#dehqintro

DIGGING DEEPER.

TW: internalized homophobia

having been born into the big muñoz family, there has never been a shortage of love to the newly born sister amelia diaz muñoz. it was esmerelda’s warmth that embraced the girl and alberto’s strength that she inherited. muñoz blood proudly coursed through her veins, beat in that tender heart behind her ribcage with every second that passed. it made her grow stronger everyday, the love that was shared in overflow in the family.    

from a young age, it’d been clear amelia had been a parent pleaser, wanted to do everything right and most of all; be a good girl. anxiety of doing wrong engraved itself into her bones ever since she can remember. out of all her dear siblings, she felt the closest to constanza when they were still young, only a year apart and both finding their hearts beating for a mutual love of nature. a two-sided love she felt fade into one when constanza chose a path of destruction and amelia didn’t oblige to tag along. amelia’s strong love for mother earth resided in her heart even when she often at times felt like she remained the only child in the household that did. gravitating from one sibling to the other over the years, it were her parents she felt the most loyal to in the end. when good grades were expected of her, when the household needed a proper cleanup, when a family gathering was to be prepared, it was all she could focus on. with a big family as theirs, it was easy to become invisible at times as both a middle child and a woman who had no aspirations to follow into her father’s footsteps. Her interest lay in nature and especially its wildlife.

as one sibling rebelled after the other, amelia remained the good girl she was and stayed home with having no aim of leaving out of spite or other ill intentions. even if being a good girl meant suppressing her own freedom, the cost of her own happiness: throughout the years amelia noticed herself differentiating from other girls her age, having almost no interest in men, there were no strong (if at all, realized with time passing by) romantic feelings involved when she dated men and only kept them around to seem like she was. in the end she’d blame it on herself (which technically wasn’t a lie) when she broke it off, writing him off to her family as not ‘the one’, when deep down she knew no man would ever be the one for her. deep deep down only amelia knows that she’ll never be into men the way she is into women, a secret she’s kept to herself until present day. she’s a closeted lesbian, afraid to disappoint her mami mostly even though santiago is openly out and their mother hasn’t loved him any less.

after years of studying science, her knowledge about wildlife didn’t go unnoticed by superiors. amelia diaz muñoz got recruited to work as a researcher, specifically microbiology, for afterglow. a recruitment that certainly got celebrated by her parents because their daughter’s talent got recognized by, what seemed in their eyes, a higher deity. amelia has been working as a microbiologist at afterglow ever since, often drowning herself in work and getting home late (a way of coping with her inner demons, avoiding her past boyfriends or siblings when confrontation was necessary and overthink at times). 

when santi shared his findings about afterglow/eea’s shady business, amelia’s first reaction was to shut down internally and find it hard to choose between ‘good and bad’ when in her reality it meant losing the one thing that kept her sane in her day to day life. her job was her whole life, there was no doubt about that. unable to leave the company, in fear of losing herself, she kept santi’s secret to herself, as long as she was still accepted as family for her ‘betrayal’ to loyally remain active at the company. though fearing to having to choose between her family or job one day, wishing everyday today would not be that day.                      

EXTRAS.

family / connections santiago diaz muñoz - oldest brother benedicto diaz muñoz - older brother constanza diaz muñoz - older sister javier diaz muñoz - younger brother serafina diaz muñoz - younger sister lindsay o’halloran - brother in law maisie o’halloran - nibling

wanted connections or plots the one that got away - a woman she once met in her life (could be childhood friends, school best friends, university roommates, colleagues or anything else) that has made a lasting impression on amelia’s heart, but she’s been too much of a coward to ever speak of those feelings. as a closeted lesbian, amelia’s never told anyone she’s actually into women and continually dated men (though keeping them at bay enough). this woman could’ve admitted her feelings to amelia and expected a good ending (‘i know you feel it too…’) to which amelia reacted by shutting down and leaving/running off in flight. or they could’ve both been too scared to admit their feelings and still be stuck in the friendzone, if they haven’t grown apart yet. the trusted one - someone that’s her ride or die, someone she’s trusted for years and worked closely with if they happen to work at afterglow too, someone outside of her family she trusts with her life.

