his shoes! What is up with those high waters? It is rare to find him not wearing pants that bare his ankles. HELP FASHION POLICE. His everyday pants are also often capri-length, which looks GIRLY AS ALL GETOUT but he doesn't bat an eye about it and will politely disagree with your pathetically retrogressive opinion. Sometimes, he actually DOES dress like a girl. I'm not talking dresses and hosiery, but some of his stylistic choices might seem a bit unmanly, and his lack of raw masculinity certainly doesn't help any. Cress makes sure with whatever he's wearing, the colors compliment each other, so blues look nice with grays, etc.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
By job, I am assuming the one he worked as a gym leader and a waiter. The answer is sometimes. He will occasionally choose not to deviate from his usual uniform and wear that when he's not on the job. Not only is it associated with his public figure, but it's good to be wearing when you never know whether you're going to be shoehorned into impromptu work. What he wears when he's not going to be working that day depends on where he's going. If he's planning on sticking around home and not going around much, his clothing choices are actually quite casual. He tends to dress nicely, though, especially when going out. Not excessively dressy (unless the situation calls for it!), but cool and classy.
While attending Smash, he does not wear his recognizable getup very often. It is replaced with his school uniform, which he wishes he could get accented in blue to suit his color palette- Chili lucked out, that bastard!! But if it is a weekend, he is often seen wearing casual clothes. If he intends to go out and about in the city, he will dress up more than he would if he wanted to lounge about his dorm drooling at food blogs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
For a male, it's not deep, but won’t be confused for a woman's. However, his voice is husky and smooth, flowing along the higher pitches of the masculine tonal spectrum. Cress is cursed with a gentle lisp that decorates his sibilants. It was worse when he was a child, but Chili coached him on how to make the most of it go away.
To put this in a more condensed manner, I picture his tonal quality to sound like how it's represented in the Japanese version of the anime. I disagree heavily with the one they slapped on in the English dub because it is truly truly OUTRAGEOUS. While it makes me laugh and cry a lot, it reminds me too much of James.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Cress speaks evenly and confidently, words coursing off his tongue with ease. If he has something to say and is feeling stable, there's no falter whatsoever. He's articulate in his speech patterns- a very good talker. Of course, there may be moments where he's caught off-guard and his ability to speak so well will run dry. He also leaves his sentences hanging a lot, assuming that the rest of it can be completed by inferring situational context. That's right. He expects you to read minds.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Cress has three vocal idiosyncrasies: speaking properly (which hardly counts, but you'll notice it), a faint lisp, and habitually referring to himself in the 3rd person. He uses proper speech in a professional atmosphere, namely in the gym/café, but it brushes off on his regular speech too. He will sound less formal when he's at home, but don't get your hopes up in expecting it to sound much different: it's just that he isn't trying to impress anyone with his lofty way of talking. Then, there's his lisp. Chili gives him a hard time for it sometimes, but Cress dismisses it as Chili not being capable of coming up with any intelligent fodder for criticizing him. No one is sure why he talks with a slight ‘shh’ at the end of his sibilants, but it's been suggested that maybe it has something to do with the shape of the grooves in his teeth. Lastly, Cress replaces "I" or "me" with "Cress" or even "I/me, Cress" in some situations or sentences. Depending on who you are, the combination of all three speech quirks can get annoying, and fast. Who knows; maybe you'll find it charming instead?
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
His main language is (default). (default) is what I'm calling our English since obviously when we rp we rp in English. It would make no sense for me to type you a tag in Japanese. You'd think I was from the moon or something. Back on topic, he knows snippets of other romance languages just to add stuffing to how much of a pretentious prissyboy he is. French, Italian, Spanish... He prefers French though, so he knows more of it.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Yes, but sparsely, as in spitting out one sentence's-worth of cliche French phrases. It's really just to show off...
