Character(s) A Thousand Faces

[Aerix]

character depository

do not post in here, please.
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• unless specified otherwise, none of the images here belong to me
• TAKEN / AVAILABLE

a comprehensive list;​

 

[Aerix]

the bodies behind us

TAKEN

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Soren of the Silken Flute, a seedy Brothel in the heart of the Commons – the largest part of Alephis, as well as the poorest.

Soren does not know his exact age, but he believes himself to be in his early twenties. He is lean, well-built, and rather flexible, standing at about 5'11''. He has curly golden hair that falls to his lower back – it is a nuisance to take care of, but no matter how many times he's contemplated cutting it short, he's never done it. He is also forbidden from doing it.

He has no tattoos or markings except for a small scar right above his right hip given to him by a rather inebriated client when Soren refused to be subjected to a rather demeaning act of service. The man came at him with a letter opener. The Madame of the Brothel blames Soren for this incident because according to the Brothel's policy, he isn't allowed to refuse a service, but he does so often knowing that he can get away with it if he plays his cards well.

Though there had been times when he could not do so. But the punishments were never physical – after all, he needed to preserve his appeal. What she did to him was deny him food and drink for days, and give him her pick of some of the worst clients one could ever possibly want. There is also the threat of her watchdogs on retainer, their leader being a freakishly tall, muscular brute who makes sure nobody steps out of line – whore and client. Soren is scared of him, as they've butted heads in the past when Soren was much harder to control, but he does not let himself be manhandled.

Spoiler: Details

The Silken Flute[/B] is just one of many brothels scattered about Alephis, run by Yolanthe Padva, a greedy Madame who is also very poor at managing her resources, but she has what most other brothels do not – a prostitute that offers more than just sex; he offers meaningful conversation, an experience of being wanted, desired, and cared for, a sense of importance, and a safe place for one to let go of their worries. He tells stories of faraway lands to those who want to listen, selling himself as someone who hails from one such place where a vast sea washes the shore and palm trees sway in the wind in greeting as large ships sail past. He is, in truth, a very good liar, and he's honed that skill to perfection over the years.

He was sold into servitude to the owner of the Brothel when he was very young, though he remembers nothing that came before that. But Yolanthe has told him various colourful stories and lies about his origin simply because she derives pleasure in seeing him suffer, but deep down, he knows that he was most likely just an orphan wandering the streets when she took him in, like all the rest of them.

Some of the stories she told him include Soren being the bastard child of some nobleman who wanted to be rid of him, or having had a mother who hailed from a distant land and ended up in Alephis without a means to provide for herself so she sold him for coin with a promise to buy him back when she could.

He used to believe her when he was younger but now he knows better.

All he's ever really known for sure, though, is that she has raised him and when he came into his beauty, she decided to make use of it. He feels some sort of familial attachment to her – he is aware that he owes her his life – but they never really became more than just employer and employee.

Soren welcomes clients, men and women, from all walks of life as long as they can afford him, though he only sees a fraction of the coin that he is worth. What he gets in return for his services is mostly stories, as that is how he lives – through others. He yearns to be free, to see all of those lands he's only ever read about in books or heard in passing from the lips of those who'd lived them. He wants to be someone else, but he can't bring himself to leave. He is the brothel's golden goose, and Yolanthe has ensured he does not go anywhere without her knowing. He's contemplated cutting up his face as a way to earn his freedom, but is too scared to do so. After all, all he knows how to do is put his body on offer.

Yolanthe taught him how to read and write, thinking it might help him entice some of the classier clientele, and she was right. Soren loves to read, and whenever his clients express a desire to buy him gifts, he always says he prefers literature to jewellery, as Yolanthe doesn't care about taking the former for herself.

He's picked up quite a few skills and interests from his clientele – one of them, an old widower who was more want for company than sex taught him how to play chess. Another helped Soren discover his love for chocolate. He's even had battle-tested warriors showing him how to swing a sword or wield a dagger. He has a soft spot for everything art but he's always wanted to try archery as well.

