full name: matthew james archibald hardwick. nickname(s): matty, matt. birthday: 20th december. gender / pronouns:  cis man ,  he / him. orientation:  bisexual / biromantic. personality: quick-witted, argumentative, restless, ebullient. languages spoken: english. bits of french, spanish and latin from school. height: 182cm / 5'11. build: slim. piercings: double lobe piercings, left ear. tattoos: all black patchwork sleeves semi-in-progress. not cohesive at all, gets what he feels like in the moment. a lit match on his left shin, above the ankle.

( tws ; parental neglect, substance abuse, alcohol, rehab, relapse )

matthew was born in islington, london. he and his two older sisters were the product of a marriage between two people who couldn't really have cared less for one another. his mother the daughter of a viscount and his father a wealthy businessman in his own right.

safe to say, they were not lacking in money. the house in islington was modest enough -- one of many like it on the street. the house in buckinghamshire ( or more accurately, the estate, courtesy of the viscount ) on the other hand was comically large and devoid of warmth ; a sentiment echoed by the family.

while his sisters were at least sometimes willing to be dressed up and paraded around like prized possessions, it was clear from a very young age that matthew was not. he was trouble from day dot and siblings and parents alike made it abundantly clear they had no time nor care for him. which was just fine by him.

he had all of london and the lands around the buckinghamshire house as his playground and by god he made use of it. he would disappear for hours, returning home having ruined yet another pointlessly expensive outfit or "less problematically", a broken bone or other injury from misadventure.

in prep school, teachers would take the few opportunities they had to discuss with matthew's parents to inform them he was cleverer than he let on and simply refused to apply himself. instead, he spent his time stirring up trouble ( running away was a big go-to ) and just generally being something of a nuisance in the classroom.

when it came to secondary school then, the hardwicks did what any other disinterested parents of means would do and shipped him to boarding school in scotland. even matty himself is not quite sure how, but he managed to finish his a levels ( with mediocre grades to show for it ) despite pouring most of his energy into disruption and being a nuisance. he was almost kicked out in year ten for smoking weed, but he promised not to smoke anymore and to never distribute it ( something he'd already been doing, naturally ) and was simply never caught again.

looking back, matty would say at the very least having the structure of school was a grounding force. returning to london at eighteen without it, well... he was ripe for going off the rails, and that he did.

by twenty he'd featured in several tabloid newspapers for attending and hosting ragers, making a fool of himself in clubs and bars, and generally being associated with ingesting more illegal and 'legal' substances and alcohol than someone of his lanky stature should even be capable of surviving. all in the innocent pursuit of a good time, of course.

shortly after matty turned twenty-three, his parents decided they'd finally had enough of their good name and reputation being dragged through the mud ; if only their son had had the good sense to be a mess in private. they paid for two months of private impatient rehab and for a year or so of follow up outpatient. dropped matty off at the clinic and that was the extent of their input.

he would at least concede to his parents that it was a good move. he fell off the wagon here and there, especially within the first year -- bored out of his mind, hired and fired from various minimum wage jobs -- but settled down well after that by moving out of london to manchester. funded by his parents, of course. matty was rarely able to keep more than two pennies to rub together.

a counter-intuitive move, perhaps, for someone who had been to rehab for substance abuse to get a job as a bartender... but he'd managed to work his way into a ( relatively, not perfectly ) healthy place regarding his relationship to alcohol and it seemed like a good fit job for him. he liked to be busy, talking to different people -- hearing about their lives and experiences. to his own surprise more than anyone's, he was actually quite good at it.

at twenty-seven, matty was as settled as he'd been since he was in school. this of course meant he was itching for something else, somewhere new, maybe. chatting as he often did with a tourist in the bar one evening, he came to learn about wicklow ridge, a town in vermont. it didn't seem like a natural fit for someone used to the hustle and bustle of a major city ( and who frequently found himself bored there ) but something about it struck him. not two weeks later, a one way flight and a stay at hollow rock inn were booked.

he spent a few weeks in town as a tourist, exploring like one does before deciding to stay. chances were he wouldn't stay that long, but it didn't matter. the job at the stag's rest came first -- a natural fit for his experience. but with nothing to fill the rest of his days, his characteristic restlessness and tendency towards trouble. well, let's just say it didn't take long for trouble to find him.

not wanting to ruin the good thing he'd started for himself completely though, matty sought out a second job and landed himself one as a delivery driver for the general store. another thing to keep his hands busy.