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Cress is a bit of both, but given a general situation he is very articulate and able to voice his thoughts rather well. If it's an important speech, he will have rehearsed it like a script so as to decrease room for embarrassing error. Speaking well is important to him.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
See Numero Seis. It will change when he cannot even think his own thoughts. If he can't even figure his own mind out, his speech pattern will decrease in fluidity and he'll trail off single words while he grasps for something, anything to say. He is also less eloquent when he's extremely angry (a rare case).
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He is quite intelligent in a few ways. Definitely in the books; he makes sure he knows what he's doing ahead of time before he takes the next step into actually doing it, which involves research and planning. I won't say he's street-smart, but he's not street-dumb, either. Cress also has a knack for being witty on occasion, and he is definitely perceptive and a little philosophical sometimes.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He is an introvert who moonlights as an extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
On the surface, he's unstirred, a constant 'cool' and maybe even 'aloof.' However, that does not make him immune to mood swings, which generally play beneath the surface and come up every once in a while to breach. Mood swings happen when he has something to be moody about, like being worried about his Pokemon being sick or getting really upset with Chili for his behavior or letting a remark get to him personally so that he may dwell on it for a while. He's also quite civil and agreeable in disposition, even when he's off the whole waiter gig.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He always holds people at an arm's length when he meets them. However, this may not be apparent by the way he cordially greets you. Cress responds first with courtesy and respect, and it seems to flow from him like second nature. It takes a lot to get him to stop distancing himself and allow himself to be truly comfortable in your presence. If you intrigue Cress somehow, he might be a little more eager to get you to like him, so he revs up the cajolery a little bit.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
That depends on what he's supposed to be acting upon! If something needs to be done, like a project or a task, then he will be a self-starter and go right ahead and act. Cress tends to react more than act in social situations, and even in battles he is wont to react based on how his opponent has acted- 'turn the tides', so to speak. More often, though, even in everyday social situations, he is more accustomed to reacting unless no one else is doing the acting. Then he will gladly step in.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
As far as he's concerned right now, he's working to hone his abilities to the finest he can make them. Any ability he has, he would like to improve them. Specifically, and as an ex-gym leader, he wants to focus on improving his Pokémon battling finesse. Anything else related to Pokémon follows the same priority. His brothers and him promised that they would each be strong in their own right, and not just as a group.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Cress's relationship with his parents was and is smooth sailing. They generally didn't have anything to disagree on, and Cress was something of the rule-enforcer of the three brothers, always reminding them what mom told them not to do or that it's getting dark and they should be heading home soon. He's proud to know that he makes his parents proud. They support him and his brothers in all their endeavors and encourage them with gusto.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Cilan and Chili! They're so close they’re practically tucked under each arm. Together, they form a triplet team. He loves them very much, but when you live under the same roof and grow up together, sometimes you don't always get along. Most of Cress's disagreements are sparked with Chili, whose attitude and disposition are the polar opposite of Cress's. The instigator is usually Chili; otherwise, Cress would prefer to avoid trivial confrontations or difficult siblings. Yet what can he do but parry against Chili's hostility with flippant (and more often than not, passive-aggressive) retorts? With Cilan, however, he gets along much more smoothly because their natures bode well with one another. He is protective of both his siblings, but feels a stronger urge to guard Cilan from the nastiness of others, since sometimes he won't stand up for himself. He admires both his brothers in their own individual ways. The brothers support each other through thick and thin. He couldn't live without them.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Cress is more adept at making acquaintances than friends. The reason for this is he keeps people at an arm's length before sinking into a deeper, more trusting relationship. He has a difficult time making real friends but behaves in an amiable manner, as though you and he are on good terms.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Faaaaamily. And no one was surprised.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Cress has always found many people to be attractive. However, his feelings for them never run deep. For him to have a crush, his feelings need to be less fickle on an emotional level. In other words, he'll need to have invested more interest in this person, or at least spared much thought for the idea. First step comes the "draw", or the magnetism of the other person. Once he mingles with this person of interest and gets more than his feet wet, he may feel a tighter pull on his heart. That is Cress's crush. And he has one.