His biggest strength is that he knows how to cater to his clients. He knows how to bridge that line between reality and fantasy and give them what they want and need. He enjoys what he does – well, the fantasy part of the job. There are plenty of those who just want a body to use, which is when Soren does most of the pretending. He doesn't enjoy rough sex or being constantly degraded and humiliated, but he's learned to put up with it.

He is very eloquent, and perceptive, and enjoys having deep, and interesting conversations. He is also a tease who knows exactly how many buttons he can push before pushing the wrong one. But sometimes, when he's swallowed his pride one time too many, he can't help but speak his truth. He's always had that stubborn streak and no matter how hard Yolanthe has tried to weed it out, its roots are too deep.

He's always wanted to travel and see the world, and while he's had many clients who made grand promises to buy his freedom, they all forgot about them the moment they took their pleasure and left.

Soren has started to think he would never leave, which has gotten him feeling antsy and scared… scared that he might be doing the same thing when he starts to wrinkle and waste away.

 

[Aerix]

only breath and shadow

TAKEN

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Rylan Kharis, an Umbra in service of the Night Mother.

• He is 6'0'', curly dark hair, dark eyes. Ambidextrous. Very light on his feet and flexible. Built up a resistance to several poisons. Has a a slew of scars across his back and suffers from a bad left knee that acts up in rainy weather. Nicely toned, but not overly muscular, as his work requires him to be very nimble on his feet.
• Rylan is in his late twenties, and very very gay. He usually takes the lead in the bedroom, and rarely allows himself to submit to anyone, no matter how bigger or stronger they are than him. It is not a matter of pride as much as it is about being vulnerable in front of another. He just cannot afford it.
• The second reference picture sans the many tattoos; he cannot afford to have any that are too recognisable, but he has a few in honour of Makur that are etched into his skin with disappearing ink; (need to work on that).

Spoiler: Details

Raised by Night Priest Torin Nightwhisper, Head Priest of the Night Temple, the location of which is known only to the most devout of the followers. One may enter only if he had been summoned (through way of a portal), and there are those in the Temple who are not permitted to leave.

Rylan was told by Torin that his mother was a devout Child of Night who strayed from her faith and found herself swayed by the lies of the Light and suffered for it. On her deathbed, she surrendered her child into the hands of Torin himself who promised he would keep it safe and raise it under the protective veil of the Night Mother. Rylan has always wanted to know more about her, collecting bits and pieces of information from people who may have known her, as Torin was reluctant to share anything he knew, telling Rylan to find strength in his loss.

Rylan has always struggled with his faith, but he rarely disobeyed orders. Treason to their cause means death by one's own hand; a painful, sadistic perversion of death being displayed in front of the Goddess' Statue, at her feet. It is said that those who feel as if they'd failed their faith experience such tremendous grief that they take their own life, but Rylan has always wondered if the mark had anything to do with it.

All of the Children of Night bear a mark etched into their flesh, below the surface of their skin. It signifies their connection to their goddess. It hurts them when they try to disobey their orders. The mark is received for successfully going through a rite of passage at the ripe age of ten. Rylan got his at 18, very late. (Torin has three children, two of which dislike Rylan quite a bit, and believe that he was never blessed by Makur herself.) However, he has been Makur's Umbra for a while before then. It is said that the Umbra are scattered all across the continent, working towards her inevitable resurrection and the return of magic.

As an Umbra, Rylan does as he is told; he thieves, he sows discord, he gathers information, and sometimes goes as far as committing more gruesome acts, but he has been tempted by the world before – he saw joy where he only ought to have seen folly; he learned about the world through art and music (going so far as to learn how to play the lute), he learned about people through relationships. The one time he had gotten really close to anyone was a decade ago, when he was much younger and more impressionable. He fell in love with a travelling merchant's young son, and for the first time experienced something other than carnal pleasure -- feelings of love and care for another. Rylan tried to convert him to his faith so they could be together… but the boy tried to surrender him to the Bastinade.

The betrayal hurt him deeply. Since then, he's made sure never to invite any feelings to his bed. Just his targets.

He'd successfully completed several missions in Lightgrad so he is familiar with its inner and outer workings, as well as the system of complex underground passageways that spread beneath it.

