kian andrew mathis . beat up playing cards with odd symbols etched in black sharpie against dulled red backs splayed out on cracked & darkened wooden floorboards that smell of moss & sink heart - poundingly low when walked across with too heavy a foot , the slam of a hole - ridden back screen door of a house after a late evening screaming match , just to sit down in the middle of a field full of laundry hanging & the sound of cicadas & crickets harmonizing in the dark blue distance – pounding a fist on the ground under bloodshot eyes , & a body full of tattoos meant to harden the skin underneath that sings relieved songs above rigid - seeming muscles when it’s touched – every once in a blue moon – by love rather than malice .
rumor . his family – his mother , father & younger sister -- ditched town when kian was sixteen because they thought he was possessed & would hurt them .
out of character . aubs , twenty - one , she / her , est , & i would live & die for andy dufresne from shawshank redemption . i watch speed racer ( 2008 ) unironically & it’s one of my favorite films of all time , barbie in the nutcracker is unequivocally the best barbie film & i’ll take that statement with me to my mf grave , & sam giddings & josh washington deserve it all . idk what ‘ it ’ entails but . . . they deserve it .
✷ * ˚ 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 / 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 . ˚ *
nickname . ki .
character inspiration . stanley barber ( i am not okay with this ) , billy russo ( the punisher ) , poe dameron ( star wars -- except i would never ruin his character like d*sney & co did so jot that down ) , chris chambers / teddy duchamp lovechild ( stand by me ) , will hunting ( good will hunting ) , & kirby reed ( scream franchise ) .
age . twenty - five .
pronouns . he & him .
orientation . bisexual .
occupation . mechanic at pineview mechanical .
frequents . wheel - a - while roller rink . his family used to frequent the rink . he’s an expert rollerblader who goes to the rink to get lost in the nightlife & music scene . kian’s infamous for picking up dates there & never following through .
tattoos . he has tattoos all over his body -- up & down both arms , a few scattered along his legs , a tree facing upward along the right of his torso , and wings against his shoulder blades .
face claim . jordan fisher .
zodiac . gemini sun , leo moon , & aries rising .
alignment . chaotic neutral .
hogwarts house . ravenclaw .
demeanor . he’s incredibly independent & is angrily forthright whenever he feels like he needs to protect himself . you’ll usually find him smirking from across a room or smiling to himself -- minding his own business & enjoying his own company . he treats every room like he owns the place ; a bit of a jay gatsby meets tom buchanan type , sans the simping . he’s the type to down a drink , give someone a smile , & when they don’t return the sentiment he’s quick to throw the smile away , replace it with a bored expression , & throw the glass over his shoulder so he can get back to what he was doing before someone tried to ruin his mood ( which is always secretly poor to begin with -- he just pretends he’s happy because he doesn’t understand what real happiness that doesn’t rely on acceptance feels like anymore , so he’s gonna have to suffer ig ! LKSMDFL ) .
positive traits . beguiling / charming , indulgent , & quick - witted .
negative traits . trenchant / sharp - edged , irritable , & selfish .
phobias . enclosed spaces & being locked inside rooms , his limbs being tied together ( being cuffed to something , etc ) & being unable to move , not being able to remember things , & feeling like he’s about to be cornered .
drug use . frequently . he has experimented with plenty of things in the past , but secretly only does it because he feels like he remembers things / his childhood better when he’s high .
alcohol use . on occasion & in small increments . he drinks socially , but doesn’t enjoy getting plastered . he hates losing gaps of time & tends to panic in morning - after situations post - blackout .
diet . average but chaotic . he eats as clean as someone with a lack of money & time possibly can . he’s infamous for eating out , getting takeout , stopping at diners for a pick - up meal , flirting with waitresses while he waits , etc . but eating oats in the a.m. & keeping things simple with a salad by noon isn’t too off base for him .
birthplace . radisson , alberta , canada .
has he experienced strange radisson happenings ? absolutely . he considers himself a strange radisson happening , but he’ll get instantly irritable if someone tries to make smalltalk about anything like that -- talking about radisson transparently brings back memories & makes him anxious , which is a mood that turns sour far too quickly & seamlessly in kian’s book .