PHYSICAL TRAITS :

HEIGHT: 6'0' BODY TYPE: tall, lanky EYE COLOR: brown HAIR COLOR: black NOTABLE TRAITS: see below Freddie cuts a rather frightening picture, though he doesn't mean to. He is tall man, and his lack of knowledge of personal space means he tends to loom. To try and dampen his jarring appearance, he usually covers the lower half of his face with a scarf and the upper half with dust-resistant goggles and a hood. His mouth is somewhat disfigured, with a cleft lip and palate on his left side and a bit of gum and teeth exposed on the right. His skin is patchy and thin, clinging to his face like it's been vacuum sealed, and highly susceptible to damage from the sun. One of his eyes has a double iris, and he is mostly blind in that eye.

BIO :

TW: child neglect OVERVIEW. Freddie Clarke is a recluse, though not by choice. He is quiet, not out of shyness, but because he finds it difficult to enunciate his words. His air of mystery, combined with his gruesome appearance--usually hidden behind a scarf and large goggles--leads to most finding him unapproachable. Those who speak to him find him a friendly (albeit eccentric) man with a cheerful disposition, despite his stunted social skills. Currently, Freddie is working on a comprehensive bestiary and herbarium of irradiated North American flora and fauna. He is extremely devoted to his work. He will occasionally sell self-published volumes of his current collection as field guides, printed by hand in the back of his home. They contain mostly detailed illustrations rather than photos; Freddie finds he can capture more detail that way. EARLY CHILDHOOD. Freddie was an unplanned baby, born to a Golden Gorge miner and a scrapper who both spent a lot of time in the Ashtray. Because of the immense amounts of radiation his parents were exposed to, Freddie was born with multiple abnormalities. It was a miracle he survived, with few long-term health issues aside from skin sensitivity and delays in speech related to his malformed mouth. He was ostracized in his youth due to his appearance, and his parents preferred to keep him out of sight. As a lonely child, he spent most of his time reading old pre-war books his father had collected. He liked the magazines with nature photos, and though he could not read some of the dense encyclopedias, he enjoyed looking at the illustrations within. LATE CHILDHOOD. Growing tired of the malice from his community and neglect from his parents, an unwise 10-year-old Freddie Clarke decided to become a runaway. He did not get very far. The forest was not a safe place for a lonely child. A group of initiates of the Children of Mothman discovered him while on a pilgrimage to the museum and took him under their wing, speculating that the small, disfigured child found sleeping on a tree root may be a message of some kind from the dread father. He lived among a small congregation for years. His elders expressed disappointment when he seemed to take more interest in tending to the moths than listening to the enlightened or practicing rituals. Still, he caused no trouble and followed directions expertly, so he faced no overt cruelty. ONWARDS. When he was young, he enjoyed being a member of the Eclipse. The sense of community the insular, cult-like environment fostered allowed him to believe he belonged. But as he aged and wizened up, he realized the community was false. He was still an outsider. He didn't enjoy recieving visions, nor was he particularly close with his fellow churchgoers, and his belief in the dread father and the word of the night mother was... shakier than his other peers. it was difficult to ignore that he felt more kindred with the irradiated bugs than the other people. So, at 16, Freddie left the community to pursue his true passion--his compendium. For over a decade, now, he has been traveling, collecting samples, and recording his observations with a zealous devotion he never could muster for the church. Though he is no longer an active initiate, Freddie still holds many of the beliefs shared by the Eclipse.

EXTRAS :

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS.

