Post by Skipper on Apr 14, 2011 16:59:42 GMT -5
Name: Burl Shadock
(pronounced: Burl Shade-dock)
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Species: River Otter
Marital Status: Single
Position and Home: Member of the Otter Crew at Holt Seaslate
Strengths: Burl's most significant strength is, simply put, his strength. Burl is an all-around athlete. He is pretty fast runner and a much faster swimmer (though, as an otter, he has a bit of an advantage). He is also extremely coordinated with his paws and could likely pick up juggling in a day or two.
Burl is good with his paws. He has tried them at being a blacksmith, a locksmith, and a carpenter. He is knowledgeable in these areas, which has proven quite helpful several times in the past.
Burl is a fast learner. He picks up on instructions rather quickly and tends not to make the same mistake more than once, all provided, of course, that he puts into action the instructions immediately after receiving them. This is how he managed to become proficient in working with metal, locks, so on, and so forth.
Burl is artistic, thanks to his aunt's influence on his development. Like everybeast in his family, he can sing well in that he rarely misses a note -- Burl is particularly good at it, though he doesn't really think so.
Burl is a good-natured otter; he gets along with almost everybeast he meets. He is terribly polite and dreadfully considerate, which makes befriending beasts a horrendously easy task. Whatever his parents did when they raised their only son, they did it right.
Weaknesses: Burl, though not quite of the diffident sort, does not open his mouth terribly often. In fact, he tends to remain quiet when he should speak, perhaps a time or two too frequently.
Burl is horrendously forgetful. He is terrible with names, faces, numbers, written words, spoken words, and just about anything that a beast might need to remember. It isn't that he doesn't care enough to remember, nor that he has difficulty paying attention; he simply cannot bring the past to mind with any modicum of ease. This is precisely why, in order to learn something as quickly as he does, he must immediately put into practice whatever he learns.
Burl has little patience, little control over his own hastiness. He has a proclivity to rush into action without thinking much about it. This is, in part, due to his memory or lack thereof, but it is also simply his nature. Life moves quickly for Burl, and he does his best not to fall behind. Unfortunately, such an attitude causes him to make more mistakes than should be necessary. On the bright side, he'll never hesitate to not hesitate.
Burl is too nice, if ever there could be such a degree of amiability. To his detriment, Burl lacks the skill of telling other beasts, "Uh-- No." He therefore finds himself without time to himself, spending it all instead helping others. That is not to say that he should stop helping beasts, but it is to say that takes his helpfulness to the superlative degree of comparison. For instance, when another beast, out of the kindness of his heart, attempts to help him for a change, Burl mulishly declines. He means well, but the results can be negative.
Alignment: Good
Appearance: Burl is a big, brawny beast standing 5'11, a touch short for an otter of his seasons. Nevertheless, his abundance of muscle and scarcity of fat more than make up for what he lacks in height. Indeed, Burl is an athlete, one who hasn't the luxury of getting "out of shape." This is mainly due to his aforementioned inability to say "No."
Yet Burl is not an intimidating sort of beast. His soft green eyes and youthful visage give him the appearance of a large teddy bear. Oftentimes, his expressions let slip the truth of the matter: He is tired. He is tired, not in the sense that he lacks proper sleep, but in the sense that a heavy burden of some sort weighs on his shoulders daily.
Burl is most often seen wearing a dark blue tunic one that is a bit too large for even his frame, simple brown trousers, and a black sling wrapped about his waist -- it acts as both a belt and a weapon. He does not wear shoes, usually, because he finds footwear of any sort restricting and unnecessary. He has large footpaws, so Burl's lack of shoes isn't terribly noticeable or strange-looking.
Burl's voice is gruff when it rises above the bass range, but otherwise, it possesses a smooth, melodic quality that is generally pleasing to the ear. He doesn't much notice or even like his voice, but certain friends, family members, and infatuated females would strongly disagree.
Personality: Burl is a content otter. He is happy with his family, his friends, his surroundings, and his fortune. It shows through his behavior and through his smile. Burl loves to meet new beasts and could talk to anybeast for days. He is almost always seen smiling, for one reason or another, and sometimes for no reason at all. The fact is, Burl is happy. But he is restless.
