Post by Eric Liu on Apr 3, 2016 16:37:48 GMT -5
The Basics
Name: Eric Liu
Nicknames: …Eric…
Age: 37
Orientation: Homosexual
Desired Rank/Job: Urban planner with the city council
Powers: Non-powered
Play By: Godfrey Gao
The Details
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Any Piercings? Pierced ears, one in each
Any Tattoos? None
Any Scars? A small one on the inside of his left forearm, a result of foolishness with a pair of children’s scissors.
General Appearance: Tall at 6'0", well-proportioned and just on the right side of handsome, Eric isn't too hard on the eyes. When he's had enough sleep. It's not uncommon to see him going around with bags under his eyes, unshaven with a few days' patchy growth and clutching a cup of coffee like it's got the answers to life, the universe and everything.
He likes to say that he dresses professionally--sweaters, slacks, button-downs and the like--for his job. In reality, his 'fashion sense' comes from a near-lifetime of being dressed by his mother and later on, by his now-estranged wife. At home he slums it in a tank top and sweat pants.
Personality: Eric is the one people say could have gone into modeling, but instead chose a ‘sensible’ career--urban planning. It's a career that doesn't have as much glitz and glamour, granted, but it lets him be himself: Slightly nerdy, kind of fussy and a definite worrier. After becoming a father, his worrying instincts have blossomed into full-fledged worry-wart behavior.
Generally he's easy to get along with and has a generous sense of humor, but sometimes he can be that one irritating guy in the group who just has to know every detail about an outing. Planning is his forte and his job, after all. Although he knows that his behavior can get on others' nerves, he also can't help it. He doesn't like leaving anything up to chance. There's already too much variability in life.
Spontaneity isn't his favorite thing in the world, to no one's surprise. He also hates surprises. When he gets angry or upset he tends to be very withdrawn, and it can take a crowbar to pry anything out of him--like why the hell he's angry in the first place.
Your Vices
Likes:
-His baby girl
-His ex-wife (although her stance on him is... not as pleasant)
-Planning out everything. Every. Thing.
-Coffee
-Mindless action flicks (what?)
-Dad rock
-Hiking along man-made trails (None of your actual wilderness treks, thanks.)
Dislikes:
-Dogs (they scare his daughter)
-Spontaneity in any way, shape or form
-The way kids always have their head down, looking at their phones
-Doctors
-His boss (sshhh)
Strengths:
-Planning, of course
-Dependable dad-like qualities
-Mature (but not always wise)
-Pretty fun if you let him know about the activity ahead of time
-Good sense of humor
Weaknesses:
-Letting things go when he needs to and giving people room to breath
-A slightly shorter temper than one would expect
-Can be moody at times
Fears:
-His little girl growing up
-Losing the custody battle over her
-The current dating scene
-That he's too old to find love (don't judge!)
-A silly, irrational fear of flying insects
Secret: Not really? He likes to pretend that he has it all together but most of the time he's a mess inside, because he's afraid of losing his daughter. And he's desperately lonely now that most of his family have begun to pull away from him.
Family Ties
Father: Kaiser Liu, 62, retired
Mother: Xu Jinhai, 60, retired
Siblings: None
Any Other Important People:
Anna Liu, 35, ex-wife. She's an investment banker.
Florence 'Flora' Liu, 8, a precocious little girl who loves anything to do with flowers, butterflies and the colors purple and yellow. Currently she wants a puppy; Eric may or may not be losing the battle against her constant pleading.
History
Eric's past is fairly normal, in fact, and he had no issues with his parents aside from the fact that they wanted him to go into medicine and he really, really didn't want that. Despite their hearty disapproval, he majored in art history in college and graduated, but had a difficult time finding a job afterwards. For a few years, he lived a shabby little apartment with a college buddy, working two part-time jobs.