CLIENTS. Though his studies are his life's passion, Freddie recognizes that an income is generally required for survival. He makes a meager living providing niche services, selling both live and dead specimens and bottled forms of the various venoms and toxins they may produce. He is very good at not asking questions. In fact, he prefers that you don't tell him what you're doing with it. RECRUITERS. Though not particularly well-known, he is a man of science and a researcher independent from Afterglow. with his specialties in venoms and toxins, individuals from the corporation might be hounding him down to join their research team, especially with the ongoing cicada scare. Freddie is wary of Afterglow due to their... mixed reputation.

MISC HEADCANONS.

HABITS. Freddie is fidgety and has a number of tics that come and go. He frequently scratches his neck, snaps his fingers and claps his hands for no particular reason, and shakes his head in a minute twitch, as if to clear out his thoughts. THE WORKSHOP. Freddie is devoted to his work, and his space reflects that. he has a countless number of specimens, many alive and kept in small jars or enclosures. Plants grow abundantly in his run-down home, which he maintains with great care. Parts of larger specimens, unable to be contained in their entirety, are littered throughout his home: bones, skulls, pelts. Danger is of no concern to him--he even keeps a small colony of radroaches, which he allows to reproduce within the carcasses of rodents and other small mammals.

( general stats. )

› name : maisie o'halloran › nickname(s) : mais › gender : non-binary ( they / them ) › orientation : biromantic bisexual ( 5 ) › date of birth : february 6 ( 20 ) › faction : the silver lining militia › occupation : cashier @ remedy roots › main location : burnington

( physical & mental characteristics. )

› height : 5'1" / 155cm › weight : 113lbs / 51kg › body type : small but hiding a lot of muscle › eye colour : brown › hair colour : brown › dominant hand : ambidextrous › tattoos : tba › piercings : none › scars : tba › conditions : post-traumatic stress disorder › schemas : approval-seeking / recognition-seeking ・ failure ・ defectiveness / shame

( personality stats. )

› 6 qualities : competent ・ straightforward ・ practical ・ resourceful ・ action-oriented ・ enthusiastic › 6 flaws : cocky ・ defiant ・ impatient ・ insensitive ・ argumentative ・ stubborn › mbti : estp › moral alignment : chaotic neutral › temperament : choleric-sanguine › enneagram : 7w8 › soul type : warrior › animal : ferret › greek god : alke › zodiac : aquarius sun ・ aries moon ・ aries rising

( background check. )

› intelligence : 115 ↳ type : bodily-kinaesthetic ・ logical-mathematical › skills : fieldcraft ・ hand-to-hand combat ・ versatile weapon expertise ・ tracking ・ marksmanship ・ free solo climbing ・ hunting ・ reading facial expressions and body language › likes : rocks ・ hunting ・ animals ・ their uncles ・ mothguy ・ playing guitar ・ mia ・ food ・ running ・ drawing animals ・ climbing ・ poker ・ annoying the fuck out of linds ・ santi's cooking ・ watching fights at hell's gate ・ arguing with anyone at all ・ the silver lining ・ beating losers at poker ・ watching movies curled up between linds and santi ・ pretending to fall asleep on the couch so one of their uncles will carry them to bed ・ complaining early in the morning to get on linds' nerves › dislikes : someone talking shit about the silver lining ・ mia's parents ・ getting reminded of their mum ・ bears ・ getting scolded for stupid shit ・ not being taken seriously ・ afterglow ・ someone hurting someone they care about ・having to get up early ・ work ・ learning theory without any practical application to it ・ shutting up ・ having to do therapy stuff ・ being grounded or being stuck in their room ・ going to sleep › triggers : unexpected violence ・ bears ・ people threatening their uncles ・ not being allowed to go out › touchstones : lindsay o'halloran ・ santiago muñoz ・ dante winters ・ mia chavez

