#willowsedgeintro

full name: kenako ren

date of birth: january 30th

star sign: aquarius

place of birth: willow's edge south carolina

family: kaneko osamu (father), nakamura miu (mother)

sexual orientation: bisexual

religion: atheist

tattoos: dueling rabbits on either thigh, flames above his left ankle, broken glass around his left elbow, a very meta tattoo with question marks above his right elbow, skull / mechanic piece on his right calf, a fat bird above the crook of his left elbow, ladder above his right ankle, "whatever forever" on his left shin, a double-headed rat on his left bicep, and a broken bone on his left forearm.

style: linen button-ups, vans and converse, vintage beer t-shirts, light-washed dad jeans, carhartt jackets, miscellaneous trucker hats, short-sleeved button-ups or bowling shirts, grey jeans, white basic tees, well-worn nike sneakers, five inch inseam gym shorts, distressed jean jackets, a canvas messenger bag, headphones as a necklace, silver rings, dark brown cargo/utility pants, and doc martens.

[ aesthetics coming later because i am tired ]

ren grew up in winslow as an only child in an upper middle class family. his mother, miu, was a stay at home mom and an artist in her free time— though most of her paid work tended to be painting storefront windows in town. his father, osamu, now works as an office administrator but back in his heyday, he was the manager of willow suite's.

while both of ren's parents are more reserved, he broke tradition and even from a young age was the kid constantly being asked to change desks at school or earn a sideways glance. make no mistake, he's not the loudmouth demanding the spotlight but he's undoubtedly the loudest in the kenako bunch, standing out just enough to stress out his father.

his father expected ren to grow out of his tendencies and mature. but the more ren got told to quiet down or to grow up or 'stay in line', the less he wanted to. at a certain point, it wasn't so much his natural instinct but a choice made of spite.

maybe that was a factor in how things went with june. having grown up around the suites given his father's job, he'd gotten to know the willows well enough. it wasn't really until that one summer— ren was twenty and working at the hotel as a bellhop, having opted not to do the whole college thing (another decision made to spite the status quo). at some point, june and him had just gotten closer. it felt a bit forbidden. boss's daughter. father's boss's daughter. they hadn't taken it public when his father had found out in a moment of wrong place, wrong time. immediately, he didn't approve, calling it inappropriate. worrying about his job, how mr. willow would see him, what he'd think. june and ren hadn't lasted too much longer after that. even though ren refused to listen to his father's demands to end it, staying in a relationship where you're not feeling very welcomed... it made sense. ren never faulted her for that. — [ together for four months, mostly private but became more public knowledge after it ended ]

after not going to college, the initial plan (from dad) was for him to follow in osamu's footsteps and work at the suites, eventually making his way up the ladder. that dream never really took off and officially died after that summer with june. it was then that ren went to trade school to become a mechanic. he'd preferred the idea of a hands on type job and, to be honest, the grim of it seemed appealing. can't be all prim and proper with oil stains. it helped too that ren had always liked cars; hot wheels were his toy of choice as a kid. now he mostly collects speeding tickets.

owns a black 1967 chevy impala that he restored himself. it's his pride and joy.

moved into willoughby complex when he was twenty-two. he had a roommate for two years before moving into his own one bedroom.

loves a capri sun. he's a fan on most flavors but his favorite is obviously pacific cooler and he cannot and will not touch the grape. at a bar, he'll either grab a simple beer or a classic rum and coke.

loves music and doesn't go anywhere without at least some type of ear buds, though he prefers headphones. — [ greta van fleet, mother mother, the black keys, ren, rainbow kitten surprise, noah kahan, creedence clearwater revival, maneskin, k.flay, tamino, etc... ]

big fan of sitting anywhere but a chair: the hood of his car, the roof of willoughby, a tall stack of tires, counters, also the floor.

general connection ideas: best friends, friends, ex-friends, pseudo siblings, ex-roommate of two years, childhood/family friends, coworkers (now or once-upon-a-time), exes [ 1. non-serious childhood "girlfriend", 2. high school girlfriend, 3. june, 4. ex from early twenties, 5. recent ex. ], fwb, one night stand, dating app match, one-sided crush, old crush?, enemy, annoyance, drinking buddy, bad/good influence, extended fam… others that i cannot think of

full name — Iris Hui Mitchell nickname(s) — Her family calls her Mo for a reason she shall never divulge xx age — 26 date of birth — June 20th place of birth — Charleston, SC education level & job — Currently enrolled in a Speech Language Pathology graduate program with only a semester left. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders and worked as a Child Life Specialist in the Charleston school district for 3 years. After returning to Willow's Edge a year and a half ago, she became a waitress at the local greasy spoon to help support herself through grad school. residence — Winslow (with two roommates... wanted connections incoming) family — Her father Ricky Mitchell is a local car salesman, and her mother Lisa Mitchell (nee Yue) is a reading teacher at the elementary school. Iris also has an older sister, Scarlett, who is an Occupational Therapist in a nearby town.

overview. 