Once, on a job, he had a partner, another Umbra, who screwed up and almost got them caught; Rylan received orders to get rid of him… but he couldn't kill him, so he set him up to be arrested by the Hand and sent off to the salt mines. He reported him dead, however.

He made enemies of the Red Fist Legion in the Flatlands, a covert organisation of smugglers whose top ranks hail from Agras. He was tortured for days in their ranks, which is how he ended up with the slew of scars across his back.

He can adopt any personality he needs to get the job done and is so good at it that sometimes he doesn't know who he is and what he likes. He knows how to read people very well, though – usually only those who are scheming and acting shifty; it is a lot more difficult with those are act nice towards him. He can 'smell the odd on someone's back' as they say. When he is interacting with someone outside the scope of a mission, he often hides behind witty, sarcastic remarks.

 

[Aerix]

of collars and crowns

TAKEN

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Corinne Marie of House Gaudreau, Queen of the Kingdom of Erimor.

22 / Homosexual

Dark wavy hair, cascading down to the small of her back – she is quite proud of it and cares for it meticulously; misty blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She stands at around 5'4''. She has small breasts but large, so-called child-bearing hips. She loves deep blue colours and sun yellows. Flower patterned anything is a way to get her attention.

Younger sister to the late Heir Apparent, Prince Léopold Marian Gaudreau; daughter to the late Monarch, King Charles Barbier Gaudreau, and his wife, Princess Karine Eve of House Delsarte.

King Charles Barbier Gaudreau arranged the marriage of his son and heir, the late Crown Prince Léopold to the Emperor's sister, enabling the family to safeguard their position on the Throne more effectively. However, one year after their union, Crown Prince Leopold died, and King Charles, in his madness, threw himself from his balcony window. After the death of her husband and son, Princess Karine left the Castle of Lusek, and Erimor as a whole to become a Nun in service of the Church, leaving Corinne essentially alone.

Spoiler: Details

Corinne was a particularly meek and timid child that drew the sympathy of both her father, the King, and her elder brother. Her mother, on the other hand, always found fault in everything she did. When she was required to be meek and pious, she wasn't meek and pious enough. When she asserted herself, she did it too harshly or not enough. Her needlework was never on-point, and her musical prowess mediocre at best.

Needless to say, her mother was often the source of her anxieties, but her father and brother made sure to spoil and pamper her plenty in return. She also enjoyed the attention of the Nobles at Court, most notably their successors, but their attention did not come from simple admiration – it mostly came from scrutiny. She always had to be at her best around her peers, lest she became the talk of the Court.

If they were spoiled and haughty, she learned to be spoiled and haughty, too, always preferring to busy herself with throwing lavish parties and attending frivolous balls where they practised the unwritten tradition of courtly love – indulging in more than what common law permitted.

If they were selfish and snobbish, so was she, but her sense of superiority always came from the power it was given to her by others, the power of their approval.

Fashion and beauty were always more interesting than engaging in diplomacy and administrative work, but mostly because all of the other Ladies of the Court were interested in them.

On her own, behind closed doors, she loses all of her confidence and becomes the little girl constantly chided by her mother.

Relationships/Possible Characters:

A Lady-in-waiting, daughter to the Lord High Treasurer, perhaps? Someone who sees right through her, envies her position, and bullies her / has bullied her plenty over the years? In a subtle fashion of course.

A nobleman who has lost a high position in the Council and was pushed aside following the exile of his son for conspiring against the crown? Spared the gallows because his father agreed to be stripped off his titles? Garners resentment.

The Archchancellor who is trying to push the Queen to marry his son and heir? Or is trying to get her to marry him himself?

A young nobleman with whom she'd practised the art of courtly love under a dare – he resents her now for rejecting him, and has spread unseemly rumours about her.

Another Lady in waiting, one Corinne has feelings for perhaps, one of more common blood. Her best friend?

 

[Aerix]

a lover in death

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Darrien Mallor, a thirty-three year old necromancer who lives on the outskirts of London, next to a cemetery which is no longer open to new burials.