( facts. )

they love animals and used to always spend a while just watching them and drawing them from a distance

collects cool looking rocks and geodes; tumbles rocks and shapes them, and then tries to barter with them in the central market (usually for some kind of food)

knows which plants do what and which berries won't make you sick

due to having been born in the middle of nowhere in the new californian republic to a foreign special forces unit from the european commonwealth, maisie doesn't have a birth certificate and isn't known by any government in the world in any official capacity

really wants to make their three uncles proud of them

usually talks back to linds unless he uses a certain tone and then they'll immediately straighten their back and pipe down; if you see maisie and linds engaged in a screaming match, usually it's nothing serious (often also triggered by stupid shit), because if linds really wanted them to shape up, he could do it in a second

has a really fucked up mix of english, scottish, and southern american accent and terms that just get thrown together

often wanders out around the wilds of burnington because surviving out there doesn't even make them blink (thanks, uncle linds); that's where the animals and shit are

lowkey fascinated by mothman, sorry

loves food, can eat a staggering amount of food and not gain any weight, like basically always eating something, will never turn down food, especially not from uncle santi

plays the guitar, it's the only time their inner dynamo isn't going a million miles an hour

used to have a lot of night terrors from the rampant post-traumatic stress disorder caused by seeing their mother mauled to death in front of them, but a majority has been worked through with santi; still experiences a lot of trepidation around sleep, sometimes causing bouts of insomnia

while mostly well-managed, maisie still has to deal with flashbacks and severe emotional and physical reactions when triggered in a way they haven't accounted for, such as sudden extreme violence; they have no problem with violence if they can mentally prepare for it

incredible marksman, having been trained by both niamh and dante from a very early age

wants so, so bad to be taken seriously enough by their uncles that they'll send them out on missions and stuff

( general stats. )

› name : feary o'brien › nickname(s) : fee › gender : cis man ( he / him ) › orientation : greyromantic bisexual ( 3 ) › date of birth : december 29 ( 38 ) › faction : shamrocks ( underboss ) › occupation : floor manager @ hell's gate › main location : burnington

( physical & mental characteristics. )

› height : 6'1" / 185cm › weight : 182lbs / 83kg › body type : understated athletic built › eye colour : blue, bioluminescent and always seeming to swirl like an aurora borealis › hair colour : blonde › dominant hand : ambidextrous › tattoos : a raven in flight on his right shoulder in a charcoal etched style ・ a murder of crows across the length of his left side in the style of messy black watercolour ・ messy sketch of a wolf mid-run on his left shoulder/collarbone ・ three ravens in messy sketch on his left arm ・ an eye on the back of his neck › piercings : none › scars : a myriad of slashes across his arms and torso › conditions : anti-social personality disorder › schemas : abandonment / instability ・ mistrust / abuse ・ punitiveness

( personality stats. )

› 6 qualities : curious ・ analytical ・ strategic ・ soft-spoken ・ observant ・ intelligent › 6 flaws : relentless ・ ruthless ・ calculating ・ combative ・ sceptical ・ violent › mbti : intj › moral alignment : neutral evil › temperament : choleric-melancholic › enneagram : 8w7 › soul type : warrior › animal : raven › greek god : haides › zodiac : capricorn sun ・ aquarius moon ・ virgo rising

( background check. )

› intelligence : 135 ↳ type : logical-mathematical ・ existential › skills : research ・ behaviourism ・ enhanced interrogation ・ gun handling ・ negotiation ・ people management › likes : tba › dislikes : tba › triggers : touching women without their consent ・ hurting his little sister ・ trying to deprive his family › touchstones : finn o'brien ・ kitty o'brien ・ wc

( facts. )

most people wonder with someone as calculating and ambitious as feary is, why he would take second rung to his older brother? to him it's a very logical equation: as the face of their wee business, finn o'brien is stuck in a bit of a cage, something both siblings are well aware of, a cage that feary, within finn's shadow, is not subject to at all. he's quite content to be in that shadow, but that's not the same as being content with the size of that shadow; feary works tirelessly and loyally to not just sandbag his older brother against every hardship that is thrown his way, but to also widen his sphere of influence so as to lengthen the shadow within he himself resides. their entire life, they've had a very symbiotic relationship, and from feary's end, there's very little anyone can do to come between him and his loyalty to his older brother.