family .
andrew & deanna “ dee ” mathis : kian’s mother & father . they were kind , but religious to the point where it became a fault & paranoid people who attempted to keep kian extremely sheltered growing up . when kian began acting up in school , getting in fights , getting into it with his parents & inciting household scuffles , his parents began to fear for their son . things only grew worse when kian contracted appendicitis when he was sixteen & grew pale & sickly with the same attitude , but wasn’t audibly in pain . he can’t remember much that happened at home during his childhood / early teen years , but he knows he has the scars to prove that he eventually had surgery to remove his appendix . the most he can recall is being in bed a lot , being angry often , being spiteful & fiery whenever he could squeeze the sentiment in , not wanting to go to church , getting his first tattoo when he was fifteen & making sure it was visible just to spite his parents , etc . kian ran away from home after a large family fight that ended in what he remembers as a scuffle where his father pinned him on the floor & screamed for him to calm down while he urged his wife to take kian’s sister & wait in the car . funnily enough , kian recalls , during this memory , feeling completely calm & content beneath his father . the warring dichotomy between what he remembers feeling & how he remembers his father reacting haunts him to this day . when they left , kian was able to emancipate himself & prove that he was able to take care of himself instead of being forced into a foster home .
younger sibling whomst i might add a wanted connection for so i won’t name them : kian’s younger sibling probably was closer to kian than their parents were , but they ended up leaving town initially with their parents -- either by force or willfully , he never found out . kian being kian , though , attributed it all to his family ditching him without a second thought & hasn’t taken a moment to actively miss them since .
education . went to public school his entire life & left alberta about seven years ago to go to study theology for two years , only to wind up back in radisson , where he studied auto mechanics through a trades program & now works on cars for a living .
languages . english , asl , & spanish .
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river boyet mercado . empty church pews underneath heavy moonlit stained glass – save for one disheveled head of brown curls bent down in furrowed prayer at the front , careful attentiveness as bread dough is molded by bruised & calloused hands – masked as care & kindness behind attentive eyes & soothing smiles – but always bordering on insistent distraction from something unspoken , & the sound of a strained gasp accompanied by the stillness of a room after being awoken from a noiseless , boundless nightmare .
rumor . his mother is currently serving life in prison for murdering her husband & attempting to murder her fourteen - year - old son .
out of character . aubs , twenty - one , she / her , est , & i would live & die for andy dufresne from shawshank redemption . i watch speed racer ( 2008 ) unironically & it’s one of my favorite films of all time , barbie in the nutcracker is unequivocally the best barbie film & i’ll take that statement with me to my mf grave , & sam giddings & josh washington deserve it all . idk what ‘ it ’ entails but . . . they deserve it .
✷ * ˚ 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 / 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 . ˚ *
nickname . riv .
character inspiration . frank castle ( the punisher ) , charlie ( perks of being a wallflower ) , billy loomis ( scream franchise ) , ben hanscom / richie tozier / stanley uris lovechild ( it ) , gordie lachance ( stand by me ) , theodore ( her ) , eduardo saverin ( the social network ) , & andy dufresne ( shawshank redemption ) .
age . thirty - six .
pronouns . he & him .
orientation . bisexual .
occupation . baker at golden grain bakery .
frequents . silver fox motel . he frequents the motel for wholeheartedly sentient & selfish reasons . the town’s ambience has him in its clenched fist , & he knows he’s incapable of moving permanently in any capacity . however , whenever he needs rest because he’s feeling the insomnia hit particularly hard ( thanks to his record with sleep paralysis & trauma / ptsd surrounding being in a homely environment as an adult when his last real childhood memory of his own home is one that feels horror movie - esque ) .
tattoos . n / a .
face claim . bob morley .
zodiac . aries sun , pisces moon , & sagittarius rising .
alignment . lawful good .
hogwarts house . hufflepuff .
