Name: Raiden Pryce.

Nickname: Can you please not?

Gender/Pronoun: Cis guy, he/him

Age: 22

Birthday: March 5th, 2004.

Sign: Pisces

Gemstone: Bloodstone and aquamarine

Blood Type: He has no idea (it’s O–, though)

Fav. Food: He’ll try pretty much anything once (but special shout out to these savory breakfast crepes with cheese and sunny-side up eggs he gets from this little hole-in-the-wall place near his apartment)

Hated Food: He’s not really a fan of “blue raspberry” anything

Occupation: Mechanic at an auto shop that specializes in classic cars


Hobbies:
Drawing: A lifelong hobby and yet, something Raiden will tell you he’s no good at. According to him, he’s really very bad with his colored pencils and sketchbook or his trusty secondhand tablet, and he only keeps at it because………he doesn’t know, it sparks joy or whatever? Most of his lunch breaks at the shop involve him breaking out his sketchbook, and he regularly seeks out tutorials, new techniques, and constructive criticism. He still genuinely believes that his drawings are garbage, but that’s not an accurate reflection of the work he puts into learning more and honing his skills.

Reddit: Raiden knows the site’s cesspit reputation, but he likes to think he uses it (at least somewhat) responsibly. He’s used the same account since he was 13, ridiculous username and all. He’s active in several different subs relevant to his many interests, from sillier things like r/AmITheAsshole to serious things like subs that offer support to people in crisis or subs for sharing art for constructive criticism. While his posts are often littered with profanity, that’s just how he talks; he always posts earnestly and in good faith. Why be an a*****e on local Destiny City subs? They’re here for neighbors to help each other or share important information, duh. Just, like, don’t be a d**k?

The Local Punk & Goth Scenes: Live music is awesome, but tickets for big name concerts are expensive. Sure, it’d be cool to go see Katseye, Twice, or the BTS global reunion tour. But Raiden doesn’t really have the spare cash for those tickets and struggles to save up enough. Good thing for him he also enjoys more stripped down, unpolished music, because cover to get in at smaller, local punk shows is usually pretty cheap. He doesn’t even need to know the band to enjoy himself. Being out in a crowd and appreciating music together is what he’s after.

Assorted Handicrafts: Mostly, this means textile crafts, most often sewing and patchwork. Raiden learned his way around those so he could fix things instead of buying new clothes. That said, he is also someone who takes pride in working hard to make something with his own hands, even if the final product is ugly. This leads him to dabble in other crafty things, from knitting and crochet (he’s pretty good at both), to collage and décollage (he’s okay, he’s learning), to cross-stitch (it’s a good thing this one is cost-prohibitive or Raiden might need to admit that he’s bad at it).

Local Theatre: Not participating in it, obviously (to Raiden and no one else). Sure, the part of him that was a theatre kid in high school wants to participate, whether that means performing or working backstage. While he is drawn to being onstage, either would genuinely be good with him. But Raiden holds himself back with a lot of rationalizations like “I don’t have time for it” and “I wouldn’t be good enough.” It’s fine, though. Going and watching local productions and locally produced variety shows is as good as being in them.


Virtues:
Honest: Admittedly, part of why Raiden usually doesn’t lie is that he’s very bad at it, but he doesn’t think that should count against him. When something is on his mind, you will know exactly what he feels about it, and so will everyone else. In the vast majority of situations, Raiden would rather deal with the short-term discomfort of someone else not appreciating his uncensored assessment of things than the long-term problems that can come out of pretending he isn’t bothered. Maybe he needs to work on expressing himself more constructively, but still, you can’t generally accuse him of lying.

Creative: Okay, Raiden hears you about these limitations that allegedly exist, but he also doesn’t like what you’re saying. What if he came up with a different approach instead? Maybe his ideas will end up being unrealistic or not feasible for one reason or another (e.g., lack of access to necessary resources or things being cost-prohibitive). But he’s the sort of person who takes prescriptions about how to do things as a personal challenge. So help him, Raiden will think his way out of this box and come up with some great idea for resolving the problem of the day, just you watch him.

