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[squirrellish]

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Inigo
Contact: PM to psychopomposity
Other Characters: Lucas Baker (1019)

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Thomas MacLaine
Age: 28
Canon: Deadly Premonition
Canon Point: Post-death.
Character Information: Canon Wiki.

Personality: By protagonist York's immediate initial evaluation: "the kind and sensitive type". Dear ol' Greenvale Deputy Sheriff Thomas MacLaine is considerate, attuned to the feelings and moods of others - in a way that plays off his nervous demeanor and makes him terribly shy and self-conscious. He's socially reserved and polite, and makes his modesty and timidness apparent in his speech and body language thoroughly to the point of seeming weirdly coy. He's a lover, not a fighter, gets wound up when things seem to be going wrong, and can't stomach violence (he pukes at a crime scene in-game, and very clearly seems to lose his usual patience and shows indignation, if gracefully, at exactly one point - namely one at which York implies he suspected him of being the Raincoat Killer). Seems like a bit of an odd fit for the police department, no?

He seems to function within it nonetheless by virtue of being organized, helpful, dutiful, and honestly the fundamentally good and genuinely lawful sort. He keeps the sheriff's department well-organized and conspicuously loses his usual patience and shows indignation, if gracefully, at one point before he snaps in the last act of the game, namely one at which York implies he thought he was seriously a suspect in the murder of Anna Graham (his actual status as accomplice in it aside). He's domestic, loyal, and likes to take care of and nurture others - he has no interest in showing off and gets sheepish when attention is called to his talent in it, but he likes to cook for people; he has a long-standing good relationship with his sister Carol and moonlights as a bartender at the bar/lounge she runs - and stay on a neighborly-to-friendly basis with others.

He's a supporter, not a commander. Most immediately, he aims to make others happy and do the right thing by them, so he keeps quiet and acts as a helper and people-pleaser.

He's got a life outside of how he identifies and works with others - he's knowledgeable in his hometown's history and, apparently, animal facts (his favorite animal appears to be squirrels). He likes music and cooking - though those do quite probably tie back to sentiment, somewhat; he learned to cook from his mother, and he and Carol grew up with music. Things and people make an impression on him in through and through in a manner that contributes to absentmindedness and getting carried away in thoughts, fussing, and sensations in the moment. York can catch him talking out loud in what sounds like a flashback to getting bitten by a dog at some time in the past; when he hears music, he dances regardless of who’s watching despite his shyness; he breaks down crying while having dinner at a local eatery where the very recently dead Anna waited tables; and he's so stressed out by his role as a party in George's killing spree just before he goes over the deep end toward the end of the game that out of distraction Mister-Master-Chef-that-He-Is accidentally confuses mustard and peanut butter, of all things, while whipping up lunch for his colleagues.

He's the sensitive type, all right - and it does not combine well with what else he is. It plus his submissive and meek nature lends to him being an easily emotionally-manipulated defeatist against his better judgment - his chat with York after he takes the latter to the clock tower involves him outright calling George "cruel" and all but outright stating that he knows that clinging to his infatuation with the guy has taken him horrible places ("If I'd had someone like you, it might not have come to this"). Plus his attachment to and focus on others, it makes him an envious resenter with a whiff of a martyr complex. By the time York comes to Greenvale, his mind's worn itself out into heck of a poisonous and unhappy place - and as he likes to be unobtrusive and polite-like and pretend he's completely present for everything and everyone around him, he tries to gloss that over as best he can.

Not so great at taking care of himself and weak at acting objectively he is, but he has a "hidden strength" alluded to by York - which, well, sees itself manifested in his misapplied dedication. Normally gentle and not one to show a lick of ire towards anyone (except for a reasonable amount that he awkwardly and tensely tries to tiptoe around explicitly voicing directed at an unwanted admirer of Carol's), and he's driven to attempt to straight-up murder coworker Emily over it while screaming insults at her and accusing her of being the reason he and Carol are in the position they've been in for who knows how long rather than George, who seduced them into it in lieu of Emily. At the bottom of the hole he's dug himself into with it, however, it sprung out of, likewise, strong conviction, capacity to care, and concept of good - even in the thick of his hot, bitter, scorned late-game rage, he's capable of recognizing and really appreciating kindness for what it is, citing it as a reason he "likes" (by that, he means has a crush on) York (while talking about the fact that in spite of what a godawful person George is, he's still too hung up on him to really fall for York) and comparing Emily to a goddess over hers (before launching into miniboss mode and calling her a swine who ruined everything); and just before Willie interrupts his showdown with Emily, there's a bit where he stops fighting and practically collapses in tears while brokenly trying to apologize for what he's tried to do (and, alas, resumes trying to do shortly after Emily puts down her gun and tries to coax him into leaving the clock tower with her). All of that is honest and ultimately him enough that the game treats him and Carol as victims driven to the ends of their ropes by George despite the active violent hostility they both end up showing - the last few cutscenes of the game show them, Anna, Becky, Diane, Emily, and York all together, looking as if they're living quite peacefully (and looking quite happy, after everything) in a lovely afterlife.

5-10 Key Character Traits: Modest, reserved, tenderhearted, dutiful, eager-to-please, clingy, high-strung, sensitive, implosive, pessimistic.
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Conflicts!
Opt-Outs: N/A

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