Living next to a cemetery grants Darrien a convenient source of power.

The manor he resides in is dilapidated, but homely, kept together by a number of undead groundskeepers, and one living.

Darrien is as reserved as he is sensible, which he is quite a bit; he prefers keeping everyone at a distance, aloof in the way some would say shy, but witty and engaging when he wants to be. He doesn't like to speak or be spoken to in riddles, which makes him come off rude most of the time. He is stubborn on purpose, though. He cares deeply for the poor and struggling, but he often has trouble expressing his emotions, and keeps a lot bottled up. He hates being alone, so he surrounds himself with the dead, who are much easier to deal with than the living. Although he tries to portray himself as cold and calculating, not someone to trifle with, he is kind and romantic at heart.

Spoiler: Details

Darrien grew up a poor child in one of London's many rookeries, and was taken in by a witch when she discovered he had magic. Although she clothed and fed him, she treated him only as her precious source of magic, siphoning power off of him. When she started to fear he might escape, she kept him locked up. He was eventually rescued, but not by any other witch that was aware of his situation -- there were plenty who did not lift a finger -- he was rescued by a vampire who was simply looking to feed on witch blood. His blood-streaked smile is still etched in Darrien's mind.

After that, he was mostly on his own, which was hard. Even more difficult was trying to hone one's magical abilities without the guidance of another, more experienced witch. He spent the first few months living in the crypt of a cemetery, making friends with the spirits that lived there. The first time he raised a corpse was in his sleep. That night there was a commotion in town that roused a lot of attention. Another witch came to find Darrien, but this one was kind and nurturing. It still took Darrien a long time to trust her but by then he'd already found himself in a coven.

He was taught potioncraft and spellcraft, but he was a necromancer at heart, often criticised and shunned for it. So he learned in secret. He grew up alongside a witch who would one day be Head of the Coven, and although they disagreed in many ways, they cared for one another. Darrien had feelings for him but they were never reciprocated.

Magic wasn't the only thing driving a wedge between them, however. Since his fateful encounter with the vampire who rescued him, Darrien had been fascinated with them, trying to learn everything he could about their physiology, their way of life and hunt, the rules of the beast.

He understood there was conflict between the two species, but his experiences had taught him neither were all good or all bad. He often advocated for peace, trying to remain impartial, but one day, he sided with a vampire and since then, he's been on his own.

On that day, the vampire who saved him all those years ago was caught in the act of killing a witch, a good one this time. Darrien tried to help him, out of some moral obligation that only he was aware of, even though he knew that what the vampire had done was wrong. 'I couldn't control myself, forgive me,' the vampire begged, and Darrien believed him. But he wasn't strong enough to repay the debt he owed.

Now, Darrien is his own witch, his own necromancer, amassing power to bring peace wherever he can under the guise of just wanting to amass more power When his former friend, now Headwitch of the Coven, tried to kill him, Darrien felt forced to get better protection, and after careful consideration he concluded that there would be no better protection than having a vampire at his beck and call. So he raised one from his slumber.

 

[Aerix]

whispers in the dark

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Arwin Osran, a mechanical engineer / EMR fields & electrical engineering / residing in the Ark-Valley, one of the last standing bunker sites in Scarston Peak.

He is thought to be twenty-three years old, speculated to have been born during summer. Goes by he/him, and prefers men. Currently three-months single following a rather unfavourable break-up with Kayne, a cheating bastard, and one of the rovers – A-Valley's reconnaissance group.

Arwin boasts of a lean muscular build, standing at approximately six feet, give or take. He has short, strawberry-blonde hair, which is perpetually mussed, a pair of murky grey eyes that are always looking for something, and a fair skin tone peppered with freckles. His hands are calloused from frequent manual labour, arms scarred by burn marks and cuts. He likes wearing bright colours to contrast the bleak dull grey metallic bones that make up the body of the shelter. He prefers shorts to trousers, loose-fitting tees and shirts, and overalls.