His first real crush might just have been Celes. He was drawn to her aura of mystery hidden beneath the facade of charm and civility. They were hitched for a few months until she had to leave, which saddened him. She left a big impact after she confessed a few shocking facts about her and vanished after prom.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Any trainer who bests him becomes his rival. He doesn't make a wild show of it, but you'll be able to tell by the way he pledges to get stronger so that he may beat you one day. His brothers are also rivals in the sense that they compete against one another often. To him, Cilan is his bigger rival because he's more difficult to beat. When he does cut him down for size, there's no greater feeling. Victory against the odds is most euphoric...
So he has rivals, but many of them blur into the background for him, and he doesn't think much about them unless they gave off a great impression, like Hilda. Those rivalries he will pay more attention to and work towards finding a way to get the best of them. Once he does manage to come out on top, he sincerely hopes that he will come crashing down again someday. That's right; he anticipates loss. Now why the hell would anyone want to lose?! Well, Cress views his loss differently than some people. When he loses a match, it validates his rival as being a force to reckon with- and he wants to keep reckoning with them. It's almost a sick fixation in the way he mentally toys with loss and victory tugging back and forth between him and his opponents. He gets a thrill out of the unknowable potential outcome and enjoys admiring his opponent's strength- but if he wins, then he gets to bask in his own power and glory.
It goes without being said that he also views the Shadow Triad as rivals for his brothers and him as a unit to one day defeat if the opportunity arises again. Next time, once they toughen their Pokemon up, they definitely won't lose to them.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Being a teen, Cress's sexuality is a mutable entity that constantly changes from experience to experience. Sometimes he wonders if he's more interested in men. Sometimes he wonders if that's merely an exception to a rule of preferring the female sex, or nothing more than platonic admiration. And there are times where he feels as though maybe, just maybe, he appreciates both sexes equally and wouldn't horribly mind taking the hand of either for a night. Currently, he's a 2 on the scale, but it sometimes changes up to a 3. Naturally, social convention dictates that Cress should be more interested in ladies, and he goes along with it, openly treating women very politely and showing interest in them. He treats men politely as well, but is more likely to be less polite in front of them if they wrong him in some way. There's less need for chivalry there. He goes out of his way to try and understand the hearts of girls.
Beliefs
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Not religious, but spiritual. He's more than willing to adopt an open-minded view about the supernatural, and is actually more inclined to believe in a higher power. They do not shape his world; the world shapes them.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
His parents are well-off, and therefore so is he. He won't have to fear being in a tight pinch without any backup. Despite this, Cress tends to be a bit conservative with funds sometimes. By no means is he a cheapskate, but he doesn't like to throw money around carelessly.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Upper-middle class.
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?
In Smash Academy, he lives in a dorm room with his roommate, Apple Kid, who is an insufferable slob. He tries to pick up but it's no use! The mess keeps reappearing like a bad magic trick! Cress has been forced to give up and chooses not to spend much of his time there. He likes to spend more time in Chili's dorm. That said, his room is not his castle, but a place to kick his feet up for the night. When it doesn't smell, that is. If it's so bad he can't breathe and is too tired to do anything about the mess, he will go ahead and sleep in Chili's dorm.
Note: When Chili is mentioned, I am referring to the headcanon shared withmakesithot. Just for clarification!
smashacademy in mind.Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Cress has a lean, compact build. He's rather petite for his age. If you compare him to Chili, who has a strikingly similar body type to his, he will have a bit less muscle development going on, especially in the arms.
2. How old is he?
17 as of 6/3/13
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Sparsely will you catch him slouching; that's just ~bad posture~ and it's not a habit of his. He's got good balance and isn't clumsy.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
It always depends on your standards
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
The flying spaghetti monster swam into a bucket of blue dye and settled upon Cress’s head at birth.
