TheStarsAreRight:HenrikMuellerBackground

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Character Bio Sheet

1. Your full name: Henrik Mueller

2. Occupation: Illustrator and Explorer

3. Residence: Edinborough, Scotland

4. Birthdate: May 8, 1898

5. Place of birth: Munich, Germany

I. Childhood.

A. Describe the sort of area you grew up in: The northwest outskirts of Munich, where his father was a bookseller and his mother a schoolteacher.

B. Childhood friends and enemies and why: He managed to befriend some of the local tough kids who helped him out, Wilhelm and Erwin. Later, he would reflect that they were rather nasty sorts.

C. Hobbies, sports played, etc.: Other than drawing and a penchant for getting into trouble, he had no hobbies.

D. Art or Music Training: Drawing lessons

E. Describe the type of homelife you had as a child. He was raised Roman Catholic. His father strongly encouraged him to read and pursue higher education, which he did sporadically and reluctantly. However, much of his time was spent wandering and getting into trouble. Frustrated at school, he eventually dropped out to join the army.

II. Family

A. Father's full name: Stefan Mueller

B. Mother's maiden name: Mildred Abbott

C. Brothers' names: none

D. Sisters' names: Elsie, Gertrude

E. Any other relatives? English uncle, Jamison Abbott

F. List all current knowledge of family addresses, spouses, children, birthdates, schooling, and any important incidents that only you and they might remember.

His father and mother are still living outside of Munich where they own the same shop. His sisters have both married and moved to other regions in Bavaria. Each now have two children.

III. Schooling.

A. Grade school: (normal)

B. Junior high school: (normal)

C. High school: Enrolled at public school in the north of München, but dropped out to join the army.

D. College: He took art classes at the 'Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, in 1920-21 but was never formally enrolled.

E. Other: none

F. Military service. 3 years service from 1915 to 1918, rising from private to Unterfeldwebel (sergeant)

G. Graduate work. none

IV. Life Experience.

A. What made you choose your present occupation? Working as an illustrator has been his most successful skill, and lets him travel.

B. What did you do before? List odd jobs, etc. How long held and what type? After the war ended in 1918, he lived in Munich for many years before leaving to travel in 1924, working odd jobs as a handyman and painter. A friend at the Fine Arts academy recommended him to the Deutsche Archäologische Institut in Cairo, and he went there to work on illustrations for books.

C. Describe any traumatic experiences in your present occupation that have affected you deeply in some way. His work as an illustrator has primarily been good, but he is still haunted by his experiences in the war. The killing in the trenches is still with him.

D. Who/what are your role models now and in childhood? He grew up with an awareness of Bavaria as a center of culture. His role models were probably Dürer, Beethoven, Fritz Lang, Max Klinger, and Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (a German painter who painted many scenes of African wildlife).

E. How do your relatives and friends view your present occupation? He is respected by his uncle, but only tolerated by his mother and disliked by his father.

F. Who/what had the most personal direct influence on your life? (person or experience) The war is undoubtedly the experience which utterly changed him. He still regards himself as a survivor.

V. Skills.

A. What, in your opinion, do you do the best? Seeing the spirit of a place rather than just the details.

B. How do you relax? Primarily by the traditional German method, drinking.

C. What do you do that you would like to improve on? Technical skill in painting.

VI. Personal.

A. Best friend. His cousin Alyson, his sometime-lover, or his uncle Jamison. Among his non-intimate, non-family peers, he has a number of casual friends but none particularly close.

B. Worst enemy. He doesn't have violent enemies, but Jamison's son-in-law Thomas strongly dislikes him.

C. Current girl/boy friend. Previously, his second cousin Alyson White

D. Is girl/boy friend an occasional date or steady? Occaisional. Neither is interested in marrying the other, but thus they have not had luck finding marriageable prospects and will go out together instead.

E. Is girl/boy friend a lover, i.e. physically intimate? Yes.

F. A far as you can tell, how does girl/boy friend view you? A friend and confidante.

G. Give detailed addresses and descriptions for letters A through C.

H. Give a description of the type of place you live in, including a floor plan if possible. He has an attic studio in a small house which Jamison rents.

