Application Copy
Character
Name: Rock Lee
Age: 23
Sexuality: He thinks when he finds love it will be with a girl, but that's just what he thinks. Things happen.
Role in company: Security
PB: Wu Zun


Background History:

Lee started out in California, having been born there. His birth was, to put it nicely, a surprise. Maybe a bit of an unwelcome one- it wasn't good timing for his suddenly single mother, not even employed in any way yet, to find out she had her ex's baby on the way. If said ex had bothered to stick around long enough to find out, it would certainly have been a shock to him. His grandmother, to whom his mother ended up turning to for support now that she was alone and pregnant, wouldn't say she welcomed the idea of raising another baby, though that was ultimately what happened.

It wasn't as if he had asked to be born, yet somehow his mother seemed to hold it against him that he had been. She was never cruel or neglectful to him- in fact, if she didn't spend time with her son it was only because she was busy working two or more jobs at all hours of the day, trying very hard to make ends meet and provide for them all. But the fact that she had found it necessary to work so hard to support her small family was never what she wanted. Whatever it was that she did want, she certainly could never make it happen under these circumstances. Since his mother was lacking the time or the desire to raise him herself, Lee was mainly left in the care of his grandmother.

Maybe this was a good thing. His grandmother was loyal to her family and decided to raise Lee the best as she possibly could. She was a nice woman, generally, if very old fashioned. It rubbed off on Lee, and even if it caused a few weird quirks, he's much better for it. He believes in a lot of things that might be considered old fashioned now. He is extremely polite because she always insisted on him behaving like a gentleman, and using proper manners. He is incredibly polite and respectful to people he sees as being in higher positions than him. Having a good work ethic and never complaining was stressed. Lee even learned a second language in addition to English from her, because Chinese was her first and best language.

The downside was that both she and his mother were not affectionate, and did not encourage him positively. He was scolded and punished for mistakes, but rarely given much praise for anything he did.

School was never a lot of fun for him; just imagine a kid who nobody really wants to be friends with but who is still the friendliest person anybody knows. Despite trying hard to seem nice (as well as genuinely being just a good guy), making friends came hard. He was mocked and teased for just about everything. He didn't do well in school, nobody wanted to be friends with him, he had a stupid haircut and bushy eyebrows... and the older he got the more aggressive it got. The best thing others might have said for him was that he wasn't afraid to stand up for himself: every time the abuse got to be enough he was willing to fight, even physically if necessary. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to win in any of these respects. He lost most of the fights he got into, and still got dragged down to the principal, lectured and a few times, suspended. Despite never being able to win a fight, he's always been and still is ready to do whatever it takes to stand up for himself or others. He's better at it now. He has learned and loves a few different martial arts, and one of his greatest joys is practice of these. He's much more able to defend himself successfully than he ever was when he was younger.

Along with failure socially, there was the difficulty in academics itself. Paying attention in class was hard, understanding the lessons afterward nearly impossible and putting together what he knew in order to pass his important exams was surely only luck. His grades were consistently only good enough to get him promoted to the next grade. This was not good enough for his family, and certainly not for himself. Even without their pushing, he still felt the need to do better. Other students thought he was stupid and the teachers even seemed to have given up on him, but he just had to show them that he could do this. No matter how hard he worked at it though, he never managed to truly succeed. After spending long hours at studying and many weeks of after school tutoring his grades finally seemed to go up. Finally he was doing better than just getting by. He would have been happy, but this small victory didn't seem to count. The pressure placed on him by his family had increased as the years went by, though their expectations for him were clearly falling. As he got closer and closer to graduation, they almost seemed to stop caring. He just wasn't expected to come to much- disappointing, but what can you do?

Even without someone else's expectations to keep him going, Lee didn't stop learning after high school. He applied to the community college because of it's closeness and affordability, but also for the fact that his grades didn't seem impressive enough to any other schools and he hadn't then figured out what it was he wanted to study. He enjoyed this part of his schooling a lot more than he ever had high school. People seemed so much less judgemental, and though they said the courses were very hard, Lee was able to deal with the heavy workload because he refused to give in to pressure and drop out. It only lasted two years, and soon after that Lee decided he wanted to move on.

It was only a necessity at first. He was eager to live on his own for the first time and for that he had to make money. Being bored was also the last thing he liked. Sitting idle could never be an option. So when an offer came by word of mouth that there was a job he needed little to no prior knowledge or skill to do, that paid well but happened to be extremely hard and sometimes even dangerous work, he jumped right on it. This was just what he had been hoping for, and he would be foolish not to take a perfectly good opportunity when it arose! The possibility of personal injury didn't even stick in his mind for a moment.

