ASHTON RYDER | 34 | SILVER LINING MILITIA LIEUTENANT
THE BASICS Biography | Playlist | Pinterest | Connections | Thread Tracker
Full Name:Â Ashton Finley Ryder Nicknames:Â Ash, Ryder, Fin Birthday:Â November 3, 2091 Birthplace:Â Burnington Current Home:Â Burnington Occupation: Bartender at Hell's Gate, Silver Lining Militia Lieutenant, Former Specialist of East Atlantic Army Religion:Â Atheist Orientation:Â Asexual (sex favorable), Biromantic Status: Single but maybe catching feelings MBTI:Â ISFJ-T, The Defender (Turbulent) Enneagram:Â Type5 Wing6, The Troubleshooter Alignment:Â Lawful Neutral Zodiac:Â Scorpio Face Claim:Â Luke Mitchell . Voice Claim:Â Luke Mitchell (i)
THE PHYSICALS
Height: 6'1" Build: Muscular, Athletic Allergies: people beating around the bush, & lilies. Hair Colour: Dirty Blonde Eye Colour: Deep Blue, that turns deeper when he cries Glass/Contacts: none, but sometimes if his eyes are strained he has reading glasses Dominant Hand: Right, but mildly Ambidextrous Tattoos: only one, solar system running across the inside of his left forearm Scars: Too many to count, the most prominent, ugly one that never healed right is the one on his left shoulder Piercings: Earlobes and Helix on both ears Outfit Clothing Style: Sweaters, idk what else to tell you, he has no fashion sense and goes with whatever is the most comfortable things for movement or combat. At the bar, he wears whatever he's asked to wear as a uniform.
THE ADDITIONALS
Spoken Languages: English / Russian Driver’s License: yes + military license Affiliation: Silver Lining Militia Pets: Dawn - German Shepard, Military Trained, Retired
THE BIOGRAPHY TW: mentions of death, abuse, experimentations
The Ryders were a quiet small family living simple lives in Burnington, husband served in the East Atlantic Army as a command sergeant, wife helped homeschool kids in the town. They flew under the radar as much as they could, most would assume because they’re simply content with life - and they are, a handful might know they do what they can in small subtle movements of resistance. Ashton was raised as such too, joyful simple life, be grateful for what they had, helped around the house, he was a handful to deal with as a kid but never whined or demanded anything in life. Homeschooled, he usually stuck close with his mother when his father was out with his unit, doing important work to protect them all, young Ash would like to believe that as his mom would tell him. Little did he know it wasn’t in the way Ashton thought.
One day past his 13th birthday, Ash’s parents had requested him to run a few errands alone for them while they had errands to run on their own, a full day’s worth to prepare for the coming week, groceries to get, kids to teach, laundry to wash and dry, letters to deliver, it was more than his usual day of chores, but he never whined about it, doing what he was told to do. He got everything done easily, even had spare time to go play before coming back for dinner. But dinner was never made. Ashton came back to an empty home that evening, not quite sure where his parents were and when they were coming back, he sat there and waited, and waited, and waited. Until in the middle of the night a knock on the door came, someone from the army, dad’s friend, they said. Ashton didn’t really process the news, everything in and around him numbed as his hands and feet still moved, the rest of the unit came in to start picking apart what little belongings they had, and let him pack whatever else he wanted. The next thing he knew when he snapped out of the shock, was that he was within the military academy, other kids and students staring at him like fresh meat, that he held a box of all his belongings he desperately kept from his home for once in his life saying no and not letting the soldiers take away some of his parents keepsakes, that his parents were gone. And that he was all alone.Â
Then came the anger. Sure they gave him food, shelter, care, but he wasn’t stupid. The reason they gave him for his parents death didn’t seem to click. Ash was looking for anything and everything to blame. The grief in him mutated into rebellion, rage and fight, it took the academy a lot to whip him into shape and submission, literally and figuratively. The uglier disciplinary acts hidden behind closed doors. They hadn’t known what else the boy knew, they had to keep him here. But everything can be fixed with time, and with time, Ashton lost the fight in him, grief growing smaller, hurting less, giving in to doing whatever they told him to, as long as it made the pain go away. He got to know the other kids his age, some orphans like him, trained alongside him, and some of the warrant officers treated him well, better than others. He learnt to accept that this was his life now. As long as it made the pain go away. Follow our orders and you’ll be safe. You’ll be fine soon. I promise. Promise? He took their word for it, and believed, like he always did. Just listen to them, do as they say, they know better. He never whined or demanded anything in life. Ashton was molded and shaped to a perfect recruit and soldier, he had the talent, grit and intelligence for it all, exceeding all expectations once he submitted and gave in to the life and hand he was dealt with. He grew into one of EAA’s finest specialists they’ve ever had, an incredible asset that stayed loyal with nowhere else to go. Ashton was desensitized to the point where he lost himself somewhere in the pool of blood he spilt and the pile of bodies he stacked up. Though underneath it all he was just the teenage boy holding a box of his family’s belongings, doing whatever he needed to do as he was told. As long as it made the pain go away.