9. What color are his eyes?
Blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
His hair stands out the most because it looks like a tentacle monster. Other than that, no, nothing is striking about this dude. Unless high waters and pedal pushers are incredibly offensive to you.
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?
UHHH, EXCUSE ME? HE HAS 6 OF THE SAME SUIT!! Moving away from things besides his gym leader getup, his garments are usually somewhere between the lines of dressy and casual. You will see a trend of close-fitting selections- uhh, please don't picture latex body suits- I mean that he likes it when his clothes fit snugly against his body. None of that baggy nonsense because eww how shabby. You will also notice that Cress is notorious for never having his pants reach his shoes! What is up with those high waters? It is rare to find him not wearing pants that bare his ankles. HELP FASHION POLICE. His everyday pants are also often capri-length, which looks GIRLY AS ALL GETOUT but he doesn't bat an eye about it and will politely disagree with your pathetically retrogressive opinion. Sometimes, he actually DOES dress like a girl. I'm not talking dresses and hosiery, but some of his stylistic choices might seem a bit unmanly, and his lack of raw masculinity certainly doesn't help any. Cress makes sure with whatever he's wearing, the colors compliment each other, so blues look nice with grays, etc.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
By job, I am assuming the one he worked as a gym leader and a waiter. The answer is sometimes. He will occasionally choose not to deviate from his usual uniform and wear that when he's not on the job. Not only is it associated with his public figure, but it's good to be wearing when you never know whether you're going to be shoehorned into impromptu work. What he wears when he's not going to be working that day depends on where he's going. If he's planning on sticking around home and not going around much, his clothing choices are actually quite casual. He tends to dress nicely, though, especially when going out. Not excessively dressy (unless the situation calls for it!), but cool and classy.
While attending Smash, he does not wear his recognizable getup very often. It is replaced with his school uniform, which he wishes he could get accented in blue to suit his color palette- Chili lucked out, that bastard!! But if it is a weekend, he is often seen wearing casual clothes. If he intends to go out and about in the city, he will dress up more than he would if he wanted to lounge about his dorm drooling at food blogs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
For a male, it's not deep, but won’t be confused for a woman's. However, his voice is husky and smooth, flowing along the higher pitches of the masculine tonal spectrum. Cress is cursed with a gentle lisp that decorates his sibilants. It was worse when he was a child, but Chili coached him on how to make the most of it go away.
To put this in a more condensed manner, I picture his tonal quality to sound like how it's represented in the Japanese version of the anime. I disagree heavily with the one they slapped on in the English dub because it is truly truly OUTRAGEOUS. While it makes me laugh and cry a lot, it reminds me too much of James.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Cress speaks evenly and confidently, words coursing off his tongue with ease. If he has something to say and is feeling stable, there's no falter whatsoever. He's articulate in his speech patterns- a very good talker. Of course, there may be moments where he's caught off-guard and his ability to speak so well will run dry. He also leaves his sentences hanging a lot, assuming that the rest of it can be completed by inferring situational context. That's right. He expects you to read minds.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Cress has three vocal idiosyncrasies: speaking properly (which hardly counts, but you'll notice it), a faint lisp, and habitually referring to himself in the 3rd person. He uses proper speech in a professional atmosphere, namely in the gym/café, but it brushes off on his regular speech too. He will sound less formal when he's at home, but don't get your hopes up in expecting it to sound much different: it's just that he isn't trying to impress anyone with his lofty way of talking. Then, there's his lisp. Chili gives him a hard time for it sometimes, but Cress dismisses it as Chili not being capable of coming up with any intelligent fodder for criticizing him. No one is sure why he talks with a slight ‘shh’ at the end of his sibilants, but it's been suggested that maybe it has something to do with the shape of the grooves in his teeth. Lastly, Cress replaces "I" or "me" with "Cress" or even "I/me, Cress" in some situations or sentences. Depending on who you are, the combination of all three speech quirks can get annoying, and fast. Who knows; maybe you'll find it charming instead?