His favourite colours are red, yellow and teal! Style examples #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

Spoiler

Background

Arwin came to the A-Valley as an infant. He was told his parents had fought hard to reach the shelter in order to give their son a chance to survive, but they were unfortunately torn to pieces by the Silks a few clicks from Scarston Peak. Arwin was found in the hollow of a tree trunk by a group of rovers and placed in the care of its Chief Engineer, Chay Osran, who had taught him everything about the inner and outer workings of A-Valley. Arwin now works alongside his adoptive father, taking care of the shelter's fragile electrical complexities, the heating & cooling systems, as well as the A-Valley's most important means of defence against the Silks - the EMR field regulators that emit a powerful DHF / direct high-frequency. There aren't many things he is incapable of fixing.

Arwin has always been rather inquisitive, mischievously clever, and painfully stubborn. He believes nothing is impossible, and enjoys proving others wrong. He often gets himself into trouble because he has issues with authority and detests being told no because deep down he always thinks himself to be right, no matter the circumstance. He acts on impulse most times, and doesn't seem to be able to stay put. He desperately wants more from life, even though he is constantly being told the world out there has nothing else to offer and that he should be happy with what he has. He has tried many times to convince his father, and the Council, to allow him to do to the outside world, alongside the rovers, but he's always been denied. 'You're too important for the future of the shelter for us to put your life at risk' they'd argue. He has very few friends, despite being friendly and talkative. Being the Chief Engineer's son comes with both perks and prejudice, after all. Most of his agemates are either farmers, or rovers, and they don't take too kindly to someone like Arwin complaining about his life.

He often reads and fantasises about grand adventures and is always the first one to offer help or put himself in harm's way, not because he has this moral need to protect the weak, but because he wants to feel something, to experience anything else other than the dull and dreary confines of the shelter. He feels rather lonely, in truth, and depressed. He's always wanted to know more about his parents, but all he has to remember them by is a tattered old blanket they had left him in, and a faded note that said 'Please take him.'

He hasn't got a lot of relationship experience either – his last boyfriend broke up with him because Arwin was being 'too much' but even a blind man could see that Kayne was simply interested in someone else and afraid of being honest. Arwin doesn't like being lied to or being pushed around – a harsh truth is always better than a soothing lie. Ever since the break-up, he's been spending a lot of time manning the radio, and communicating with the outside world. The outside world, however, rarely responded. Even the shelters they used to have constant communication with in the past have stopped responding. One day, however, he got in contact with someone who felt just as lonely. And the more they talked, the more Arwin entertained the idea of going out there, to find him.

And one day, following a rather harsh altercation with his father, he decided to do it.

Arwin enjoys reading science-fiction novels, old comic books, and playing with an old play station console he himself has repaired countless times. He likes to tinker and collect oddities – whenever the rovers bring back pieces of tech, Arwin makes use of them. He's got quite the collection of VHS tapes, a VCR, and a record player. He's tried many times to build a functioning robot, and he's getting real' close, for sure!

In his spare time, he hangs around the research department, making notes of everything the few scientists that reside in A-Valley know about the Silks.

He does not get along well with pessimists. He hates bad or sad endings to good books, and detests spinach.

 

[Aerix]

worlds adrift

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True name Belpharynn
Chosen name Bel or Rynni

Age 121 (early twenties in mortal years)
Court Seelie (Spring), son of the Leaf Maiden and an Unnamed Lord.
Build

In fairy form, he is 4 inches tall. Lean build, slightly toned muscles, long legs, and an even longer dragonfly tail. His ears are long and pointed, and very expressive – they twitch when he is nervous or scared. His wings are dragonfly-like, radiating a shrine between dark green and dark blue, with golden web-like patterns strewn through them. Wing span around 4 inches, as big as his body. His hair is long and wavy, like liquid gold, and his eyes silvery blue, with dark green & dark blue petal-like spots adorning his brows like a crown. Fair skin with a warm undertone, shimmering in the light.

Wears leaf litter put together with tree sap and glittery spider-web. Barefoot.

In his human form, he has the same build, just standing at 5’9’’ tall. No wings, no tail, just his long blond hair and silvery blue eyes. Forced to wear shoes! The gall!