unless you're a shamrock or an employee of hell's gate, you really have no business speaking to feary o'brien, and he absolutely will not give you the time of day. but if you belong to either—or both—of these groups, you'd know him as... not necessarily kind, but definitely a reasonable man beholding to logic. if you're his, he'll protect you. but if you betray that in any way, the last place you want to be is under his watchful eye.

wherever feary is, his crow—badhbh—is as well. obsessed with mutations, this is not a regular crow, having a caramel colour mutation; she's also an incredibly intelligent creature which feary raised from when she was just a corbillat, fallen out of her nest. having saved her life, badhbh has stuck by him for eight years now, and in those eight years, feary has managed to teach her a great many tricks, not in the least as a messenger capable of finding any of his siblings, as well as how to most effectively harry an opponent and—if necessary—where to peck to eliminate threats, such as the eyes.

feary shares his obsession with mutations with his younger sister, kitty, and there's frankly very little kitty can do to upset her brother. he'll pause whole business meetings for her, if need be, and if you even look at her in a way that he doesn't like, he might just break one of your legs and make you walk a mile for good measure.

as seemingly laid-back and mischievous as feary may seem on any given day, a lot of it is calculation, and it's what makes him so incredibly unpredictable. very few people know the cues to look out for to tell whether feary's smile means he's actually amused or if you've just doomed yourself to a trip to a basement for some very painful lessons in manners or a one-way ride to the afterglow labs.

he has a... rather informal understanding with afterglow's chief medical officer, felix estrada, that if he comes across someone with a mutation that also happened to have crossed him, he extradites them into his care.

to call him amoral wouldn't be entirely correct. he does have morals, but they don't often align with the law or even the morals of others. he takes his words quite seriously, whether as a promise or a threat, and he'll stick to them. when a deal is made, he expects you to stick to your end, otherwise it's his understanding that he's free to kill you for reneging on that deal, it's as simple as that.

( general stats. )

› name : thessaly evynn case › nickname(s) : thess; t (by skylar) › gender : cis woman ( she / her ) › orientation : biromantic bisexual ( 5 ) › date of birth : november 7 ( 30 ) › faction : neutral › occupation : bartender @ the mad scientist › main location : burnington

( physical & mental characteristics. )

› height : 5'10" / 179cm › weight : 150lbs / 68kg › body type : lean and slender, but with toned muscles › eye colour : hazel › hair colour : dark brown › dominant hand : left › tattoos : a small sock on the inside of her left wrist › piercings : ear piercings › scars : nothing physical of note › conditions : summer onset seasonal affective disorder › schemas : mistrust / abuse ・ defectiveness / shame ・ emotional deprivation

( personality stats. )

› 6 qualities : realistic ・ practical ・ protective ・ easy-going ・ curious ・ loyal › 6 flaws : aggressive ・ private ・ headstrong ・ impatient ・ sceptical ・ insensitive › mbti : istp › moral alignment : chaotic neutral › temperament : choleric-melancholic › enneagram : 6w5 › soul type : artisan › animal : cassowary › greek god : praxidice › zodiac : scorpio sun ・ aries moon ・ capricorn rising

( background check. )

› intelligence : 115 ↳ type : musical ・ bodily-kinaesthetic › skills : music ( singing ・ piano ) ・ dancing ・ mixology ・ street fighting › likes : skylar ・ weed ・ sleeping ・ braiding hair ・ horror movies ・ playing piano ・ singing ・ dancing ・ creds ・ chicken nuggets ・ the ocean ・ music ・ central market ・ baths › dislikes : being touched ・ school ・ lost angeles ・ her parents ・ herself ・ drunk patrons ・ men ・ being perceived ・giving a fuck about people ・ skylar getting hurt ・ disappointing skylar ・ wearing dresses ・ socialising › triggers : men being nice to her ・ skylar being threatened/in danger ・ having to be vulnerable ・ being touched without consent ・ women being hurt › touchstones : skylar case