demeanor . he’s an incredibly smiley person . his gut instinct is charitableness & kindness , so he often acts humbly / selflessly first & thinks later . you’ll often find him speaking softly , letting others talk over him , telling jokes only when it’s his turn to speak , being wooed by people the moment they so much as ring the bell walking in & offer them a sugary good morning , etc . he’s a fool for love who won’t let himself have it because he’s worried it’ll never be real , people switch up too fast , etc . however , he’s simultaneously a mess when it comes to his warring avoidant & protective personality traits . he’s the kind of person who will be as soft - spoken but forward as he can possibly be during a conversation in order to avoid conflict , but the moment he senses he’s losing he’ll hold on even tighter & transition into the overprotective river who doesn’t want anybody to set foot inside what he thinks is his business & will go to extremes to make sure someone he loves is safe -- even if that means walling them in & making them resent him . he doesn’t understand what it means to balance his need to keep people safe & his will to keep himself comfortable by inciting a small conflict in an attempt to stay out of a bigger one .
positive traits . vigilant / protective , soft - spoken , & selfless .
negative traits . aversive / avoidant , mendacious , & fickle .
phobias . the dark , daunting changes & shifts in moods that go unspoken of , dreams wherein he’s unable to scream , large / over - sized safes , & dead silence that lacks any kind of white noise ( he enjoys sleeping at the motel because he’s more apt to hear cars driving by , doors closing , sinks turning on , etc ) .
drug use . rarely . he was never the type of kid who jumped at the thought of experimenting , & that tendency to say no trailed into his life as an adult . he was always concerned with not being a nuisance to anyone , which included making sure he was always fully capable of working & not getting caught up in how addicted he knows he’ll get to being under the influence .
alcohol use . rarely . see above for an explanation !
diet . poor but consistent . river spends as little time at home as possible , so his diet largely consists of food he bakes or diner runs . he’s the type of diner regular who sits at the same booth every time , orders the same thing for dinner every night , is way too kind to his waitstaff , & overtips everyone who had a part in serving him . he loves waffles & prefers sweet tea . he could easily be a southern dime if canadian blood wasn’t already coursing through his kindly veins .
physical or mental disabilities . he had to have a left - side brain tumor that was impacting his ability to hear removed as a kid ( it was removed when he was seventeen ) , & has been slowly but progressively regaining his hearing in his left ear ever since ; although he only experiences a mild form of his previous auditory function difficulties , he still signs at work or in front of people who know him -- especially when standing at a distance from someone , & ptsd stemming from his mother’s outburst when he was fourteen .
birthplace . radisson , alberta , canada .
has he experienced strange radisson happenings ? he’ll tell you all day that he hasn’t , but he definitely has .
family .
christopher & cora mercado : the mercado family was , at no point in time , picturesque . the mercado family loved each other , absolutely , but river’s parents were still both the type who’d go around in circles with each other in public -- all the while ignoring their son as he walked in front of them . his mother was in no way stable , but river was far too young to understand what exactly her violent outbursts entailed . to river , his father was always the collected one . they often left river home alone . one night when river was fourteen , he woke up ( after his parents had been gone all day ) to his father shaking him awake ( his left side -- his particularly bad ear , especially at the time ) & rushing him to get up & be quiet . as far as river could tell , his father was on the phone with the police waiting for an in - person response but keeping the line busy . his father left the room for a moment to check to see if the coast to the car was clear & river never saw him again afterward . sharp scuffling ensued behind the door , & there was no moment of hesitation after the scuffling dulled before there was an insistent banging on river’s door . the only thing that saved him , at the end of the night , was river’s fight - or - flight response to lock his bedroom door . the police arrived about an hour later & found mrs. mercado rampaging blindly around the house , mr. mercado stabbed to death in the kitchen , & river mercado hiding under his bed covering his ears . river never went to visit his mother in prison , & still hasn’t spoken to her since .
education . he went to public school in radisson for the duration of his early youth & has worked at the bakery since he was fifteen -- a year after being placed in a foster home . by the time river was eighteen , he was living in a small house on his own & hasn’t left his bakery -- diner -- home routine since .
languages . english , asl , & tagalog .
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