Burl knows well that he is talented and is confident that he could accomplish anything he wants to. But so far, he has not found a chance to use all of his ability. Looking back, he does not see any accomplishment in his life that truly matters. He would go as far to say that he has accomplished nothing at all. Burl longs to make a difference in reality as he knows it, but what he should do remains a complete mystery to him. He doesn't much care to shoot for the Skipper position at Holt Seaslate, despite the expectations of his elders and peers. He likes being a blacksmith, carpenter, locksmith, and storyteller, but he feels as though he should be doing something more significant, something that utilizes all of his talents. Fortunately, circumstances at Marshank look rather promising...
History: One happy day, Thurso and Leah Shadock brought into the world a little otter by the name Burl. This is hisstory.
The funny thing about Burl is that he has had a particularly uninteresting life hitherto. Well, he's not happy with it, anyway. His first memory was of his parents' house's walls, which were stone, as they lived in a surprisingly comfortable cave (they did eventually move to Holt Seaslate). Evidently, he found the walls quite interesting to look at, as a dibbun. His next memory is of his third birthday, on which he was gifted with a little wooden sword. He lost it five weeks afterward. That is his third memory.
The rest of his memories just blend together in such a way that he cannot pinpoint precisely what time any particular memory is from. Fortunately, his parents, though a bit forgetful in their "old age," are more than happy to provide the assuredly not embellished details.
Burl was a gifted kit, in multiple ways. His most noticeable gift was his coordination, which seemed to come rather naturally, though he often played games such as catch, tag, and the like. His favorite game as a kit was "go-fish," but Burl and his friends played it differently than most. With only the knowledge that it was a game, and that it was called "go-fish," they took it that the object of the game was to catch more fish than one's opponents. So, Burl's companions could oft be found at the river, swimming about as they tried to seize as many fish as their little paws could. Impressively, the little group actually caught a good number of fish this way, but Burl was always the best at it. Hence, it became Burl's favorite game.
Burl made many friends throughout his life, but he and his very first friend, another otter by the name of Redpoint, befriended one another in a less-than-typical fashion.
"Hey, what's yore name?"
"Burl. What's yores?"
"Re'point."
"Oh. . . y'wanna be my friend?"
"Sure."
Thus began a long and eventually complicated friendship.
As a kit, Burl took a great interest in almost every occupation he came across. While most kits had decided that they wanted to be the Skipper, Burl wanted to be a carpenter, a locksmith, a fisher, an inventor (like the one at the Lighthouse), an adventurer, a storyteller, and the Skipper. This interest in absolutely everything never truly left Burl, and he has mastered three of his jobs as well as another unplanned occupation.
As Burl advanced in seasons, his father decided that the young otter should develop a solid work ethic. Thurso therefore worked hard to push Burl to work hard. Burl was made not only to succeed in his endeavors at the Holt, but also to learn discipline at Thurso's brother's home, a busy farm near Strat. Burl would spend many of his summers at the farm, and he soon developed a strong relationship with his uncle. Sometimes, though, rather than working at Uncle Riftinn's, Thurso would send Burl to work (unofficially) with the Seabound, a sort of navy that patrol the Eastern Sea and keep order.
Burl's aunt would also take him aside and teach him the artsier things in life. She taught him to sing on key (a skill some of the Shadocks haven't quite mastered), to paint, to tell stories, and to cook (very important). But most of all, she taught Burl to appreciate the small things that beasts take most for granted. He learned to love the rain, to watch storms intently, and to literally stop and smell the flowers. Honestly, though, he didn't much care for flowers, but he pretended to for his aunt's sake.
As time passed, Burl continued to grow into a strong, hard-working otter. His tight-knit family never failed to express their pride in him, especially his father. His reputation spread in the Holt, and he became known as quite the prodigy. Beasts he barely knew encouraged him to succeed, and many expected him to take the position of Skipper.
The only silence he could find was at home, where he would talk with his mother for hours. During these times, Burl could relax and not think about tomorrow's impending responsibilities. Leah always had a way of calming her son's nerves, and it became an integral part of Burl's routine to thereby clear his mind.
And clearing his mind became more necessary as time continued flowing past. Burl's friends have become a little less friendly and a little more jealous of all the praise he's received from their elders. Even Redpoint, Burl's oldest friend, has grown more competitive. Although both otters are still close friends, they are also rivals. Redpoint always seems to come in second place when he and Burl are involved, and this has been the source of a few arguments between the two. Nevertheless, their friendship is considerably strong, and they still joke around with each other, as always.
Besides this, Burl Shadock has had a rather uneventful lifetime thus far. Nothing really special colors his days, past or present, but he is still trying to conjure a masterpiece for his future.
