Mammoth News

[Deel]

The Questionnaire

Edited August 14, 2016 by Deel

[Deel]

Introduction

 

Who are you? Sum yourself up in one sentence.

I’m the one who plays with the sharp things, called Hau-Tayoomae in my people’s words.

 

Do you have any nicknames, street names, titles, or nom de plume?

The humans call me Mammoth when I am helping.

 

What is your full birth name?

We don’t have names at birth.  We only get names when we do something.  It doesn’t take long.  Many of our names are about playing.

 

Where do you live?

I live where I am.  Sometimes that is Claremont, a place of teaching.

 

How old are you? What year were you born (if applicable)?

My mother says humans were putting circles on many things when was born.  I think that means I was born in 2000.

 

Physical Traits

 

 

What is your gender? If not applicable, please explain.

I am a boy sasquatch.

 

How would you describe your heritage?

I am a sasquatch.  We like humans, but we don’t build things.  We don’t need to much, for we are quiet and strong.

 

How tall are you?

About eight human feet tall.

 

What is your body type?

Some people who don’t think I can hear them call me gangly.  I will grow thicker.

 

Do you have any particular weaknesses, such as allergies or physical disabilities?

No, I am able.

 

How do you carry yourself? Are you graceful, or heavy on your feet? Can you be stealthy, do you walk with confidence?

I am very quiet except when I want to make a noise.  I can walk very loud.

 

Describe your skin, eye, and hair color.

My skin is red, my eyes are brown and my hair is brown.  My hair will get grey if I live long enough.

 

How do you wear your hair, if applicable? Do you have facial hair?

I have hair everywhere except my front.  My face has no hair yet, but I might grow a beard like my mother.

 

Do you consider yourself attractive? Do others?

I am a normal sasquatch.  Girl kinds don’t like me much, because I go to strange places. 

 

Do you have any scars, tattoos, piercings, or birthmarks?

I have many tiny scars.  Tattoos are scars you make on purpose?  I don’t have them. 

 

Do you resemble anyone famous?

Some people have said my face looks like Abraham Lincoln.  I don’t see it.  I have also seen pictures of bigfoot and sasquatch as humans guess them.  I don’t look like any of them – they are all too wide.

 

Do you have a dominant hand?

Yes.  It is my right.

 

What kind of clothing do you wear?

In human places I wear human clothing.  I wear pants and a jacket, or sometimes a vest.  I wear shoes or some humans get irritating.  I don’t like T-shirts or polo shirts.  I don’t like putting them on. 

 

Do you wear makeup?

Not yet.  Some people say I should wear warpaint.  That sounds painful.

 

What is your vocal range? Is your voice distinctive in some way?

My vocal range is very good.  I can meow like a cat, or growl like a bear.  I speak like that one I saw on television, Mister Reese (from Person of Interest.)  I speak quietly so humans won’t think I’m a human.

Do you have any distinctive habits, nervous tics, or mannerisms? Where did they come from, and what causes them? Do other people notice and remark on these habits? Do they annoy you or other people?

I guess I don’t like sitting in chairs.  I mostly just sit on the floor.  One thing I hate about school is desks.  I have to work to find a comfortable way to sit in a desk.  Some people get annoyed, but I have to try.

 

 

History

 

Where do you come from?

Vermont.  That is where I met Terry, the first human I made friends with.  I am not really from Vermont, it is just easy to say that.  Sasquatch move around, I have seen most of the deep woods and lakes and waters.

 

Have you made any major moves, or do you live in your hometown?

I no longer live in the deep woods like a sasquatch.  I live like a human, at least for now. 

 

Do you feel loyal to your country of citizenship? Do you consider yourself patriotic? How do you feel about the government of your country?

I am a sasquatch, not a human.  Someday when I have learned a lot about humans, I will go back to the deep woods and call a meeting to share what I have learned.  Many of us will hear, and some will come to ask questions.

 

How do you feel about the place you come from?

It is good, and not as annoying as human places.  Humans are good, but human places are full of annoying things.

 

Where is your home town? What was/is it like?

We don’t live in towns.  We live in the deep woods.

 

 

Growing up, were most of the people you knew similar to you, or were you somehow a minority? How did that affect you?

Sasquatch are a lot alike.  I think we are more alike than humans, but then I’m the only one who has left to live in human places for as long as sasquatch can remember.