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
His main language is (default). (default) is what I'm calling our English since obviously when we rp we rp in English. It would make no sense for me to type you a tag in Japanese. You'd think I was from the moon or something. Back on topic, he knows snippets of other romance languages just to add stuffing to how much of a pretentious prissyboy he is. French, Italian, Spanish... He prefers French though, so he knows more of it.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Yes, but sparsely, as in spitting out one sentence's-worth of cliche French phrases. It's really just to show off...
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Cress is a bit of both, but given a general situation he is very articulate and able to voice his thoughts rather well. If it's an important speech, he will have rehearsed it like a script so as to decrease room for embarrassing error. Speaking well is important to him.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
See Numero Seis. It will change when he cannot even think his own thoughts. If he can't even figure his own mind out, his speech pattern will decrease in fluidity and he'll trail off single words while he grasps for something, anything to say. He is also less eloquent when he's extremely angry (a rare case).
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
He is quite intelligent in a few ways. Definitely in the books; he makes sure he knows what he's doing ahead of time before he takes the next step into actually doing it, which involves research and planning. I won't say he's street-smart, but he's not street-dumb, either. Cress also has a knack for being witty on occasion, and he is definitely perceptive and a little philosophical sometimes.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He is an introvert who moonlights as an extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
On the surface, he's unstirred, a constant 'cool' and maybe even 'aloof.' However, that does not make him immune to mood swings, which generally play beneath the surface and come up every once in a while to breach. Mood swings happen when he has something to be moody about, like being worried about his Pokemon being sick or getting really upset with Chili for his behavior or letting a remark get to him personally so that he may dwell on it for a while. He's also quite civil and agreeable in disposition, even when he's off the whole waiter gig.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He always holds people at an arm's length when he meets them. However, this may not be apparent by the way he cordially greets you. Cress responds first with courtesy and respect, and it seems to flow from him like second nature. It takes a lot to get him to stop distancing himself and allow himself to be truly comfortable in your presence. If you intrigue Cress somehow, he might be a little more eager to get you to like him, so he revs up the cajolery a little bit.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
That depends on what he's supposed to be acting upon! If something needs to be done, like a project or a task, then he will be a self-starter and go right ahead and act. Cress tends to react more than act in social situations, and even in battles he is wont to react based on how his opponent has acted- 'turn the tides', so to speak. More often, though, even in everyday social situations, he is more accustomed to reacting unless no one else is doing the acting. Then he will gladly step in.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
As far as he's concerned right now, he's working to hone his abilities to the finest he can make them. Any ability he has, he would like to improve them. Specifically, and as an ex-gym leader, he wants to focus on improving his Pokémon battling finesse. Anything else related to Pokémon follows the same priority. His brothers and him promised that they would each be strong in their own right, and not just as a group.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Cress's relationship with his parents was and is smooth sailing. They generally didn't have anything to disagree on, and Cress was something of the rule-enforcer of the three brothers, always reminding them what mom told them not to do or that it's getting dark and they should be heading home soon. He's proud to know that he makes his parents proud. They support him and his brothers in all their endeavors and encourage them with gusto.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Cilan and Chili! They're so close they’re practically tucked under each arm. Together, they form a triplet team. He loves them very much, but when you live under the same roof and grow up together, sometimes you don't always get along. Most of Cress's disagreements are sparked with Chili, whose attitude and disposition are the polar opposite of Cress's. The instigator is usually Chili; otherwise, Cress would prefer to avoid trivial confrontations or difficult siblings. Yet what can he do but parry against Chili's hostility with flippant (and more often than not, passive-aggressive) retorts? With Cilan, however, he gets along much more smoothly because their natures bode well with one another. He is protective of both his siblings, but feels a stronger urge to guard Cilan from the nastiness of others, since sometimes he won't stand up for himself. He admires both his brothers in their own individual ways. The brothers support each other through thick and thin. He couldn't live without them.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Cress is more adept at making acquaintances than friends. The reason for this is he keeps people at an arm's length before sinking into a deeper, more trusting relationship. He has a difficult time making real friends but behaves in an amiable manner, as though you and he are on good terms.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Faaaaamily. And no one was surprised.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Cress has always found many people to be attractive. However, his feelings for them never run deep. For him to have a crush, his feelings need to be less fickle on an emotional level. In other words, he'll need to have invested more interest in this person, or at least spared much thought for the idea. First step comes the "draw", or the magnetism of the other person. Once he mingles with this person of interest and gets more than his feet wet, he may feel a tighter pull on his heart. That is Cress's crush. And he has one.