Codeword: I really need a new codeword...
(pronounced: Burl Shade-dock)
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Species: River Otter
Marital Status: Single
Position and Home: Member of the Otter Crew at Holt Seaslate
Strengths: Burl's most significant strength is, simply put, his strength. Burl is an all-around athlete. He is pretty fast runner and a much faster swimmer (though, as an otter, he has a bit of an advantage). He is also extremely coordinated with his paws and could likely pick up juggling in a day or two.
Burl is good with his paws. He has tried them at being a blacksmith, a locksmith, and a carpenter. He is knowledgeable in these areas, which has proven quite helpful several times in the past.
Burl is a fast learner. He picks up on instructions rather quickly and tends not to make the same mistake more than once, all provided, of course, that he puts into action the instructions immediately after receiving them. This is how he managed to become proficient in working with metal, locks, so on, and so forth.
Burl is artistic, thanks to his aunt's influence on his development. Like everybeast in his family, he can sing well in that he rarely misses a note -- Burl is particularly good at it, though he doesn't really think so.
Burl is a good-natured otter; he gets along with almost everybeast he meets. He is terribly polite and dreadfully considerate, which makes befriending beasts a horrendously easy task. Whatever his parents did when they raised their only son, they did it right.
Weaknesses: Burl, though not quite of the diffident sort, does not open his mouth terribly often. In fact, he tends to remain quiet when he should speak, perhaps a time or two too frequently.
Burl is horrendously forgetful. He is terrible with names, faces, numbers, written words, spoken words, and just about anything that a beast might need to remember. It isn't that he doesn't care enough to remember, nor that he has difficulty paying attention; he simply cannot bring the past to mind with any modicum of ease. This is precisely why, in order to learn something as quickly as he does, he must immediately put into practice whatever he learns.
Burl has little patience, little control over his own hastiness. He has a proclivity to rush into action without thinking much about it. This is, in part, due to his memory or lack thereof, but it is also simply his nature. Life moves quickly for Burl, and he does his best not to fall behind. Unfortunately, such an attitude causes him to make more mistakes than should be necessary. On the bright side, he'll never hesitate to not hesitate.
Burl is too nice, if ever there could be such a degree of amiability. To his detriment, Burl lacks the skill of telling other beasts, "Uh-- No." He therefore finds himself without time to himself, spending it all instead helping others. That is not to say that he should stop helping beasts, but it is to say that takes his helpfulness to the superlative degree of comparison. For instance, when another beast, out of the kindness of his heart, attempts to help him for a change, Burl mulishly declines. He means well, but the results can be negative.
Alignment: Good
Appearance: Burl is a big, brawny beast standing 5'11, a touch short for an otter of his seasons. Nevertheless, his abundance of muscle and scarcity of fat more than make up for what he lacks in height. Indeed, Burl is an athlete, one who hasn't the luxury of getting "out of shape." This is mainly due to his aforementioned inability to say "No."
Yet Burl is not an intimidating sort of beast. His soft green eyes and youthful visage give him the appearance of a large teddy bear. Oftentimes, his expressions let slip the truth of the matter: He is tired. He is tired, not in the sense that he lacks proper sleep, but in the sense that a heavy burden of some sort weighs on his shoulders daily.
Burl is most often seen wearing a dark blue tunic one that is a bit too large for even his frame, simple brown trousers, and a black sling wrapped about his waist -- it acts as both a belt and a weapon. He does not wear shoes, usually, because he finds footwear of any sort restricting and unnecessary. He has large footpaws, so Burl's lack of shoes isn't terribly noticeable or strange-looking.
Burl's voice is gruff when it rises above the bass range, but otherwise, it possesses a smooth, melodic quality that is generally pleasing to the ear. He doesn't much notice or even like his voice, but certain friends, family members, and infatuated females would strongly disagree.
Personality: Burl is a content otter. He is happy with his family, his friends, his surroundings, and his fortune. It shows through his behavior and through his smile. Burl loves to meet new beasts and could talk to anybeast for days. He is almost always seen smiling, for one reason or another, and sometimes for no reason at all. The fact is, Burl is happy. But he is restless.