 

Is there something you've always been really good at or really bad at? How has that affected your life?

I think I’m pretty good at learning languages, but not many sasquatch try.

 

Were there any traumatic experiences in your early years (death of a family member, abandonment, orphaned at an early age)?

Not really.  My great-grandmother died, but that was it.  We are good at not dying.

 

Briefly describe a defining moment in your childhood and how it influenced your life.

I remember my mother catching me playing with stones, using them to make marks on wood.  She just laughed, and said I should live with the Robed Ones to learn the right ways to make marks.  But I remembered, and the bodiless ones kept reminding me.  I kept looking for humans to watch and follow.

 

What stupid things did you do when you were younger?

The serpent guide warned me not to meddle in human things.  I didn’t listen.  I guess that was stupid; the serpent guide doesn’t speak to me any more.

 

Where did you go to school? How much school did you have, and did you enjoy it?

Sasquatch don’t have schools.  We don’t have great numbers of youth, so when a young one needs to learn something they just find an elder who knows, and asks them to teach.

 

Do you have any mementos of your childhood? What are they, and why did you keep them? If you have none, why not?

No, not really.  We don’t keep things, just memories.

 

When did you decide to become a hero? Why? Did anyone influence you one way or another in the decision?

I wanted to help humans.  The ones I fight aren’t human anymore; they reject human gifts.  It is a sickness.  They can be healed, but first they must be made to stop hurting other people.  Terry Michelet, my sponsor, asked if I could help him with those bad people who tried to hide in the deep woods because I could find them and deal with them more easily than the human hunters and police.

 

Is the reason you give people for becoming a hero different than your real reason? If so, why?

No.  But I don’t think I explain to people very well that it’s not just me who chose this, it was the wind and water and bodiless ones.  The people who speak in my head and my fur.

 

Do you have any deep, dark secrets in the past that may come back to haunt you?

No.  The other people know.

 

Do you represent yourself as being different from who you really are? Why?

Not really, but it’s interesting when people think I can’t hear them even when I am right there.  They think that I am slow.  I am, next to a human, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember things.

 

If you do have these secrets, what do you fear would happen if the truth became known? How far would you go to protect those secrets?

Not far at all.  It is comforting to be hidden, but it is comforting to be spoken to also.

 

Do you have any sort of criminal record? If so, is it public knowledge?

It took me a while to learn human ways.  I didn’t wear pants, and sometimes I worked human machines just to see what they would do.

 

Family

 

 

What are your biological parents' names?

My father is Kyunayauna, my mother is Kikyaumae.

 

Were you raised by them? If not, please explain and describe who raised you.

My mother raised me.  My father sojourned to the west, to guide younger ones.  It is our way.

 

What was their standing in the community? What did/do they do for a living?

Doing just one thing for a living is a human thing.  We do all of the things.  It is a life.

 

Where are your parents now?

My mother is still in the deep woods, in southern Vermont.  I speak with her sometimes.  I don’t know where my father is, but if I needed to I could find out.

 

Did your family stay in one area or move around a lot?

Oh, we always move some. 

 

How did you get along with their parents? How do you get along with them now (if applicable).

My mother and I get along well.

 

How do your parents view you now, or how would they?

My mother doesn’t understand me much, but she doesn’t need to.  When I go back to the deep woods, we will speak for a while.

 

 

Do you have any siblings? If so how many and what are their names? Describe your relationship with them.

I have no siblings now, but my mother is young.

 

What was your birth order in the family?

I am the first.

 

Where are your siblings now (if applicable)? Do they have families of their own? What do they do?

Not yet born.

 

Do you stay in touch with them or have you become estranged?

I suppose I will get along with them.

 

Do you love or hate one member of the family in particular?

We are together when we must be.

 

Is any member of the family special to you in any way (perhaps, as a confidant, mentor, or arch-rival)?

My mother is very wise and fast.  Faster than me.  If I ever need to be closer to the spirits of chasing, she was talk with us.

 

Are there any black (or white) sheep in the family (including you)? If so, please explain.

I guess it’s me.  I’m the only one to leave the deep woods for human places.  It is not shameful, but strange. 

 

Do you have a notorious or celebrated ancestor? If so, please explain, including how it has affected your life.

No, all are remembered.  We really don’t have heroes or villains – we are all very good at minding our own business.