( facts. )

thess has always looked up to skylar and sought to emulate what they did, but in her teenager years quickly found out that while they are twins, they're also different people with different skills; instead of going to school like he did, thess decided—and made them agree with—that she'd provide support in their relationship and their shared lives, taking practical jobs that would earn them creds, pay rent, food, utilities, and the like.

from a very young age, thess has been incredibly musically gifted, having a natural singing voice and an ability to quickly work out any musical instrument that was put into her hands—though there weren't a lot of these situations due to the life she lived in lost angeles. the best and only thing her parents ever did for her was give her a keyboard that she would play to death.

this musical giftedness also lead her to be able to find jobs in nightclubs and other venues as a hype dancer, to keep the energy up, a lifestyle that would see her up during the night times of lost angeles, arguably the most dangerous time in an already incredibly dangerous city.

all of that to say that a lot of thess' aversion to being touched—especially when she doesn't expect it and especially by men—comes from how hype dancing turned into 'exotic dancing' and eventually escort work, simply because it made her more money; something she's never told and never will tell her twin. frankly, thess would sell her pride, soul, and dignity for creds if it means skylar never has to.

no matter how callous thess is to the plights of others, this isn't borne from selfishness rather than being stuck in a survivor's mentality; you can't exactly save people from drowning when you're focused on not drowning yourself.

while most people would consider thess abrasive and confrontational and full of anger, this is a defence mechanism rather than anything else. the world and people terrify her, but instead of running away, she'll run towards anything that scares her with raised fists; some could call it brave, but it's just thess' way to sidestep being vulnerable yet again.

any relationship she is in also fails for this exact reason, because when she gets scared or hurt, instead of letting herself be vulnerable and talk it out, thess will simply expect the worst and becomes incredibly belligerent and kind of hurtful, things she'll regret later, but in the moment she can't really help herself from doing.

( general stats. )

› name : graham gardner › nickname(s) : gray; gg2ez; gigi; geegs; geegers; goober; beastie › gender : cis man ( he / him ) › orientation : oddromantic bisexual ( 3 ) › date of birth : october 28 ( 30 ) › faction : shamrocks (formerly afterglow research solutions) › occupation : engineer › main location : devil's elbow (formerly afterglow compound)

( physical & mental characteristics. )

› height : 6'4" / 194cm › weight : 196lbs / 89kg › body type : wide, built, dorito-shaped › eye colour : green › hair colour : black › dominant hand : left › tattoos : barbed wire around his wrists and ankles ・ 'giggle possum' with a laughing possum over his heart ・ the whole of dante's inferno's layers of hell covering his back ・ most of his torso is covered with a myriad of disparate tattoos, from a centipede seeming to crawl out and into his body along his collarbones, to skeletons and skulls, more digitally inspired sleeves, bumblebees, absurdism, cartoons, and anything else jonah fisher felt like inking into his skin › piercings : a bunch of ear piercings › scars : rope scars on his wrists ・ cigarette burns all along his arms ・ belt lashes all across his back ・ probably more › conditions : anti-social personality disorder ・ substance use disorder ・ extreme giftedness › schemas : abandonment / instability ・ mistrust / abuse ・ defectiveness / shame

( personality stats. )

› 6 qualities : independent ・ protective ・ intelligent ・ open-minded ・ fearless ・ laid-back › 6 flaws : unpredictable ・ confrontational ・ insensitive ・ private ・ reckless ・ violent › mbti : intp › moral alignment : chaotic evil › temperament : choleric-phlegmatic › enneagram : 8w9 › soul type : scholar › animal : raccoon › greek god : hephaestus › zodiac : scorpio sun ・ aquarius moon ・ scorpio rising