Flexible: Growing up, Raiden had a distinct lack of reliable structure, and this has taught him how to work with quickly changing circumstances. Reality, in his experience, laughs in the face of meticulous plans and agendas. Instead, he tries to keep himself open and go with the flow, meeting situations on their own terms. That way, when things take an unexpected turn, he might get caught off-guard but it will unsettle him less than it might have done otherwise.

Gregarious: Raiden has mixed opinions on whether or not he actually likes people that much. Ultimately, though, he’s someone who hates being on his own. Loneliness grates on him so much that he doesn’t mind taking the plunge to break the ice. Hey, hi, how are you, Raiden has just met you and he’s going to talk to you as easily as he would talk to someone he’s known since childhood. While he can sometimes come on too strong, he does his best to reach out to others and make social situations easier for everyone.


Flaws:
Crude: In some ways, Raiden is more complicated than he lets on. In several other ways, though, he is a very simple, ill-mannered creature. He’s rough around the edges and aggressively doesn’t make an effort to pretend otherwise. Sure, he can try, but when he does, he inevitably slips up, saying something tactless or tasteless, or falling back on profanity in situations where it’s extremely inappropriate. Better, Raiden thinks, to get ahead of things and deny himself the chance to fail. People might not appreciate his language or his attitude, but at least he’s not lying to them about who he is or how he feels.

Credulous: Nominally, Raiden knows better than to take people and situations at face-value. However, he often does exactly that, failing to interrogate basic inconsistencies in someone’s story, overlooking obviously sus behaviors, and refusing to seek answers for questions he has every reason to ask. He wants to take people at their word and believe that they aren’t hiding things, so he does, in spite of the potential consequences. This opens Raiden up to being taken advantage of or made the fool. Worse, it can lead to him taking actions and making choices that he wouldn’t have done if he’d simply gotten the information that was right there.

Impulsive: Thinking before he acts makes Raiden feel itchy and uncomfortable. Considering the potential fallout from his actions frustrates him, especially because a lot of the things he wants to do could lead to negative consequences. Rather than pausing when he gets swept up in his emotions or momentary desires, Raiden just does whatever it occurs to him to do. He’s gotten burned enough to know better, but still rarely makes enough of an effort to rein in his impulses. On top of any specific consequences, this makes him unreliable, as he deviates from plans to follow his whimsy.

Self-Loathing: Underneath it all, Raiden feels like he’s garbage who doesn’t really matter to anyone, only as good as what he can do for others (if that much). He puts himself in situations where he gets hurt with reckless disregard, feeling his pain isn’t important. He understands that his actions hurt other people, but rather than apologize, he tells himself that they’re better off without him. Worse, without outside intervention making him listen, he doesn’t give people the chance to disagree about how much he sucks. Why would they? He’s right, isn’t he?


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Eyes: #F8C12E. Approximately the same bright, yellow-orange shade as the yolk of a sunny-side up egg. Big and lively.

Hair: #D5222B. Strong red. Thick, slightly wavy, and worn in a long messy ponytail (or tucked up in a bun when he’s on the job).

Face: Longish and pointy. Has a somewhat faded but still nasty scar, thanks to his twin sister: a slightly curved line that cuts from his right temple then down his cheek and under, but very close to, his eye.

Skin Tone: Extremely freckled, pale with strong pink tones. He also sunburns easily (and does so often, thanks to him writing sunscreen off as a waste of time and money).

Body Type: 5’7”. Lean and wiry, in a way that, despite his best efforts, looks pretty underfed (largely because it is). His arms and legs are pretty long, relative to his overall size; this doesn’t amount to much, since he’s only about average height (and significantly shorter than he wishes he were), but proportionately, he does still have a lot of arm and a lot of leg.

Clothes: Raiden’s personal style is very much “Whatever was available and didn’t smell too heinous.” In practice, this means a lot of jeans and t-shirts, some of which have been patched up in several places less out of any aesthetic sensibilities and more because new clothes would’ve cost too much right now. One of his favorite statement pieces is a black trench-coat he’s been wearing since high school. He likes to think it makes him look like Neo from The Matrix (it does not make him look like Neo from The Matrix).