'probably a year or two' somehow turned into nine years in the town recently. matty is probably more shook than anyone he's managed to last this long. he's still in and out of trouble -- less so than he's ever been in his life. it seems like something has finally switched in his brain and he is consciously trying not to ruin a good thing.

headcanons.

thirty-seven going on twenty-three. matty has always been... immature, but he's done the most growth and maturing in his life since arriving in wicklow ridge and hopes to continue. baby steps.

goes pretty much exclusively by matty. he'll accept 'matt' too, but only begrudgingly. frankly will not answer to matthew -- his parents refused to call him by anything but that full name so the associations are largely negative. if he hears matthew, he assumes he's in trouble ( usually correct anyway lbr ) and it just generally rubs him the wrong way to hear it.

has a horrendously posh accent and it has not changed one bit since he moved. plays it up sometimes, and also finds it funny when the more ignorant americans say it reminds them of the royals because he's brushed shoulders with a fair few minor royals in his time. and he is technically nobility, though he's not one to bring that up -- he's managed to put the atlantic ocean between himself and his family and even that isn't far enough.

after two years in town, he rescued a grey/blue italian greyhound he dubbed monty who is a little goofball. he takes monty for walks mostly around town and the lake and they goof off together. it's two idiots telling each other exactly but one of them is literally a dog.

sporadically attends an NA/substance abuse support group in town and has a sponsor. he didn't in manchester and does feel it's made a massive difference with his ability to cope. remains, however, in denial of his alcoholism to an extent. he's much better at keeping things in moderation now, but slips up more often than he should and when he overindulges, he doesn't do shit by halves. this is where a lot of trouble 'finds him' -- stupid shit, like picking fights with folk twice his size, running his mouth, generally making stupid decisions and lacking in self-preservation.

predictably, he doesn't earn very much. enough to get by, just about, definitely. money continues to come in from his parents -- they largely funded the move itself, seeing it as mutually beneficial -- and sits in a savings account. matty dips into it every now and then as it's handy for emergencies or unexpected charges, but he feels very conflicted about it. just as he does with anything that ties him to his parents, really.

has somehow managed to go his entire life undiagnosed with adhd, but he absolutely has it. he vaguely recalls someone ( maybe a friend, maybe a teacher ) mentioning it to him when he was still in school, but nothing was ever actioned and he's not given it a thought since. he was, however, diagnosed with dyslexia at nine when teachers noticed his consistent struggles with reading and spelling in particular. matty still harbours a kind of negative attitude towards reading -- every now and then he'll say he's going to properly get into it, start reading like everybody else... then gives up before he can really give it a proper go out of frustration.

a cheeky chappy ! absolutely terrible at holding his tongue, says the first thing that pops into his mind far too often. matty is, however, generally harmless. he has a kind heart and a good soul -- really cares about other people even if sometimes he's not the best ( read: horrendous ) at showing it. loves a bit of banter, which he finds works well in the bar most of the time. not great with authority / authority figures ; bossing him around tends to irk him, but given how long he's been able to hold two jobs down now -- and no one is more surprised than matty himself -- he has got significantly better. growth.

much more sensitive than he'd ever let on. he's guarded with his emotions, having learnt it's best not to show them but can be good at making it seem like he's opened up or let someone in. matty is terrified of the idea of actually being known, let alone loved. he doesn't necessarily view himself as impossible to love -- but difficult to? absolutely. at times undeserving? for sure.

absurdly good with kids. presumably because he basically still is one himself. he hasn't got very much experience with them at all, which is why it's generally shocking that he's a natural. that being said, he panics when babies are involved -- too delicate and tiny for his liking. adorable,for sure, but terrifying to be at all responsible for.

very bad at anything adult and / or involving looking after himself. frequently forgets to eat and drink and generally lives off eating out or takeaway and more widely has the poor diet of a student. sleeping schedule... what is a schedule? matty wouldn't know.