( background check. )

› intelligence : 160+ ↳ type : logical-mathematical ・ visual-spatial › skills : engineering ( software ・ computer ・ electronics ・ computer network ・ mechanical ・ explosives ) ・ cryptography ・ scripting ・ mathematics ・ high reaction time ・ hand-to-eye coordination › likes : oddity ・ video games ・ tinkering ・ engineering ・ drugs ・ oddity ・ the pain of a tattoo gun ・ freedom ・ dogs ・ neve ・ mind quiet ・ winning ・ the smell of gasoline ・ programming ・ fire ・ things exploding ・ working out ・ building little robots to entertain odd with ・ making felix absolutely miserable ・ ieds ・ arson ・ neve ・ horror movies ・ chewing on things ・ oddity ・ strawberries › dislikes : when people ask questions ・ people hurting odd ・ rules ・ orders ・ having to be idle ・ figures of or who represent authority ・ people who take shit too seriously ・ parents (anyone's) ・felix estrada ・ hospitals ・ when people try to get to know him ・ small talk ・ when it gets too hot ・ people touching him out of nowhere (one exception) ・ beer or wine › triggers : being abandoned ・ his last name ・ someone/thing hurting odd ・ someone/thing hurting neve ・ boredom ・ being locked in a room/cell › touchstones : odette oddity winters ・ genevieve neve gardner ・ vada bell ・ felix estrada

( facts. )

despite the fact that gray is both aggressive and violent, he's not malicious. he doesn't make it his business to actively harm anyone, and he also doesn't derive any pleasure or positive feelings from hurting people or people getting hurt—he simply doesn't care if you do or don't get hurt. for the most part, if he doesn't get triggered or you don't try to control or deprive him, he's a pretty chill, laid-back dude.

gray is incredibly allergic to attempts at control exertion. so allergic, in fact, that while he doesn't like being told or forced to do what he doesn't want, he also doesn't do it to others. if you don't do something and it's no skin off his teeth, then he'll just shrug and move on. if you don't do something and it gets in the way of his ability to do something he wants to do or affects his own freedom, he'll simply attack you. still doesn't mean you have to do it, mind you. attacking you at that point isn't about trying to make you do something, rather than a reaction to being deprived.

although there's no instance of psychosis present in gray's pathology—not unrelated to drugs, at any rate—one could easily be confused that it might be simply because he has a habit of talking to himself. the biggest issue is that he also has a habit to mumble and mutter—even when he's talking to someone else.

gray is someone who is often incredibly stuck in his own head, to the point where he might zone out to retreat inside of his mind to entertain ideas, or follow mental rabbit holes. externally, it just looks like he goes on stand-by, but whenever gray does into this 'stand-by mode', usually he's visualising and solving problems, or he clocked out momentarily because what's going on in his own head is miles more interesting than whatever's going on outside it.

being hyperintelligent is something that most people would consider a positive, a guarantee to success; to a certain point, however, such level of intelligence stops one from being able to function, in society or otherwise. gray's mind is a machine, an incredibly fast, efficient machine that never stops, that can suck in and process information faster than it can be offered, and while it means he is an engineering prodigy and he has absolutely no lag between his mind and his reaction time—making that sometimes his body reacts before he's consciously aware of it—it also means that he's perpetually fighting against deadly boredom.

boredom is the force that makes him so incredibly maladjusted—aside from his history of violent childhood abuse and his poor socialisation, perhaps. when his mind starving for information or work that sparks creativity, imagination, or necessitates any sort of mental heavy-lifting, that boredom causes a feeling akin to severe anxiety. a restlessness, a physical pain, almost, that drives him to destroy rather than create. this is where most instances of violent destruction—such as arson, immolation, reckless endangerment of himself and others, etc—stems from. when gray is sufficiently stimulated and enriched throughout his day, he is absolutely harmless.

most women-shaped entities elicit more neutral reactions from gray, since at worst, women have been absent from his life and traumas. while as a rule, gray doesn't trust anyone, he trusts men least of all, especially when they're older than he is.

don't be nice to him. don't smile at him. at most, be neutral, treat him like he doesn't exist. paying any attention to him is like needles on his skin. he doesn't want to be perceived, he wants to be left to his own devices. being nice to him is bad, because people aren't nice, and being nice to him means you have an ulterior motive. and that means you're a threat.

