Garreth - Detective

જ⁀➴ BASIC INFO

NAME: Garreth Hao Lee

AGE: 38

GENDER: Cis male

OCCUPATION: Detective inspector in Scotland Yard

NATIONALITY: English

ETHNICITY: Chinese-British

SEXUALITY: Bisexual, no lean, keeps his attraction to men private

SETTING: 1888, London, UK

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જ⁀➴ PERSONAL

APPEARANCE: Lean and well built, 171 cm tall, strong arms, dark brown slanted eyes, black hair kept neat, noticeable frown lines, slightly receding hairline, thick eyebrows. Garreth is strong from working out regularly, he tries to keep up appearances but isn't overly concerned, the most he does is shave regularly and comb his hair, but it's always with a few strands out of place from running his hands through it in stress. He has a noticeable scar on his right palm from breaking up a street fight when he was a constable, resulting in having his hand slashed by a knife. He dresses with both practicality and style in mind, favouring suits and usually an Ulster coat with a cape with a squire top hat.

PERSONALITY: Strict, overachiever, intellectual, arrogant, impatient, cautious. Garreth is used to being the smartest person in the room, for better or worse. He's always stood out due to his ease with languages, speaking Mandarin and English natively as well as being fluent in Spanish and partially fluent in German and French, all self taught. He's proud, arrogant even, but he has reason to be, he's always been independent and ambitious, doing his best to prove himself not just to others, but to himself as well. Garreth has high standards for himself, which extends to other people as well. This can make him a bit hard to deal with, as he has little to no patience for incompetence, but he's also quick to give praise to those he deems competent, especially in areas he himself doesn't know that well. However, when someone surpasses him in something he does know, such as detectivework or language skills, he turns this inward and is pretty hard on himself.

DEMEANOUR: Firm, stoic, pedantic, stubborn, curious. Garreth is a curious one, his demeanor tends to change depending on who he's talking to. With most interactions he's generally polite but uninvolved, he's courteous but doesn't like to bother with pleasantries or idle chatter. He keeps interactions cordial and straight to the point. However, this is a lot different when he's talking to someone who has piqued his interest, such as someone he might consider smart. When this happens he's both intrigued and annoyed at the concept of someone outshining him. He's open to learn and loves to ask questions, but he's also touchy and quick to assume the worst or find hidden meanings in interactions, which he later overthinks. When he likes someone's company and trusts them, he's a lot more lax. He makes jokes, checks in on them, and tries to make sure they're comfortable and safe. He prefers to show affection through actions rather than words.

BACKGROUND: Born to Chinese parents that emigrated from Xi'An to London looking for better business opportunities, Garreth was born and raised in Whitechapel, London. His parents owned a shop that sold imported products, making them lower middle class given its success. He grew used to helping around the shop and acting as a translator for English speaking clients as he grew older, but when he was 18 he decided to join the police force, and his parents were supportive of his decision. They'd made close friends with an inspector who frequented the shop, and he put in a good word for Garreth. He started off in administrative work, but he quickly showed his value in his language skills, which made bureaucratic processes and interrogations with immigrants a lot easier. It was because of this that he was able to work his way up to detective inspector, though not without hardship, having to work twice as hard than his white colleagues to even prove himself worthy of the spot, even with the endorsement of his family friend.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Chen Meilin, 62, mother: A sweet woman who's extremely proud of her son, perhaps a bit too much. She loves to ask him if he's eaten, still try to push him to have a full course meal, and brag about him. Garreth loves his mother dearly, even if he's slightly embarrassed by being treated like a little kid. She's always been his rock and the most supportive person in his life.

Lee Zhenhua, 68, father: He and Garreth don't really understand eachother. They love eachother a lot, but their communication is lacking, it's usually awkward and filled with generational gaps. He's proud of his son, but also slightly resentful that he didn't decide to take over the shop for him. He refuses to retire, though, he's a workaholic and the apple did not fall far from the tree.

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જ⁀➴ OTHER

• While he enjoys the praise that his natural skill for languages gets him, it's genuinely a passion of his, and one he studies in his free time purely for his own enjoyment. Had he had the time and resources, he often says he would've become a linguist.

• His favourite dish is biangbiang noodles, he has fond memories of his mother making them for special occasions. He still hasn't found a recipe that hits quite as good as his mother makes them, and hasn't been able to recreate them, but he's still searching.

• Garreth particularly dislikes mornings. He gets up early because of work, but whenever he can afford it (which is rare), he loves to sleep in. One time he slept for nearly eighteen hours without getting up.

• When he's not in uniform, Garreth sometimes pretends to not speak English to avoid social interaction if a stranger approaches

• Garreth loves trains and is fascinated by them. He sometimes takes the train purely for enjoyment, he finds the rumbling soothing.

• When he's deep in thought, he tends to run his hands through his hair.

• Garreth is a very good singer, but he's reserved about it. He does sing when he's tipsy, though, which usually only takes two glasses of wine.