if you’re hearing DON'T KILL MY VIBE by SIGRID playing, you have to know ARIA JOHNSON (SHE/HER; CIS WOMAN) is near by! the TWENTY FIVE year old BARTENDER has been in denver for, like, TWO YEARS. they’re known to be quite IMPULSIVE, but being ASSERTIVE seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble KRISTINE FROSETH. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those LATE NIGHT PHONE CALLS, ESCAPE PLANS & SPONTANEOUS ROAD TRIPS vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the RINO DISTRICT long enough!
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S T A T I S T I C S
GENERAL
NAME: Aria Johnson AGE: 25 HEIGHT: 5'6 BIRTHDAY: August 20th OCCUPATION: Bartender at Hell & High Water
PERSONALITY
ZODIAC: Leo sun, Scorpio moon, Gemini Rising MBTI: ESTP - T ENNEAGRAM: 8w7 POSITIVE TRAITS: assertive, adventurous, confident NEGATIVE TRAITS: impulsive, impatient, reticent
HEALTH
ALCOHOL: Often DRUGS: occasionally PHYSICAL: n/a PSYCHOLOGICAL: BPD, PTSD, C-PTSD
M I S C / F U N F A C T S
- There is not a single Sigrid or CHVRCHES song that Aria doesn't relate to - Very much a "leave before get left" approach to life - Would absolutely carry vodka in a waterbottle, and what of it - Honestly takes pride in how aloof and guarded she is. Kind of treats it as a game sometimes, finding amusement in people trying to "figure her out" - yet still desperately wants someone to understand her even though she self sabotages so much they eventually get tired of her games - expect many late night texts if you're friends w/ her a;sdgja - so. much. anger
W A N T E D C O N N E C T I O N S
- Drinking buddies - Ex's (romantic or platonic!) - Confidants - Childhood friends (that likely lost touch) - Friends she used to live with (would be right after high school, a group of friends moved in together and had a huge falling out, which was the spark for Aria to pack up and move to Denver) - Found Family vibes !!!!!! - And really anything else!
B I O G R A P H Y:
( TW: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grooming, Suicidal ideation/attempt )
TLDR: Aria was a competitive figure skater and an olympic hopeful. However, between the pressure her mother placed on her, the muddied boundaries between her and her coach, the fall right before the Olympic trials was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back. She found Denver to be an escape from all of the pressure and expectation.
Aria used to joke that she learned how to ice skate before she learned how to walk. As far back as she could remember, prodigy, a natural, Olympic hopeful were all labels orbiting around her. Her entire world revolved around the ice. When she wasn't actively competing, she was rigorously training. Sleep was the only break she'd get from skating, and she'd still be perfecting every technique in her dreams. Before long, several competitions in, she established a reputation for herself for her relentless precision, almost feeling more machine than human. And with her growing success, she began to realize she'd only hear from her father, who left before Aria could form any meaningful memories of him, when she won something. Yet no matter how many competitions she finished first in, or how exceptional her score was, there was always something to criticize. At least, that was how she rationalized her mother screaming and shouting behind closed doors, ridiculing and degrading her for every tiny mistake, even ones that the judges themselves didn't even seem to notice.
Her coach, on the other hand, couldn't cease to sing her praises. Always asking her to demonstrate for the others, being the first to teach her more advanced techniques, and expressing more pride than she ever had felt from her mother. Yet even with the pedestal he put her on, she felt like he was the only one who still treated her like a person. He understood things at home were difficult, an understatement at best, and he would lend an ear to any vents she needed to get off her chest. In time, he trusted her with his own burdens and troubles at home. Conflicts with his wife, excusing and problem solving ways to hide his own infidelity, and more. None of which he should have looked for support from a child. Even as boundaries started to waver, Aria couldn't comprehend the red flags. Not only was she a child, but one who lacked any sense of comfort or nurture from the one who was supposed to love her the most in the entire world. He made her feel important. As though she had a place in the world. As though she mattered.
Her peers training alongside her began to be more perceptive to his favoritism. Some took it out on Aria herself, whereas others were more confused and occasionally concerned. Unbeknownst to Aria, her coach shifted in his treatment towards her. At least, publicly. Calling her on each mistakes loud enough for people on the other side of the country to hear, with so much contempt that she couldn't help but wonder at times if he and her mother exchanged notes on how to cut her down most efficiently. Yet, whenever they were alone, his sweet, caring persona would be back. He'd even explain to her that the others didn't understand, and he couldn't have them get the wrong idea. She bought the excuse, even as it formed a strange pit in her stomach - tying into knots as it felt like she was a secret. Still, she just reminded herself that he didn't really mean it every time he made her feel like the dirt under his shoe that he was trying to scrape off anytime they were in the presence of others.
At fifteen, she could start to see a light at the end of the tunnel, after putting her blood sweat and tears into training. The Olympic trials were right around the corner, and she felt more confident than ever. Her coach even was easing up on her. She finally felt like she was doing something right. However, during practice, after hours and hours of overexerting herself, she missed her landing, her ankle bending in a way she never knew it could before, and let out a harrowing yelp. And for as much pain as she was in, she wouldn't be able to recall it if she tried to retell the story present day - the only pain she could remember was every cruel word that felt like spears piercing through her from her coach. After a while, his voice became muffled - in fact, everything did… it was like she had slipped underwater and she was just hearing indistinguishable shouts from above the surface. Until finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and she took off her skates, and stormed out - or as best as she could with a sprained ankle, more so hopping than anything.
When she got outside, she had no incline as to where she wanted to go, just anywhere but there. And the adrenaline coursing through her veins failed to remember the rink leading directly to a busy intersection. Was she so out of it that she couldn't perceive the cars zipping down the road? Or did she just not care? Either way, she woke up to fluorescent overhead lights, persistent beeping of monitors, and a nurse informing her that she was lucky to be alive. The entire duration of the time she was in casts, her mother could hardly stand to look at her. As if she was the one who worked so hard and dedicated her entire life to this one dream that shattered along with the bones in her body. Aria was lost… Knowing it'd be a miracle if she ever got herself to skate again, and impossible to ever perform as well as she had before, she didn't know who she was anymore.
She started staying out late, going to any party she could find only to go to school hungover having slept barely an hour. Teachers noticed her shift and were understandably concerned. But no matter how many times the counselors would try to get through to her, she was intent on her mission to self destruct. After spending so much of her life maintaining a perfect image to satisfy those who didn't know the meaning of the word, it felt liberating to let herself fall apart for everyone to see.
Having no interest in continuing her education to college, Aria moved in with a few friends and lived paycheck to paycheck with any minimum wage jobs they could find. Yet drama ensued, as she was beginning to realize it inevitably did wherever she seemed to go. With the money she saved, she moved out and ventured in search of a place where no one knew her and there were no ghosts from her past, finding that haven in Denver, Colorado when she was twenty three.