 

Do you have a partner and children currently? If so, please describe them.

No, I am still young.  I’m even younger than my mother.

 

If you do not have a partner or children, do you want them someday? How firm are you in your opinion on this, and what might change your mind?

We don’t have partners the way humans do.  It is less affectionate, more like business.  Mothers take care of children, sometimes father help and sometimes not.  I don’t know if I like the human way, but many human things work well.

 

What type of person would be your ideal mate?

Tough, practical, and someone who can speak to the other people.  But I am still young. 

 

 

Relationships

 

Do you have any close friends? If so, please describe them, and how you came to be close to them.

Well, there is Terry Michelet.  A few students here at Claremont are friendly, but I’m not sure they want to be close.

 

Do you have a best friend? If so, how did they become your best friend? How close are you to your best friend?

No, all my friends are the best.

 

If you were to go missing, who would worry about you?

Well, Terry, and the AEGIS people, and the Claremont people, the teachers.  Some of the other students. 

 

Have you lost any loves? If so, how did it happen, and what did you do?

Not yet.

 

Do you have any bitter enemies? If so, please describe them and their history with you.

Bitter?  I have helped the rangers and police name bad people and lock them inside.  They might not like me.

 

If you have enemies, how do you think they might attempt to work against you in the future?

They’ll probably try to shoot me.  Or maybe hit me a lot.

 

What is the worst thing someone has done to you?

Well, some people have shot me.  That always stings.

No, that’s not true.  The serpent guide has stopped speaking to me.  The guides are bodiless people who help the sasquatch know things, it is their work.  When one of them stops speaking, it is strange.  I think it might be pridefulness.

 

Where do your loyalties lie? In what order?

I have seen myself when I am much older, and I am good and wise.  I think that to be good, I must practice goodness. I must help people who need help, the utterly helpless and the mighty and wise who can still use my strength and cunning.

 

Who or what do you trust the most? Why?

I trust the others who speak in my head and my fur.  I trust Kikyaume, and Terry. 

 

Who or what do you despise? Why?

Despise?  I don’t think I despise anything.  In the sasquatch world, there is never a need to hate something so much you want it ground into dust.

 

What qualities do you admire most in other people? Are these qualities you possess?

I admire people who have deep learning and wisdom.   And rest.  And humor. I try to have these things, but I am still young.

 

What qualities do you hate most in other people? Do you have any of those qualities?

I hate it when people sickly try to hurt without reason.  I try not to do that.

 

Do you have a secret identity? If so, who knows it? Do you hide it from people who are close to you? Why?

I’m eight human feet tall, and I have no hair. 

That’s a joke.  No, no secret identity.

 

Do you work well on teams and in groups? Are you a leader or a follower?

I work with people well, I think.  I don’t really know how to lead.

 

Are you on a super team? If so, how do you get along with your comrades? Do you trust them, or do you have secrets from them?

Not yet.

Are you a member of any church, fraternal organization, club, committee, political party, or other group? How much time do you spend on that?

Not yet, although I sometimes sing for the student band Firedream. 

 

 

Personality & Beliefs

 

Who are your heroes?

I like stories of Rocky  (OOC:  As detailed in the Emerald City campaign setting.)  Not the older stories, the newer ones.

 

Did you ever become disillusioned with former heroes or idols? If so, why and what were the circumstances?

No, not yet.

 

Do you like being a hero? If so, what is the most rewarding part? If not, what makes you keep doing it?

Yes, because I can help.

 

Is there anything that would make you give up hero work, or even switch sides?

Give up?  If the others and the bodiless ones, the guides and humans asked me to go back to the deep ones, I would.  Switch sides?  No.

 

What are your short term goals (what would you like to be doing within a year)?

I want to learn to drive.  And learn quantum physics.  I think that is where the bodiless ones live.

 

What are your long term goals (what would you like to be doing twenty years from now)?

I want to learn a lot about human life, and take this knowledge back to my people.

 

What is your greatest fear? Why? What do you do when something triggers this fear?

Sasquatch don’t have fears.  I guess I fear maybe hurting someone by accident. 

 

Is there anything you would give you life for?

If it would help, yes.  But it would have to help a lot; I’m not finished with my life yet.

 

How do you feel about money and material wealth? Do you desire it or disdain it? Are you miserly with what you have, or do you like to share? Is it a mark of success, or a means to an end?