Spoiler

Distinguishing marks Patterns etched in white on his skin, flowers and magic sigils. They glow when he is experiencing heightened emotions or casting spells.

Jewellery or accessories Jewellery made from twigs, gemstones, flowers, antlers, etc.

Good personality traits Curious, witty, sociable, charming, kind.
Bad personality traits Indecisive, scattered, lacking a bit of emotional depth, dramatic, stubborn, takes things too literally at times, naïve.
Is most at ease Frolicking in meadows and mingling at Feasts.
Most ill at ease Spending time with his mother or grandfather.
Enraged or sad when Rarely gets mad but is moody and sulky when things don’t go his way.
Priorities Proving his worth to his grandfather
If granted one wish, it would be? To find out who his father was/is.
Why? To finally understand why his grandfather dislikes him so.
Character’s soft spot Praise and flattery.
Is this soft spot obvious to others? Oh, yes.
Greatest strength Trusts easily.
Greatest weakness Trusts easily.

Abilities Glamour, Compulsion, Nature magic, Longevity. Has the ability to predict short-term weather – he creates an effect that can manifest as a golden arch for sunny clear skies, a cloud for rain, falling snowflakes for snow, leaves for wind, etc.
Fighting style Pacifist but handy with a spear.

Family
Mother: Maeria, the Leaf Maiden
Father: Unknown
Siblings: None, but lots of Cousins
Grandfather: Nilran, the Green Lord

Favourites
Colour: All shades of green and blue
Music: Anything a lute player can pluck into life
Food: Honey, peaches, and strawberries
Most prized possession: An emerald amulet gifted to him by his mother
Kind of weather? All kinds! There’s beauty in both calm and chaos.

Habits
Hobbies: Jewellery making, attending the monthly Court Feasts and dancing
Plays a musical instrument? Yes, the windchime.
Nervous tics: His ears start to twitch and flutter when he’s flustered or nervous or scared. Gets all itchy when he’s under pressure.
Mannerisms: Squints when he’s thinking.

Beliefs: Promises are sacred. Always pay your debts and don’t return more than you borrowed. Harm no living thing, no matter how small.

Background

Belpharyn was born when Maeria, the Leaf Maiden, returned from a trip to the Outer Plains, much to her father’s dismay. Bel was raised at the Spring Court, and while he enjoyed the privilege that came with it, he was never truly acknowledged as the Green Lord’s kin.

He doesn’t have a great relationship with his mother either, although he loves her dearly. She used to be a lot kinder and more attentive, but over the years, she’s become more fickle and vain than usual, shifting between her nymph and sylph forms and travelling between realms without much care for her duties.

Bel used to spend most of his time trying to appease his grandfather any way he could, spending time with the Lords and Ladies of the Court, and exploring the woods all around it.

One night after a Feast, while he was on a stroll with one of the Lords he liked (and planned to kiss), the whole Court, and the Gardens, were set on fire, and his grandfather killed. All of the fey under his protection scattered across the realm, leaving Bel defenseless.

It turned out that archfey vampire had come back with a vengeance, looking for something. Bel managed to escape his grasp (as the archfey was picking through the royal bloodline), but ended up in the Material Plane instead when a transportation spell went haywire.

 

[Aerix]

what's past is present

TAKEN

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Octavian 'Otto' Marsh — old identity;

Alias: Noel Bartlett
Birth date: April 26th
Age: 33
Zodiac: Taurus
Dominant hand: Right
Occupation: When he arrived to Brookfield, he did all sorts of jobs (construction, gas station attendant, warehouse worker, etc.). Now he works as a mechanic's assistant at Riley's Auto Repair.

Physical appearance
Height: 6'1''
Body build: A swimmer's build. Muscular but lean, with broad shoulders, defined lats, abs and triceps.
Shape of face: Triangle shape, medium-thick lips, roundish eyes, thick brows, prominent cheekbones.