The job ended up being construction, which was not at all skill-less but was definitely dangerous. He enjoyed it immensely though, and spent a year working and moving around to stay with the jobs, rather than going back to school immediately. He was learning and doing something he was proud of. It was honest, useful work and each new home or building that went up or was repaired gave him a feeling of accomplishment, no matter what small part he had really played in getting the job done. It was a team effort, and he appreciated and was as proud of that as much as his own part in it.

The dangerous part of the job became obvious quickly. The more Lee worked the more often he got hurt. Working long hours under the hot sun often lead to dehydration and passing out, and occasionally a sharp or heavy object would cut or smash something he hadn't wanted it to- especially his hands. General clumsiness eventually lead to a few sprained appendages or broken bones, though nothing so bad he couldn't get over it. Even now going to the doctor is one of his least favorite things, because of all the injuries he's had to get checked out before. When it comes to deciding to go by himself he will most often not go and say he "forgot" or that it wasn't bad enough to bother. Nothing bad happens! Okay, maybe he should have had a doctor look at it that one time the nail that went right through his hand, but it healed eventually so it was fine! The only real consequence were the scars and the permanent roughness of his hands. But those were purely physical and really nothing compared to what he was gaining along with them.

Working in construction was very rewarding for a long time, but it was a job with good times and very slow ones. After weeks, and then months of there being no work available for him Lee found he needed something more permanent to get by. He was, by then, in Nevada. After enrolling in classes in another school in that state, Lee started looking for the job he wanted to do forever and eventually found himself drawn to the law enforcement career. The idea of a job where he can protect and defend others, even with a high risk to himself sounded exactly like the kind of thing he would be happy to do. While he takes classes in school part-time to prepare for this type of career, Lee decided he needed real practice. It didn't take long for him to pick up a paper and find a job opening in security at a place called Feel Good INC. He didn't bother to read any of the other information right then, and accepted the job happily when his interview was successful. Finding such an opportunity was incredibly lucky, and Lee knows he'll love the job no matter what it might be!

Personality, Likes & Dislikes:

Lee is different, no two ways about that. Everything about him, the way he acts, talks, dresses (orange legwamers are his favorite) and thinks just doesn't seem to match up to the way others do those things. At best it makes him quirky and interesting, even cute sometimes, but at worst it means he's kind of dorky and annoying. He doesn't mean to be, and feels bad when he frustrates or annoys someone too much. Sometimes people seeing him in those negative ways is actually frustrating to him- yes, he is different but different is not bad. Life would be boring if everyone were the same. He's proud of being who he is.

He has a lot of energy, and a lot of enthusiasm for life in general. No matter how mundane or even stupid something might seem to you, he can get excited over it. The first time he ever used the laundromat washing machine would seem like nothing, but to him seeing his wash going around in circles and knowing he'd finally made the machine work was definitely worth jumping up and down and cheering loudly. Even if it earned him raised eyebrows from the other people sitting quietly waiting for their washing to finish. To him, there is no such thing as being overexcited. He loves to do things like sports and games because of all his energetic nature, being able to play is natural for him. If he has spare time he will probably use it to do excercises that he makes up on the spot, or practice martial arts which he loves.

Lee has a tendency to get carried away by his emotions. That's because they come over him like waves- suddenly and strongly. He has never been able to keep things in or to stop himself from reacting according to how he feels. If he's happy he will jump around and cheer, and wants to make everyone around him feel like celebrating too. If he is sad, he'll cry no matter who is there or what they might say about it. There is no shame in crying at anything beautiful, touching, or heartbreakingly sad. When he feels someone has been wronged, he needs to make things right. Sometimes that ends up with him getting into fights because he's gotten carried away by righteous anger.

At the same time, he does try to keep depressing feelings from effecting him, preferring to be happy and move on in spite of them. This sometimes backfires by making him feel overly stressed and will lead to even more unhappiness. Getting stuck with bad feelings hanging over him isn't something that has happened often, but it is one of his least favorite things.

He was raised to be very polite and respectful. He tries to remember this all the time. Even in the middle of a conflict or when faced with someone he does not like, Lee will remember his manners. He tends to be punctual because that is just common courtesy, though he does get distracted easily and may be held up by something catching his attention.

Being a protector is his ideal- especially a protector for girls. Though he respects them and knows that most women are perfectly capable of doing all the things he wants to do for them on their own, he still wants to. He's been very confused and upset when told him that that is rude, because he was taught that it was in fact, politeness. He'll stop if a particular person asks him to, but in general it's how he acts. Running ahead to open doors and, in more extreme cases, being willing to jump to defend someone's honor is just part of who he is. He also has a strange ideal for love- the fairy tale, true love at first sight, the chance to be save and protect someone who he cares for... he doesn't seem to understand this simplicity in a relationship is impossible and would in fact be undesirable. To him it sounds perfect and romantic, not boring and unrealistic.