Over the years, Ash was one of the most reliable people in the army, if you needed something done, and done right, Ashton was your guy. While he is attached to a specific unit, the higher ups oftentimes pulled him away on special fieldwork as well, more covert operations that required tact and skill, and Ash could keep a secret to his grave. He’s had practice keeping one since he was five. No one bats an eye on the way Ash bounces back on his feet whenever injuries come around. He’s just that talented! He ate well! He’s youthful, he’s got his father’s genes and talents. Ash laughs them off and prolonged pretending to still be injured if it seemed suspicious. But one of those outfield missions went awry landing Ash in critical danger for once in his life, a misstep, a mistake made. Going in and out of consciousness one step too close to death, left Ash vulnerable as he was medically cared for without being able to walk it off before it was too late. And if they hadn’t paid attention to the way he healed faster than expected, pulling him under a microscope to see the way his cells regenerated at a speed not normal for humans - perhaps he’d still be holding onto that mutant secret.
It was a gift, a breakthrough in science, if they could just study him further– everything could change in the way their soldiers healed. Lives could be saved. He was taken off duty for the time being, excuse of needing to recover before going back on the field, and instead brought to the lab of the afterglow compound and was told all those nice things, appealing to the part of Ashton who just wanted to be useful. He assumed it was an order, and simply muttered yes sir.. For months he was held there, poked and prodded, blood and cell samples taken from him, his pain thresholds and limits tested. But what made Ashton pause was the sight of others there. A view of Afterglow hidden away from his years of training here, now in full view. And it was horrific, this wasn’t the same organization he thought he gave his life and loyalty to. He thought all his life, he had been doing good. Ashton silently took whatever was done to him, etching the visual in his brain of everything that happened here, to him, to others, to his parents. Until when he was returned to serve on the field, he left the force, quietly, without fanfare, honestly surprised they let him walk free. Perhaps because they’ve squeezed every ounce of him that they possibly could to profit off of him and there was nothing left of him for them to use.
The freedom was new and foreign to him, going back to Burnington, another box clutched in his arms as he was lost on what to do. He just knew that that rage he once thought had died off or beaten into submission, was once again reignited. He quickly joined the Silver Lining Militia, finding comfort in knowing at least there were familiar faces there, proving himself and his capabilities, and most importantly his loyalty and morality. Ashton now was trying to find his footing in somewhat of a normal life, getting a normal job to feed himself, and behind the scenes sitting with the militia to try and do good, perhaps find repentance in the life and lies he’s lived.
THE HEADCANONS
Ashton was five, he was in the kitchen on a Sunday morning with his parents trying to make breakfast and proving that he’s a big strong boy now! Unfortunately it ended up in a nasty burn across his arm and face as a hot heavy pan was dropped. He did his best not to cry as a big boy now but he still did, it hurt a lot. His mother helped take care of the burn wounds and patched it up, said it’ll heal in a few days, nothing to worry about, their bodies knew how to patch itself up. And patch itself up it did, perhaps way too well. By that night when they checked on the burns they were nowhere in sight. Somehow his parents just knew at that point, told Ash that his body was just really good at healing, but they also told him that he couldn’t tell anyone about it - a secret just between them. Ashton obeyed but never really understood it until much later learning more about mutants. Yet he regretted ultimately failing in the end. Even in this still life however, he still doesn't tell just anyone about it.