It is a human thing.  A good tool sometimes, but I will give it up when I am done among humans.

 

How do you generally treat others?

I try to stay quiet and learn things.  If I think I can help, I try to do that.

 

Are you a trusting person? Has your trust ever been abused?

Yes, I guess.  And not yet, but there is one guy who keeps trying to trick me into drinking from the fountain in the park.  But I never really trusted him.

 

 

Are you introverted (shy and withdrawn) or extroverted (outgoing)? Do you have a lot of self-confidence?

I think sasquatch seem introverted to humans, but I like being around people. 

How do you act around attractive, available members of your preferred sex?

I try to get close to them, to catch their smell.  Then I try to do things for them.

 

What are your most annoying habits?

I think it’s the chairs, although I have a lot of people tell me I shouldn’t dance without a trigger warning.

 

Do you feel contempt for any general category of people? Who are they, and why?

No.  General?  No. 

 

 

What is your favorite food? Do you prefer any particular type of food? Do you take the time to enjoy your food, or do you eat as fast as you can?

I used to eat fast, but then I ate a cilantro burger and didn’t do that again. I don’t much like hot things.  I like bread, and hamburgers. 

 

What is your favorite drink (alcoholic or otherwise)?

Root beer! 

 

 

What is your favorite treat (dessert)?

Cheesecake.  I don’t know what to think of chocolate.

 

Are there any specific foodstuffs that you find disgusting or refuse to eat?

Coffee is weird.  It’s like fruit juice, but with no fruit left. 

 

What is your favorite color? Are there any colors you dislike?

I don’t have a favorite color.  I don’t understand purple. 

 

What sort of music do you like? Is there any that you hate?

Sasquatch music is always vocal, we don’t play instruments, although we do sing to the wind and water.  Human music is everywhere!  I like different kinds, especially where someone is playing lots of instruments.  I like singing jazz and metal, but I don’t play instruments.

 

If you have a favorite scent, what is it?

Cinnamon!

 

Do you have a favorite animal?

Skinks

 

What is your most treasured possession? Why?

Treasured?  My fur, I guess

 

Do you enjoy "roughing it", or do you prefer your creature comforts?

This is a human thing.  Roughing it is a comfort, just like cheesecake.

 

Is there a job or a task you would absolutely refuse to do?

Exterminator.  I know the vermins eat away at human things, but I think even they have their place.

 

Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? If so, how do your beliefs affect your life?How important is it to you?

Everyone is a spiritual person.  There are spirits everywhere, with bodies and without.

 

Was your faith influenced or molded by anyone special?

What I know of spirits is what I see, what I have seen from before my birth.  Here they are.

 

If you belong to a religious organization, how often do you attend? Do you have a specific place of worship, or friends within the organization? How much do you agree with the beliefs of your organization?

Religion is a human thing, a way to find time to think about the way of all things.  Sasquatch always think about this. Humans always seem surprised to find that all things are connected, that there is moving things from the beginning.  They call it God and say all kinds of things about it.  Some of these things don’t make very much sense, but that is in accordance with the spirits of their place. 

 

Could you kill? Have you killed?

I have killed many insects and rooted plants to eat.  Sasquatch don’t usually kill big animals, but sometimes that is in the order of things.  Killing is sometimes hard because we are made to pay attention to the face, to guess at what something is feeling.  But sometimes you have to do hard things.

 

 What circumstances led to you forming that conviction, or taking that action?

Sasquatch have a mind like humans.  We also look at the face.

 

Are there circumstances under which you believe it is permissible to kill? What are they?

When something will not stop hurting, hurting others, or hurting itself.  If there is nothing ahead but pain, then a quick end is better.  But you should be sure.  Sometimes healing is possible.

 

How would you react to watching someone kill another person? Would your reaction be different if the killer was a friend or an enemy of yours?

Nobody should kill a person.  I would try to stop that, and make sure there was a good reason and no other way.  Revenge is not a good reason.  Execution is a human thing I don’t understand.

 

How would you react if something important was stolen from you?

I’d try to get it back.

 

How would you react to public humiliation?

I am humiliated in public all the time.  Or maybe you mean something else.

 

How would you react if a good friend or relative were purposely or accidentally killed? Has it happened to you?

People are killed by accident sometimes, because people live for a while and then they die.  When someone is killed on purpose, I try to make sure whoever killed them says what they did out loud, so everyone will know.  This might mean they get locked away.