People close to him are one of the most important things in the world to Lee. He is incredibly loyal to his friends and will do anything for them, even saying he would die for them. Because he was lonely when he was younger, he thinks showing people how important they are to you really matters. If you love someone, you should tell them. Random hugs and other shows of affection are pretty common for him. He thinks of people for important events and loves to celebrate birthdays and other holidays by giving people little gifts that made him think of them.

His work ethic is incredible. The best way to get something is to work hard for it, and nothing Lee can say he is proud of hasn't been earned by his own effort. Sometimes it might frustrate him, especially when faced with someone who never has to try for anything, but he believes what he believes and he'll stick to it no matter what. When he really wants something he gets completely fixated on it, thinking of nothing else and doing everything with that specific goal in mind. He gets distracted easily though, since he also can't seem to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. He always wants to have something to do, and if he hasn't got anything specific he will invent something to do. Doing nothing feels wrong to him.

He has a lot of strange beliefs. One might even call him superstitious, if any of the things he believed weren't unique to only him. He seem to think he can control everything- by pretending not to want something, he can get it but if he wants it hard enough and believes he will also eventually succeed in getting it. To him both of these sound perfectly logical, even if they do contradict one another.

A lot of people notice that the way Lee talks is different, for one main reason- no contractions whatsoever. If you bring this up to him though, he will proudly inform you that he does not speak badly, or in a strange way. He speaks perfectly. And he happens to very much appreciate the way he sounds when he talks, which may just explain why he talks so much. And so loudly. And to everyone he meets regardless of whether or not they want to talk to him. He doesn't know that his voice is just a little annoying and loud, since he forgets soon after being told.

Likes: Lee loves everything life has to offer. He loves the plants he grows in his window. He loves his bright orange hand knitted legwarmers. He loves being with the people he cares about and being able to help others. He loves the feeling of triumph when he finally succeeds at something, and being able to see the fruits of his efforts. Even the things he doesn't actively like, he'll try to see in a good way.

Dislikes: What, dislikes? How could you dislike anything? Life is wonderful and everything in it should be appreciated! Even the bad things can be seen in a positive way!
Oh, um, but he doesn't really like to go to the doctor. Feeling like he's messed up or failed is really unpleasant.... and splinters are not terribly beloved either. Also, being kicked in the head out of nowhere.

Sample Post:

First Person

I think I have finally found the perfect career for myself! After all the classes and things I learned in school, I know what I want to do with it all!

Law enforcement! I am not sure which specific career I would like at this point, but I know that I could do it, whatever it is. I cannot think of anything more fulfilling than dedicating ones life to the protection and service of others! The requirements and good skills to have fit me as well. I know I am in good shape physically, and definitely willing to work harder to get even better if they ask it of me. And knowing two languages is considered useful. I will not even have to learn another to meet that! But this is the best part: "honesty, integrity, and a sense of responsibility are important in law enforcement". I know I have all of those qualities! Now all I need to do is find out which kind of job I want...and I need to keep taking classes for whatever one that is, and find out exactly how I will get it. If I am going to take classes much longer, I will really need to start looking for a job though. I will start looking tomorrow, first thing! Well, second, after class of course...Maybe I should write it down.

I am not going to worry about it right away. Knowing what I want to do is wonderful and I want to enjoy it for now!

I have to do something nice to show my appreciation and gratitude to the counselor who gave me all this information- I wonder if she likes potted plants?

Third Person

Lee frowned at the hole in his wall, absently feeling his sore knuckles with his opposite hand. There was nothing wrong with them, luckily, but the wall.... He could probably fix this. Probably. He had fixed lots of things kind of like this before. It had been his job for at least eight months before he'd come to live here after all. In his nice, new, previously undamaged apartment, he reminded himself, a little bit irritated.Oh well, he could fix this and then there would be no problem whatsoever.

Of course...his conscience reminded him, he had damaged it and even if it would be plenty easy just to fix himself, he really ought to tell the landlord what he had done. And promise to fix it! He planned on it already, Lee was very responsible, but it would be good to remind the nice landlord that there was no reason to worry with him. He was not any kind of trouble maker, this had just been a mistake. Next time Lee was bored, he would have to remember to exercise in a better place.Somewhere a little less breakable, most likely.

He reached out and felt the edges of the little hole he'd put in the wall. They were rough, the sheet rock broken in a jagged way. Maybe he would leave out just how he had managed to make this mistake though- something told him the landlord might be less forgiving if he knew Lee had punched a hole in his own wall.