Always hovering somewhere between blue-collar and middle-class, The Mitchell family has always prided themselves on self-sufficiency, independence, and a strong sense of community. They're townies through and through.

Ricky Mitchell is known for dressing up for every major holiday (Santa at Christmas, a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day, etc.) and holding court at Smokey's. He's a bit of a Character. Lisa, by contrast, is a bit of an introverted neurotic — she most often ventures out into town to participate behind the scenes of town events. Each of their daughters was brought up with a strong proclivity for Getting Shit Done and lowkey.... loving attention and control.💗

Both Iris and Scarlett attended Willow's Edge public schools through 6th grade before they finished their junior and high school experience at a Catholic school a few towns over, so while her parents continued to be deeply entrenched in Willow's Edge society, Iris and Scarlett fell a tiny bit to the wayside as they got older.

The Mitchell family are devout Catholics in name only. The type of people who primarily attend church on major holidays and when it was any run-of-the-mill Sunday Mass, they attended for social reasons. Keep up with town gossip, trade popovers, and sip on sweet tea down in the church basement. As an adult, Iris only goes for Midnight Mass. Lapsed Catholic vibe.

But it was a boy at church that Iris fell in love with when she was 15. Sitting around in the pews during one of their Confirmation classes, each whispered joke Mason Goodwin told about Monsignor Martinez was met with nervous giggles and flushed cheeks from Iris.

They didn't start dating until they were 17 and he was her first, and still only, boyfriend. The relationship lasted for 8 years. They didn't talk about things like marriage or kids or a very defined future until that future snuck up on them. Mason's degree took him west, and he ultimately decided for the both of them that she wouldn't come with. Devastated, Iris returned to Willow's Edge.

Since her return, and nursing a broken heart, Iris took a job at Sunrise Diner. She was one of the very few people willing to wake up at the crack of dawn for the early breakfast shift, after all. Finishing up her Master's, and trying not to still think about Mason, Iris found a lot of comfort in her friendships -- and that included the one with June.

They weren't super close before Iris left for college, but they'd grown increasingly fond of each other as the months passed. June's friendship was one of the things that helped pull Iris out of her breakup blues. In turn, a kind, sweet-tongued comfort when Iris was sad and then a fun-seeking partner on the weekends when Iris needed a distraction. She was a good friend to Iris.

Which made some things difficult... Iris is bad at secrets. She loves to learn them, of course, but she isn't so good at keeping them. She doesn't run her mouth around town, but it's almost always certain that if one friend tells her something semi-secret then Iris is passing that info on to one other friend. She can't help it. And when the secret is her own, it's somehow worse. Her compulsion tells her to come clean immediately or to whisper it into several friends' ears. But her most recent secret was a little more complicated...

Iris kissed June's boyfriend Caleb. And June died before Iris could tell her.

personality.

Iris is a princess of sometimes saying out-of-pocket shit and staring at slight blemishes on your face until you're like, WHAT skjdfns. And, with her background in speech, she often analyzes your speech in her head too. Sometimes outside of her head too.

She's a bit shameless with the people she's close with, a fan of meeting and getting to know new ones, and... on a heavy dose of anxiety meds! She talks a lot because 1) she likes conversation and 2) it's half-compensation for said aforementioned anxiety.

When your anxiety manifests as a desire to be liked and friends with everyone which then reveals a real sense of self-absorption and, every once in a while, leads to weird drama... love it!

positive: organized, passionate, charismatic, loyal, curious, expressive, social

negative: condescending, impulsive, gossipy (can't keep a secret), scattered, fidgety, approval-seeking, overly sensitive

misc headcanons.

Quick list: ❤️'s weed, cooking, surfing, hiking + camping, sharing facts and feeling a little more well-informed (Wikipedia page memorizer), talking through movies, weekend trips, skinny dipping, hanging out with old people, doing Randy Newman impressions, waking up early, showing the people she loves new things, sharing experiences, watching reality tv a la Sister Wives, etc.

You were that little girl from that rich family right? Affluence has always been a thing, but your parents didn't just let you be a spoiled little girl. Not your mother at least. She put you in sports from the second you could walk, and you hated it all. Hated having your time be ripped away, and it had been this way until you finally hit the ice. Figure skating, the only thing that ever stuck. Your blades on that ice were the only moments you ever felt free.

So you kept up with it, found your footing and eventually you excelled. You soared on that ice, a graceful dancer compared to the greats, and soon enough you were put into every single competition your mother could find. You weren't allowed breaks, no time for parties, friends, or anything of the sort, you could only do the things she allowed, you felt like you were a prisoner in your own home most times.

You rebelled a bit, snuck out, dated, did things that would drive your mother up the wall. Yelling matches, and thrown doors were becoming a constant, as you felt that she never cared to be your mother. Only your manager, as she stepped in front of every interview, every photo op, took every opportunity to be in the spotlight.

A professional in your field, earning a myriad of titles and trophies, you became a sensation, but you've always been humble as you truly never cared for the accolades, you just loved what you did, and it did let you meet a few other olympians who wanted to have a little fun.