His first real crush might just have been Celes. He was drawn to her aura of mystery hidden beneath the facade of charm and civility. They were hitched for a few months until she had to leave, which saddened him. She left a big impact after she confessed a few shocking facts about her and vanished after prom.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Any trainer who bests him becomes his rival. He doesn't make a wild show of it, but you'll be able to tell by the way he pledges to get stronger so that he may beat you one day. His brothers are also rivals in the sense that they compete against one another often. To him, Cilan is his bigger rival because he's more difficult to beat. When he does cut him down for size, there's no greater feeling. Victory against the odds is most euphoric...
So he has rivals, but many of them blur into the background for him, and he doesn't think much about them unless they gave off a great impression, like Hilda. Those rivalries he will pay more attention to and work towards finding a way to get the best of them. Once he does manage to come out on top, he sincerely hopes that he will come crashing down again someday. That's right; he anticipates loss. Now why the hell would anyone want to lose?! Well, Cress views his loss differently than some people. When he loses a match, it validates his rival as being a force to reckon with- and he wants to keep reckoning with them. It's almost a sick fixation in the way he mentally toys with loss and victory tugging back and forth between him and his opponents. He gets a thrill out of the unknowable potential outcome and enjoys admiring his opponent's strength- but if he wins, then he gets to bask in his own power and glory.
It goes without being said that he also views the Shadow Triad as rivals for his brothers and him as a unit to one day defeat if the opportunity arises again. Next time, once they toughen their Pokemon up, they definitely won't lose to them.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Being a teen, Cress's sexuality is a mutable entity that constantly changes from experience to experience. Sometimes he wonders if he's more interested in men. Sometimes he wonders if that's merely an exception to a rule of preferring the female sex, or nothing more than platonic admiration. And there are times where he feels as though maybe, just maybe, he appreciates both sexes equally and wouldn't horribly mind taking the hand of either for a night. Currently, he's a 2 on the scale, but it sometimes changes up to a 3. Naturally, social convention dictates that Cress should be more interested in ladies, and he goes along with it, openly treating women very politely and showing interest in them. He treats men politely as well, but is more likely to be less polite in front of them if they wrong him in some way. There's less need for chivalry there. He goes out of his way to try and understand the hearts of girls.
Beliefs
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Not religious, but spiritual. He's more than willing to adopt an open-minded view about the supernatural, and is actually more inclined to believe in a higher power. They do not shape his world; the world shapes them.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
His parents are well-off, and therefore so is he. He won't have to fear being in a tight pinch without any backup. Despite this, Cress tends to be a bit conservative with funds sometimes. By no means is he a cheapskate, but he doesn't like to throw money around carelessly.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Upper-middle class.
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?
In Smash Academy, he lives in a dorm room with his roommate, Apple Kid, who is an insufferable slob. He tries to pick up but it's no use! The mess keeps reappearing like a bad magic trick! Cress has been forced to give up and chooses not to spend much of his time there. He likes to spend more time in Chili's dorm. That said, his room is not his castle, but a place to kick his feet up for the night. When it doesn't smell, that is. If it's so bad he can't breathe and is too tired to do anything about the mess, he will go ahead and sleep in Chili's dorm.
Note: When Chili is mentioned, I am referring to the headcanon shared with
makesithot. Just for clarification!
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oh right