Burl knows well that he is talented and is confident that he could accomplish anything he wants to. But so far, he has not found a chance to use all of his ability. Looking back, he does not see any accomplishment in his life that truly matters. He would go as far to say that he has accomplished nothing at all. Burl longs to make a difference in reality as he knows it, but what he should do remains a complete mystery to him. He doesn't much care to shoot for the Skipper position at Holt Seaslate, despite the expectations of his elders and peers. He likes being a blacksmith, carpenter, locksmith, and storyteller, but he feels as though he should be doing something more significant, something that utilizes all of his talents. Fortunately, circumstances at Marshank look rather promising...
History: One happy day, Thurso and Leah Shadock brought into the world a little otter by the name Burl. This is hisstory.
The funny thing about Burl is that he has had a particularly uninteresting life hitherto. Well, he's not happy with it, anyway. His first memory was of his parents' house's walls, which were stone, as they lived in a surprisingly comfortable cave (they did eventually move to Holt Seaslate). Evidently, he found the walls quite interesting to look at, as a dibbun. His next memory is of his third birthday, on which he was gifted with a little wooden sword. He lost it five weeks afterward. That is his third memory.
The rest of his memories just blend together in such a way that he cannot pinpoint precisely what time any particular memory is from. Fortunately, his parents, though a bit forgetful in their "old age," are more than happy to provide the assuredly not embellished details.
Burl was a gifted kit, in multiple ways. His most noticeable gift was his coordination, which seemed to come rather naturally, though he often played games such as catch, tag, and the like. His favorite game as a kit was "go-fish," but Burl and his friends played it differently than most. With only the knowledge that it was a game, and that it was called "go-fish," they took it that the object of the game was to catch more fish than one's opponents. So, Burl's companions could oft be found at the river, swimming about as they tried to seize as many fish as their little paws could. Impressively, the little group actually caught a good number of fish this way, but Burl was always the best at it. Hence, it became Burl's favorite game.
Burl made many friends throughout his life, but he and his very first friend, another otter by the name of Redpoint, befriended one another in a less-than-typical fashion.
"Hey, what's yore name?"
"Burl. What's yores?"
"Re'point."
"Oh. . . y'wanna be my friend?"
"Sure."
Thus began a long and eventually complicated friendship.
As a kit, Burl took a great interest in almost every occupation he came across. While most kits had decided that they wanted to be the Skipper, Burl wanted to be a carpenter, a locksmith, a fisher, an inventor (like the one at the Lighthouse), an adventurer, a storyteller, and the Skipper. This interest in absolutely everything never truly left Burl, and he has mastered three of his jobs as well as another unplanned occupation.
As Burl advanced in seasons, his father decided that the young otter should develop a solid work ethic. Thurso therefore worked hard to push Burl to work hard. Burl was made not only to succeed in his endeavors at the Holt, but also to learn discipline at Thurso's brother's home, a busy farm near Strat. Burl would spend many of his summers at the farm, and he soon developed a strong relationship with his uncle. Sometimes, though, rather than working at Uncle Riftinn's, Thurso would send Burl to work (unofficially) with the Seabound, a sort of navy that patrol the Eastern Sea and keep order.
Burl's aunt would also take him aside and teach him the artsier things in life. She taught him to sing on key (a skill some of the Shadocks haven't quite mastered), to paint, to tell stories, and to cook (very important). But most of all, she taught Burl to appreciate the small things that beasts take most for granted. He learned to love the rain, to watch storms intently, and to literally stop and smell the flowers. Honestly, though, he didn't much care for flowers, but he pretended to for his aunt's sake.
As time passed, Burl continued to grow into a strong, hard-working otter. His tight-knit family never failed to express their pride in him, especially his father. His reputation spread in the Holt, and he became known as quite the prodigy. Beasts he barely knew encouraged him to succeed, and many expected him to take the position of Skipper.
The only silence he could find was at home, where he would talk with his mother for hours. During these times, Burl could relax and not think about tomorrow's impending responsibilities. Leah always had a way of calming her son's nerves, and it became an integral part of Burl's routine to thereby clear his mind.
And clearing his mind became more necessary as time continued flowing past. Burl's friends have become a little less friendly and a little more jealous of all the praise he's received from their elders. Even Redpoint, Burl's oldest friend, has grown more competitive. Although both otters are still close friends, they are also rivals. Redpoint always seems to come in second place when he and Burl are involved, and this has been the source of a few arguments between the two. Nevertheless, their friendship is considerably strong, and they still joke around with each other, as always.
Besides this, Burl Shadock has had a rather uneventful lifetime thus far. Nothing really special colors his days, past or present, but he is still trying to conjure a masterpiece for his future.
Codeword: I really need a new codeword...