The questionnaire, Part 1

Well, I'm on city lockdown, so I guess I should finally do that questionnaire for the archive people. If you're reading this, you'd better make sure this doesn't get out.
 
1. What is your full name? [REDACTED]
 
2. Where and when were you born? I was born in Port Barter, near the docks, a little under 30 years ago.
 
3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) My bio dad’s Metropha Trafford. He’s some kind of smith, mainly with making stuff heavy and sharp. He was always quiet, like he’s replaying something on loop in the back of his head. My stepdad’s Theo Trafford. He did most of the raising, but beyond that he’s a writer. He did like to talk, and tell scary stories, but the one story he never told was about where they all came from.

 
4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? Not as far as I know. Maybe there’s a few back at the homeworld, wherever the heck that is.
 
5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. Technically, I have an apartment in the Silver Thimble. I’m basically living off the airship for the time being, though, with all the crazy stuff that’s happening and me needing to be ready at a moment’s notice. The apartment itself, I’m leasing out to a low-level guy whose boss ended up at the wrong end of one of those power struggles in Parliament. At least until she can get back on her feet, she needs a safe place to disappear and reestablish herself.
 
6. What is your occupation? I’m a pilot, a transporter, and at the rate of how things are going with the rest of the cities on Liminal, I’ll probably start being a smuggler again any day now.
 
7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. I’m 5 foot 7 inches, with deep blue-grey skin (except for my stomach), and an eyepatch to hide my one discolored eye. My race is similar to devil rays that I’ve seen in a couple books, and I guess I could be described as a guy. I wear the pants, gloves, and half-cape with half-shirt of the uniform. I have gills on my sides, but they’ve never worked. I also have a really wide grin and a bunch of sharp teeth.
 
8. To which social class do you belong? Lower class, and happy with that. My job is being a thug, not a cop or a corporate type.
 
9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? I can’t breathe underwater, and I’m not a terribly great swimmer. Best as I can tell for someone of my race, that’s a really big weakness.
 
10. Are you right- or left-handed? Left hand.
 
11. What does your voice sound like? Relatively deep, and constantly like I’m talking partially submerged. I can get really clippy when I’m trying to keep control of the situation, so I don’t ramble.
 
12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? Don’t have one, really. Try not to talk much on the job.
 
13. What do you have in your pockets? I have a gun, a few shivs, some bribe money, and a wooden cigarette.
 
14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I never, ever smile if I can help it, unless I’m trying to intimidate someone. I fiddle with my wooden cigarette when bored sometimes, too.
 
15. How would you describe your childhood in general? Frustrating. I grow up in a world with all sorts of different people, I know my family’s from another world, and I can’t be told a single thing about that place, about my history, my roots?
 
16. What is your earliest memory? Having a fit when I was told I shouldn’t try swimming in the Port Barter docks, and definitely don’t try to breather using my gills in there.
 
17. How much schooling have you had? A decent bit before I ran off, mostly home schooling on math, reading, practical skills and the like. The rest was street smarts.
 
18. Did you enjoy school? As much as I could given the tension between me and the parents. It at least gave us something else to do and talk about.
 
19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? That was after I left, when I snuck on that ship and took jobs to avoid getting caught. That really taught me how to survive.
 
20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. No… not really. I didn’t know anyone like me but my parents, and well…
 
21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? Not well. I thought that was obvious already.
 
22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to do something with the sea or the ocean. I didn’t know what, but I wanted to do something.
 
23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? Hanging around the docks, talking to people, listening to them, maybe making things that float.
 
24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I started excited and curious. I got a good bit more withdrawn as I got older, though. No point in asking and all that.
 
25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? I wasn’t really popular. I knew people, but I didn’t really know them. The parents were always paranoid about something bad happening, or someone bad, and so on.
 
26. When and with whom was your first kiss? It was a guy after we both barely escaped some cops after taking some goods from the impound yard. We both kind of regretted it after the heat of the moment passed, but we did our best to work together.
 
27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? I was… well, ‘with someone’ a couple weeks before I found out I was actually working for the Parliament. I went into it with her, no strings attached, one evening only. Lots of stuff was mercenary like that, back before I got into more organized work.
 
28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. I’ve known I could do weather stuff almost as long as I can remember. Apparently during a tantrum when my paper ship tub sunk, I caused a whirlpool in the tub.
 
29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? It was about a month after the Roc took over. The jobs were getting flashier, more open, and rougher. Not like how Penny and Pound ran things. I could see the writing on the wall, and if I didn’t get out now, things would get worse. So, when my ship was coming back from the run, I made sure I wasn’t on it and swimming elsewhere.
 
30. Who has had the most influence on you? I’d like to say Penny, but… honestly, probably my parents. It’s not because of what they did. It’s what they didn’t do, and what I tried to do in response. They shaped everything I decided to do after I got away from them.
 
31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Getting a second job after ghosting my first job.
 
32. What is your greatest regret? That I wasn’t able to keep working for my old boss. They didn’t have any power after getting forced out as far as I could tell, so it’s not like it was possible, but I pride myself of doing the job for my boss, and doing it well.
 
33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? I abandoned a sinking ship to its fate with people on board, cops, civilians, and all. Not because I had to – they saw me, and I could have saved them if I really wanted to. But it would have meant abandoning the job and letting go of the items that I was smuggling to Port Barter. I had a job to do. Really.
 
34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? …seriously? I was a smuggler for organized crime, and you’re asking if I have a criminal record?
 
35. When was the time you were the most frightened? That first week after abandoning the Parliament. I was sure the next time I turned my back I’d have a dozen knives in it.
 
36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Well, once I tried to prove I was tough to a ship crew, so I took a challenge to get on the mast, eat some fish, and stay there for a day. They put something in it, and between that and the chill, I ended up ill and messing up my quarters for a solid week. They didn’t think I was tough after that.
 
37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I’d want to know about where I came from. History, good and bad, doesn’t matter. I’d probably still be doing my current stuff, but maybe that whole relationship with my family could still be there now.
 
38. What is your best memory? Getting told I was the new pilot and helmsman for this airship held by the Lockstitch people. I actually was helping to run a boat. It didn’t even matter than I thought it was just another front for a criminal organization – I mean, that’s just normal.
 
39. What is your worst memory? The day I realized I was never gonna learn a word about my family’s history or the world where I came from. It really hurts to figure out your parents are going to keep your past from you forever.
 
 
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Actually, after that, I really need to take a break. You archive people were waiting this long, a little longer won't kill you.