BIOGRAPHY

TW: abuse, alcoholism, addiction, violence

Kiefer was born and raised in Lost Angeles. His father was a violent drunk and his mother an emotionally unstable addict. His father died when he was young, vicious rumors had it that Kiefer killed him, having a history of aggression and often finding himself entangled in criminal activity even at his young age. Shortly after, his mother was put in prison for assault (supposedly biting off s man's dick) and possession of illegal substances. Kiefer was consequently placed in the care of his uncle who sold him to the government.

After initial difficulties at the military academy, things start looking up for the first time in Kiefer's life. A brief period of rose-tinted belief in Afterglow and its mission is followed by inevitable disillusionment. This paired with teenage rebellion has Kiefer testing the boundaries and nearly gets kicked out. This is around the time when he meets Dio who would become a large influence on Kiefer, filling the role of the father he never had. He learns perspective and that there is more to life than just survival. There's power if he dare take it.

Through the years, Kiefer works his way through the ranks of the army from the bottom up, building reputation and influence. He's a charismatic young man, well-liked by his peers who firmly consider him one of them even now that he's made it to First Lieutenant. How much of this is real or part of Kiefer's scheme, who knows? And while he did earn his current position by proving himself worthy, secretly, he's always had the privilege of having a direct connection to Dio and has been his eyes and ears.

It was only within the last two years that he was made First Lieutenant and he aims to succeed Dio in favor of his biological son. This is everything he has, everything he's worked for so hard and for so long. Suddenly, he has things to lose and with that realisation fear seeps in. The days of just surviving one day to the next with nothing to his name are long gone. Could he lose everything and still know persevere or have those muscles long since atrophied?

EXISTING CONNECTIONS:

Dio: Father figure, mentor, role model and perhaps the only person he truly trusts and is loyal to.

Vera ward never lacked family: she had warrant officers that taught her to read, instructors that taught her to shoot, fellow cadets who shared her dormitory. The East Atlantic Army had clothed her, educated her, and given her purpose. It had never once occurred to her to question where she belonged.

Her earliest memories are of lying in the warm grass between drills, laughing with the other cadets for how out of breath they had become. They are of heavy army rations, strengthening her after long runs. They are of bronzed skin in the sun, glowing with strength and exertion, and of knowing exactly how everything fit together. The world made sense.

She learned discipline from the academy; a skill that she will always carry with her. She learned companionship from a fellow cadet: Isaac. They grew up together and had a natural affinity for one another. They understood each other’s limits, could push each other to the brink and figure out how to excel, as a team and as individuals.

Isaac might have been born for the role of soldier, but Vera had to approach it with the same diligence she did everything else. She loved the training and worked hard at it, but her natural curiosity also led her to love learning more broadly. She has always kept notebooks, and observes things keenly. Of particular interest, are maps: she loves old maps, seeing how humanity’s understanding of the world changed, and she makes her own maps too. Usually of the world as it is, but sometimes of the worlds she wishes she could inhabit instead.

Shortly before graduation, a crack appeared in the story she had been told her entire life. Or perhaps more accurately, a crack was deliberately revealed. Vera was sent into the archives to do some research, and it was the strangest thing: in among the files she was meant to be looking at, were some unrelated personnel files. And it was then that she learned the truth: that her connection to Isaac ran deeper than friendship, and that her parents were alive. This was not the truth of the world as Vera had learned it, and this new truth was a cataclysm she could never have prepared for.