I. What is your code of honor? Very minimal, due to his experiences in the war. He will help his fellows and friends, but has no respect for the laws of engagement or chivalry.

J. Is there anything you absolutely will not do? He will not sacrifice himself for a cause.

K. Do you have any fears or phobias? He is uncomfortable when locked in, especially underground -- a residue of being shelled in the trenches. However, it is not on the level of a phobia.

L. What are your weaknesses? He is impulsive by nature, and regrets some of his choices, so he is sometimes slow to commit.

M. Describe your one 'great' love affair. He has not had one. The closest he has had was not a physical love affair, but with his fellow soldier Kemmerich in the war, with whom he shared a many personal intimacies. (This may have had a degree of latency to it.)

N. At present, what is the most important thing to you? Prior to his joining in Carl's group, the most important thing to him was his art.

O. To what lengths would you go to achieve a goal? He is willing to risk his life, but not yet willing to risk his soul or do terrible things. He had started the war as an idealistic youth, and learned the folly of .

P. List bad habits. He has had a tendency to stay on the sidelines and not commit.

Q. List personal quirks. Sketches habitually

R. List vices. Smoking

S. List good qualities. Honesty and forthrightness

T. List favorite: color, food, clothing, weapons, drink, books, music, etc. As a charcoal artist, his favorite colors are grey, black, and white. He smokes cigarrettes, and tends to dress in coarse but comfortable sweaters and slacks. He doesn't read that much, but keeps around a few dime novels and a pocket Bible. He favors a rifle and a spade in hand-to-hand.

U. What morals do you have? He believes in tolerance. He was not a particularly active anti-Nazi, partly out of practicality, and partly because he was more afraid of the communists. However, reflecting back on this he regrets it.

V. Describe your general personality. He definitely has an artistic temperament. He is relatively steadfast in his beliefs, willing to undergo discomfort but not danger for art's sake.

W. Describe any personal tragedy. Give year, event, people, etc. His good friend in the Army, Klaus, was wounded but they were unable to get him to the hospital for three days due to shelling. He became infected and feverish, and died in the hospital.

X. Who is the last person you would like to run into? ....

Y. Why? ....

Z. What would be your reaction to them? ....

VII. Occupational.

A. What was your greatest failure? Clearly signing up for the war. There wasn't a particular episode in the war that stood out as a failure, but in the whole campaign there was no possible win for him.

B. What was your greatest triumph? Publication in Valley of the Pharoahs. It was a semi-popular English book, done with cooperation from some of the German Egyptologists. He had also had illustrations in a number of the official publications of the Institut in Cairo, but none of them had the circulation that Valley of the Pharoahs did.

C. What have you done that was considered "outstanding" in your chosen occupation by others in the same field? Probably not much. They would probably say his work for the books shows a good eye for detail and adequate technical skill.

D. How do you get along with others in the same occupation? He gets along fairly well -- talking diplomatically and technically, but thus far not forming any close bonds.

E. How important is success in your occupation? Important, though it is a toss-up with personal satisfaction.

F. What are your long term goals?

G. What are you willing to do to obtain these goals?

VIII. Travel.

A. Do you get: seasick, airsick, motionsick - auto or animal back? No

B. Do you like riding animals - horses, camels, etc.? Yes, all sorts.

C. Any fears about traveling? None - he is often more at ease traveling than at home.

D. What steps would you take to travel overseas? Study the region, pack light, guard a cache of money and your papers.

E. What sort of general equipment would you take, excluding personal items such as clothing? Canvases, paper, and such.

IX. List anything else about yourself you think is important.

....

X. Physical.

A. Height: 6'1"

B. Weight: 190 lbs

C. Measurements: ....

D. Clothing sizes: ....

E. Hair color: dirty blonde

F. Hair length: just past collar-length, Bohemian

G. Eye color: green

H. Handedness: right

I. How attractive do you consider yourself to the opposite sex?

J. Any birthmarks or scars noticeable to the general public? Where?

K. Any birthmarks or scars hidden? Where?

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

M. Do you wear any identifiable jewelry?

N. Do you have any tattoos?

O. What is your most valuable physical asset?

P. What sort of vocal tone do you have?