After leaving the military, Ashton struggled to find a place to fit in. He didn’t know what it took to live the life most people did in Burnington anymore. He found the one thing he did learn during his time in military training, was that he always bartended or mixed drinks for his own team or during events, perhaps the one civilian skill he picked up in a non-civilian life. Gravitating to the job in a place where he keeps his eyes on only the job and nothing else, keeping talks of his past life to a minimum and instead listening to others share their woes instead. He didn’t know where else to go and needed some way to support himself while he served the militia, not willing to take any handouts from them. And besides, at least no one judges people here at Hell’s Gate, mutants alike.Â
It’s been ages but there were still plenty of things he remembered of his parents, a box of their things he’s held onto ever since now tucked away safely in a drawer. Now older, it was clearer on the things they did that lightly steered away from afterglow, and of everything, Ashton felt like he can at least follow the other path after ruining the other he was walking on. Outside of his job and militia, like his mother, Ashton began helping teach homeschooled kids in his spare time, those wanting to stay out of the afterglow school system, he was taught and self-taught everything he knew, making use of EAA’s resources to study everything he could. Now he could bring that same knowledge, filtering out any biases to teach knowledge and only knowledge. He hoped his mother would’ve been proud of that at least.
The one thing Ashton has mostly kept to himself was his love and fascination with the night sky. Despite the rot and destruction of their planet, the stars stayed as pretty as he could ever remember. A vast abyss, moving along without blinking an eye to the self destruction of earth, nothing but a drop in an ocean of the universe. Ash learned all he could about the sky, the universe and astronomy, oftentimes when he wanted to be alone, he can be found on the rooftop of the academy or the compound, laying down to gaze at the sky, for once since he lost everything, this was the place he found peace again. Now he’s still looking for his best stargazing place in Burnington but he long remembered simply laying on the roof of his home with his mom as they pointed out stars, planets and constellations.
Once as a specialist, Ashton was talented in many areas within the military, but he’s best known for being a good shot, best sharpshooter they had, as well as leading stealth recon and lethal thunder runs. Ashton would be one of the first few names to pop up if you ever needed people for those. Now he hopes that those skill sets would still be useful in the Silver Lining Militia.
He has a german shepherd, Dawn, that he trained with in the EAA, elite dogs bred and trained for warfare and now to aid the military in peacekeeping, and Ashton trained with her since she was a pup. She left the force with him on the account that she was just as stubborn as her trainer and refused to listen to any other soldier and let her go with him as an early retirement.
THE WANTED CONNECTIONS
brothers & sisters-in-arms (East Atlantic Army connections) : pretty much since Ash had been tossed there, it was all he knew, training, life, relationships, he was kept closely within the army and everything he did was for them. A connection that could either be very close to Ash mentors, juniors or peers, or had friction with him in those years. Ranging from during his teenhood up until the day he left.
how to life (friends) : Ash moved from one army to another militia, always trying to find ways to fight, it was what he was good at. But finding life outside of the army was tough, remember life before the army seemed like a distant dream, he doesn’t really know how to live what may have been a normal life, as normal as life as they know it can be at least. A connection that helped him acclimate to life outside of the military, with more time to himself now despite integrating with silver lining, he had been given more freedom than he knew what to do with.
the peek behind the glow (compound/afterglow connections) : you’ll be doing great good for everyone, was the lie he was told when they sat him down at the lab, a secret he’s kept all his life now out in the open to be used for some greater good. A connection within his short stint with the afterglow science and research department, perhaps were poked and prodded alongside him or were doing the poking and prodding.Â
play pretend (childhood friends) :We’re gonna build a rocket ship to Mars! Ashton as a kid was bright and full of energy, despite being an only child, his mother often felt like he had the energy of three. Taking care of him was not easy and she was thankful for the other kids around their small neighborhood that played with him. A connection of a childhood friend that grew up with him in Burnington. Perhaps they lost touch after he joined the army, perhaps they were always in contact, but they had grown up with Ashton and been through a lot together in their formative years before he was tossed to the EAA. How would they feel seeing who Ashton was right now after losing their friend to the claws of the military and seeing him come back out of the fire alive?
