Ryan Barnes
Name: Ryan BarnesNickname: Mclovin (basketball team nickname); Elvis (to his Special Forces friends only)
Age: 26
Birthplace: Motherfucking Baybridge, Go Crabs!
Sexuality: Straight Cisgendered Male
Play-By: Fassbender
Occupation: Mechanic, Part-Time Automotive Mechanics Teacher, Basketball Coach
Superhuman Ability: None.
What the Town Knows: Ryan has no powers, unless you count the ability to make young girls cry by badgering them into a deeply painful confession. If this is a recognized ability then he has never been shy about letting the world know what he can do. In fact, he's so cocky about this particular skill that he uses it as often as possible.
Physical Description
Ryan has been through a lot. He's been roasted under a foreign sun, gone without food and water for lengths of time that no one should be asked to endure, and undergone struggles that required more strength and endurance than a team of horses could be expected to have. He's lean, weathered, and has a combination of wiry toughness and lean strength that make for someone who can clearly produce compact, explosive bursts of energy, while also being suited to remaining still and silent for incredible amounts of time.
Distinguishing Features
Soulful eyes. I mean, really, really soulful. Looking into them hints at the tragedies and struggles, both professional and personal, that have left their scars deep inside him.
Personality Description
Ryan used to be the wonder boy, the rising star of the Baybridge High basketball team. He took them state three years in a row. And though he got his girlfriend pregnant when he was 16, he stood by her through the whole thing, which earned a lot of respect from people in town. But when he went into the Army at 18, things started to change. When he left the army and returned to town last year, he had changed.
A lot.
Ryan seems, on the surface, stoic and sullen at best; and cold and antisocial at worst. The truth is, Ryan carries with him some experiences that he's still not ready to talk about. Experiences he relives in the recurring nightmares he experiences. He's begun to wonder if the best thing he can do for his estranged young daughter is to leave her to continue living a life without him.
But sometimes, just sometimes, when Ryan is hanging out with the old crew, the old Mclovin comes out, and reminds everyone that this man, changed and weathered as much as he is, is still the old Ryan deep inside.
Characters History
Grew up in a trailer park, but he was always destined for more than that. Or that's how it seemed to everyone. He was smart, real smart, and even though people underestimated him because his father was just a part-time mechanic (full time drunk), and his mom was just a waitress, he never stopped learning.
He did well in school, and between his good looks, his brains, and his athletic ability, it seemed that the world was going to be his oyster.
And in high school, it seemed like everything was falling into place. Straight A student, basketball star, popular girlfriend (not only popular, but she put out too). He was on the fast track to the american dream. But then he knocked her up.
Ryan was 16. Willa was 15, and pregnant.
They decided to keep the child. And to try to make things work between them. But they were too young.
As smart and able as they were, they were still just kids. They were too young for this sort of thing. She took time off from school which was a big mistake because it set her back more than the year she missed. And then there was the embarrassing thing with the gender of the baby, and the name they had planned to give it.
Instead of an Earl, like they were expecting, they got an Earline. A beautiful baby girl, Full of potential. Like a little ball of perfect possibilities.
But he had to get a job after school, and he worked in the same mechanic shop as his dad, which was another big mistake, and it shouldn't be a surprise what went wrong there. Between school, basketball, work, and Earline, Ryan felt like he was sinking. How could the dream turn into a nightmare so fast?
After he graduated, he decided to join the army. Whether it was the quickest way to get benefits and money and support for Willa and Earline, or whether it was a way to get away from Baybridge and put some distance between his future and his troubles, no one can say for sure. But distance was achieved, and it seemed he wasn't too interested in reversing that course. He seemed happy to be in Afghanistan, half way around the world.
He didn't always keep his promises, not always skyping when he said he would was one of the big ones. But he seemed to be making a good effort, and he seemed interested when it was time to be interested. But things got worse, a lot worse when he completely his Special Forces training about 3 years into his tour, and became a Green Beret. Scheduled Skype calls were missed without explanation. Birthdays were forgotten. It seemed that Ryan was drifting further and further away from Baybridge and his wife and daughter.
And then he died. He was declared dead in a "training accident", and Willa and Earline mourned his loss. But the truth was, every time he missed a skype call or birthday, a little piece of Ryan had died for them. But several months later, he turned up. Apparently he had been alive all the time, but was behind enemy lines. Or something to that effect. He wouldn't say. He refused to talk about it. He wanted to pretend like nothing had happened. That it was all just a mistake.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Willa decided she could do better on her own. That she had to, because Ryan just seemed not to care about the family anymore. That he probably never did.
Ryan and Willa were divorced, and Willa got full custody of Earline.
Ryan didn't even contest it at all.
And then, a few years later ... he showed up back in town. Just a year ago, he came back, looking to see his daughter. At first, it seemed like maybe the nightmare was over. But it wasn't. Not for Ryan. A part of him, a big part, was still back in Afghanistan. It was clear that the guy who came back wasn't the guy who left.
Goals
To be a part of Earline's life. Or to make a clean cut. Whichever is best for Earline.
To try to fix things between himself and Willa. Not necessarily get back with her, but to make things better. Somehow. Its like putting the toothpaste back in the tube though.
To try to make things normal again somehow. To just - be - normal.
To figure out what to do about DynCorp and its overtures toward him. Or whether maybe he should contact the CIA about their offers. If he's only making things worse by being in Baybridge, maybe he could do some good elsewhere.
Likes
Basketball
Army Buddies
Beer
Willa
Being a father
The feeling of being on a mission
Being good at everything
Dislikes
Feeling like he doesn't fit in anymore
Not applying himself to his potential
The nightmares
The face in the mirror
Being rejected by Earline