It wasn't until he met his (now) ex-wife, ironically at a career fair, that he really shaped up. She was the one who encouraged him to pursue a career in urban planning, seeing as how he would obsessively plan out their days down to the exact minute. (Something that drove her up a wall, which she told him often and on no uncertain terms.) Despite Eric's little 'quirks' they were fairly happy and had a daughter, Flora.
Things seemed idyllic and their lives were perfect but Eric was miserable. It wasn't the job, it was definitely not the family, it was just... himself. His true self, the person that he was afraid to be because he didn't think that anybody would understand.
Years of guilt, repression and finally desperation came to a head and at last, Eric come out to his wife and family. The outcome was as terrible as he feared. His parents weren't exactly accepting of his new 'lifestyle choice.' (As if he had a choice to be born gay.) His wife didn't understand, either, and after many fights and misunderstandings and frustrating conversations leading nowhere, they decided to part, but not on any amicable terms.
Currently he is in a bitter custody battle with her for Flora.
Roleplay Example
Humming softly under his breath, Koji arranged the soft purple blanket so that it wrapped more snugly around Ai's tiny, fragile body. She fussed slightly as one of her tiny hands shifted towards him, as if to reach out for his. Koji pressed smiling lips to her forehead and after a few seconds, she stilled.
"Ai-chan~ Go back to sleep~" He began rocking her gently in an attempt to lure her off to dreamland, so that eventually he could also get back to bed. Awakened in the middle of the night by her cries, Koji had to roll out of bed in a hurry. He was fairly certain that he caught Hugo a pretty good kick in the leg in the process. There might be bruising in the morning, he didn't know.
All Koji knew was that he had to get to the baby.
The crib was right next to the bed but to a parent, there was no worse sound than their child crying. It always made him come running. Every time he heard her, Koji's heart lurched in his chest. He seemed to be extra-finely tuned to her, too, which meant that each tiny sound of discomfort went straight to his ears--and to his heart. He was known to let dinner burn, he hung up on people without warning and sometimes in the middle of a conversation he ran out suddenly, all because he sensed that the baby needed him. Sometimes she didn't but what if?
Lately, with Ai's failing condition, Koji needed to be more vigilant than ever. He was almost never away from her crib, or else he was carrying her around while he did various chores around the place. He rarely left the apartment, afraid that something could happen to her while he was gone.
Since they were a part of the Komorebi, things like hospitals and doctors and 'man-made' medicines were off-limits to them. Koji had tried just about every traditional type of herb and medicine known to man but they either only worked for a brief while or not at all. Meanwhile, Ai's health continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Hugo was all for taking her to the hospital anyway but Koji refused to let him do it. It was simply against their way of life and it went against everything that Koji believed in.
But now, Ai was a sickly, pale, tiny thing with barely enough energy to eat. Koji was at his wit's end. He was constantly tense, usually snappish; a few random words could set him off. He knew that he wasn't the fun, happy-go-lucky, laid-back man he used to be but happiness was a little hard to come by lately. And unfortunately, Hugo bore the brunt of those changes.
Koji turned to look over his shoulder at Hugo and his expression softened. Poor man. He wasn't doing much better either. Their relationship was definitely suffering from all of this and lately it felt as if they argued more than they held one another but Koji knew that neither of them regretted bringing Ai into their lives. She brought them so much joy. She was a little miracle even if her time was meant to be short on this Earth.
"Ai-chan~ Are you asleep?" He kept rocking her crib until he was sure that she had fallen asleep, and then silently, Koji crept back into bed. Despite the mounting tensions between them, he slid up against Hugo and wrapped an arm around his waist anyway, deriving a small amount of comfort from being close to his lover. "Love you," he whispered against Hugo's shoulder, and although he closed his eyes, he laid awake for several more hours just to listen for sounds from Ai.
What About You?
Name: Pika
Age: Almost 30. *sob*
Experience: 15 years. *louder sob*
How Did You Find Us? Followed a link-back ad.
Ready To Play? Iunno... *shrugs and mumbles* Maybe.