Spoiler

Eye colour: Sky blue
Glasses or contacts: None
Skin tone: Fair with a cold undertone.
Distinguishing marks: A small mole under his lip (on the right side).
Hair colour: Blond
Type of hair: Relatively short, slicked back.
Beard: No. Keeps clean-shaved.
Usual fashion of dress: Black, grey, white colour palette. Denim.
Jewellery or accessories: Engagement ring & black cord necklace with a gold sun pendant A gave him when they robbed their first jewellery store. He still keeps it as a reminder. Can't seem to get rid of it.
Tattoos:
– two swallows on his right upper arm (got it when they were young);
– a swallow pierced by an arrow on his left upper arm (got it after A ended up in prison)
– an arm band flower tattoo on his right arm
Piercings: Ear piercings.

Habits
Hobbies: Cooking and bowling.
Plays a musical instrument? No.
How he would spend a rainy day: Sleeping.
Spending habits: Mindful.
Smokes: Is trying to quit at his fiance's behest but secretly smokes when he's frustrated / anxious.
Drinks: Not a heavy drinker but has a built tolerance.
Extremely skilled at: Fixing things (cars, appliances, etc.), tech savvy. Can hack a safe, vault, alarm systems, etc.
Extremely unskilled at: Keeping plants alive.
Mannerisms: Fidgeting with objects (pens, rings, clothing); biting or licking lips when anxious.

Likes: Cooking, music, working with hands, naps, going for long rides on his bike.
Dislikes: Sudden changes, complications, insecurity of any kind.

Personality:

'Noel' likes taking his time/not rushing things. Enjoys cosy, comfortable spaces (think soft blankets, candlelight, warm meals). He seems reliable and patient (he failed the test on loyalty when he ratted out A, though), can take things personally sometimes, but will seem impossible to penetrate when the mood strikes him, as if nothing can touch him. Can appear somewhat avoidant, especially when talking about his past. Doesn't like sudden changes. Can be jealous and possessive quite a bit, though he prefers avoiding confrontation, but stands his ground stubbornly when he has to.

He is somewhat sensual; touch, smell, and all pleasurable senses are important to him, especially in showing care and affection.

History: (I've put in some vague suggestions as to what happened when they met, feel free to give feedback! Can be changed.)

Lost his parents in a freak car accident at the age of five, which forced him into the foster care system. He bounced between families at first with nothing but the clothes on his back. He was a quiet kid who struggled making connections and often ended up being blamed for things that weren't his fault because he couldn't stand up for himself.

His first long-term placement came when he was eight, with an elderly couple who believed in hard work more than kindness. The old man was an electrician and plumber, always tinkering and fixing. He put Otto to work early, teaching him the basics of wiring, plumbing, and how things fit together. That time sparked a deep curiosity in him about how the world worked, about systems and mechanics. But the old man died not long after, and Otto was moved again.

The next home was a lot worse. A sleazy couple took him in, more interested in exploiting kids than raising them. They noticed Otto's quiet, pliable nature and nimble fingers — and put them to use. Pickpocketing at first, then lock-picking, breaking and entering. He was good at it. But eventually, the couple got caught and thrown in jail and Otto was back in the system.

It was in the next family that he met A. He was being picked on again, but A stood up for him. They quickly grew close and were a magnet for trouble whenever they put their heads together and honed in on an idea. Stealing, sneaking out, getting into fights. At sixteen or seventeen, they decided to run. Left the house behind and hit the streets. Life there was harder, but in some ways also simpler. They could do whatever they wanted, but fell in with the wrong (at the time good for them) crowd eventually — people who knew how to survive and didn't ask questions. They learned fast. How to hustle. How to disappear. How to stay one step ahead. How to pick deeper pockets.

After the plea deal, Otto became Noel and was sent off to live in Brookfield, USA, working odd jobs.

Met Tyler Preston, a firefighter, at a local fall festival cook-off he'd been invited to by a friend. A few weeks later, they crossed paths again when Noel was called in to fix a wiring issue at the fire station. Tyler recognised him and invited Noel out for drinks and bowling on a Friday night. Things started slowly. Easy conversation, light touches, getting used to each other's presence. Two years later, they were living together. When Tyler proposed, it was a simple gesture. Noel hesitated but he said yes — felt like he had to.