 

What do you consider to be the worst crime someone could commit and why?

Eating another person while they are still alive.

 

If your life were to end in 24 hours, what five things would you do in those remaining hours?

I would say goodbye to people, I would dance all around, eat a whole cheesecake, I would write ‘me too’ under the Centurion memorial, and I would find a car to drive.  Or maybe a truck.

 

 

Career & Training

 

 

Do you have any special training in your hero skills? If so, where and how did you get it?

I am learning how to read and write.  I learned that here at Claremont.  Also I learned how to hit really hard, and how to set it up so someone can knock it down.  My Mom taught me how to walk up the trees and rocks fast, and how to jump.  She is faster than I am.

 

Who taught you the most about your heroing abilities? What was your relationship with that person?

My Mom.  She made me chase her, and I never caught up!  But I’m a better jumper.

 

Do you have any particularly unusual skills? How did you acquire them?

I am learning about paramedic skills.  All sasquatch learn how to make healing work, but the human way is more complicated.  Or maybe it’s just that we don’t learn it everywhere.

 

Do you do something besides hero work for a living? Have you ever done anything else, or do you plan to?

I do pay attention to forestry.  I like making sure a place is healthy.

 

What is your preferred combat style?

Grab somebody, and maybe hit them or throw them.

 

Have you ever received any awards or honours?

Not yet.

 

What skill areas would you like most to improve in? Is there anything you can't do that you wish desperately you could?

I wish I could research.  Some people can read from books or computers and see the deep past.  I wish I could do that, but some people tell me my google-fu is not strong.

 

How do you act around people who are more skilled than you in areas you'd like to improve? Are you jealous, or do you try and learn?

I watch and ask questions.

 

 

Lifestyle & Hobbies

 

What is a normal day for you? How do you feel when something interrupts this routine?

I get up and go to classes, but first I put on pants.  After that I just run around.

 

Do you have any hobbies, or interests outside hero work? What are they, and where did you pick them up?

I sing, there is this band called Firedream, and we make music.

 

What do you do for fun?

I dance, but human people sometimes act scared. 

 

Do you have a costume? What does it look like?

Well, I wear blue pants and blue and gold jacket mostly.

 

How do you normally dress when not in costume?

I try to wear pants and something on top, but I don’t really care about colors.  Except purple.  I don’t like purple.

 

What do you wear to bed most nights?

I take off my pants.

 

Do you wear any special jewelry? What is it, and what does it look like?

I don’t know about jewelry.  That’s a human thing.  Some of it looks good, though.

 

 

Do you have a special place where you keep your valuables?

My room.  I have a room to myself, but it isn’t very big. 

 

What's your preferred means of local travel? How about long distance?

Running, but I like riding in cars.  I want to drive because I will make the cars dance.

 

 

Miscellaneous

 

Have you ever made a will, or tried to make arrangements for your death? What provisions did you make?

No.  I should do that; some people try to hurt me.

 

If your features were to be destroyed beyond recognition, is there any other way of identifying your body?

I am very big and hairy.  DNA?  Ummm… I don’t know.

 

What would you like to be remembered for after your death?

Someone who tried to teach sasquatch and humans about each other.

 

Do you believe you pose a threat to the public? Why or why not?

Some people who see me dance say things like ‘natural disaster.’  I don’t get it.

 

What do you perceive as your greatest strength?

My strength.  I am not as strong as the strongest, but I am strong enough to help.

 

What do you perceive as your greatest weakness?

I read slowly, but I am still young.

 

As a player, if you could, what advice would you give your character? Speak as if he/she were sitting right here in front of you. Use proper tone so they might heed your advice...

Diversify your knowledge.   Take arcane studies and archaeological courses.  I know, it’s a lot of reading, and that’s not your best thing, but believe me learning the origins of the sasquatch is going to be really important after a while.  Just for starters, did you know sasquatch are metamorphic?  Not like shapeshifters, but like butterflies.  And you and every other sasquatch you have ever known are still just caterpillars.  Nothing wrong with that, it’s been generations since your people have experienced the metamorphic trigger, but if you live among humans long enough you could be in for a surreal surprise.

                Also, if you’re going to dance around humans, you’ve got to learn to stay on the floor and not jump around too much.  Seriously, you freak people out.