Edward Darrow
Name: Edward DarrowNickname: Ed
Age: 24
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Sexuality: Gay
Play-By: Francisco Lachowski
Occupation: Barista
Superhuman Ability: Reanimation
Simply put, Ed restores life to that which once possessed it. A semblance of it, at least. Anything deceased that once walked (or swam, flew or slithered) the earth will shake free of the clutches of death to obey his command.
However, animating the dead is easy, alarmingly easy in fact. Controlling them is a rather different matter. Any sort of emotional distress can cause Ed to either unconsciously animate any nearby cadaver, or lose control over anything he'd previously brought back.
The dead are strong, but no stronger than they were in life. Unfortunately, they don't possess the instinct for self-preservation that stops living creatures from exerting themselves to the point of harm. One of Ed's corpses could easily break down a door, but what would remain of them after might be little more than a twitching pile of blood and mangled flesh.
What the Town knows:
Given the rather disturbing nature of Ed's gift, it's understandable he has chosen not to reveal it to the town at large. However, following an altercation in the early hours when he was foolishly foraging for supplies, Ed was forced to use his ability to raise a recently dead cat in his defense. The dim light prevented his attackers from seeing him properly, and with the relative "freshness" of the corpse, a rumor has begun circulating that on of the chosen has the ability to bring the dead back to life. What the rumors don't account for is that this is not some biblical resurrection, but more a Night of the Living Dead-esque perversion of life.
Physical Description:
By turns, Ed can look meek and boyish, and with the barest tilt of his jaw shift to a sharp saturnine hardness only emphasized by the narrow, almond-shape of his eyes. The irises are a molten whiskey-amber, inscrutable save for the perception evident in the almost feline predatory patience with which they observe. The soft, ash brown of his hair is naturally very wavy, and as such he keeps it closely trimmed on the sides and just kind of leaves the top to do what it will. His mouth, though full, has the resting position of a rather hard set line that lends a certain coldness to his countenance.
Given his near-obsession with what is currently called vintage clothing, Ed is rarely seen in anything other than pale acid-wash jeans and some sweater than often bears a logo for a school or product he has utterly no connection to. Even despite the bulky nature of some of this attire, his lean musculature and lightly tanned skin is still fairly distinguishable to the interested eye. Having attended a pretty decent school because of a quirk of catchment area, Ed's accent is noticeable, but not gratingly so; the muted nature of it can confuse some people in the States into thinking he's from England.
Distinguishing Features:
-Noticeably non-American accent
-Rather esoteric fashion sense
-Triforce tattoo on the small of his back
Personality Description:
To strangers, Ed shows little more than a polite and reserved individual, given to very rare bouts of caustic sarcasm when needled by a particularly rude customer, but more patient than most folks would be. To those that know him better, though this number is but a handful in Baybridge, they know that the mordant humor is his natural state of being, and the pleasant facade merely his method of coping with the unwashed masses. Ed's tolerance for pretension and arrogance is nonexistent, and individuals will never see beyond the surface level interaction he allows them.
Deeply damaged by the numerous betrayals and cruelties he has suffered at the hands of others, the best that can be said of Ed is that he is functional. Usually he can suppress these traumas, and tries not to allow himself space to think or reflect by occupying his time with work or other distractions. The move to the states helped somewhat, an utterly different pace of life and countless mundanities to worry about. But this is a dam with fractures, and without intervention it is unlikely to hold for long.
Characters History:
Prior to moving to Baybridge, Ed's life was not a happy one. Frankly, it was not even mediocre, and few would be willing to take the place of the per-emigration version of him. His birth parents were addicts both, though shortly before Ed's conception his mother Celia sought an escape from both her addiction and controlling husband. She made her way to the states to stay with her sister for a time, and the few months of respite she had was probably the only period of tranquility in her life. Upon seeing a nondescript flyer in an alleyway offering substantial remuneration for those willing to undergo an "experimental procedure" however, she found the sudden windfall was enough to lure her back into her old ways, and soon found herself back in Edinburgh with an unexpected passenger in tow.
Being the unwelcome child of an abusive relationship between two individuals with a drug problem, it was not surprising Ed's childhood was anything but idyllic, but fortunately for him this was noticed by a teacher at school, and he exchanged active hostility for the stark indifference of a foster family that seemingly had no actual interest in raising a child. True, they were not unkind, but neither did they spend any time interacting with him or encouraging his interests. Their own relationship was equally strained, and most mealtimes were an exercise in painful silence and transparently disinterested smalltalk.
And so Ed sought affection and acceptance elsewhere. A teenager by this time, after school he would loiter around a grimy square in the city with other youths, most of whom had similar or equally unpleasant circumstances in their lives. Mostly they indulged in petty vices, drinking cheap vodka out of water bottles and stumbling off for awkward fumblings in dingy, piss-riddled alleyways. It didn't take long for Ed to realize his sexuality at this point, given that once he actually managed to get his hands on one of the girl's breasts he found it entirely unstimulating.
Around the time he was close to finishing school, Ed met someone who was unlike any of the others in his life. Most people he tolerated or disliked, but he actually enjoyed and sought out Jaime's company. Brilliant, and abashedly beautiful, Ed truly felt that he might find something worthwhile in life within Jaime. They dated for almost two years, both attending universities in Edinburgh to stay together, and spent practically every waking hour together. This was not precisely true, however, as Jaime did manage to find time to cheat on Ed with his old girlfriend for their entire relationship.
Emotionally wrecked, Ed blindly sought escape from the city that had only been a source of pain to him, and booked passage to the states where his biological Aunt stayed, one of the few family members he had found to be not entirely a waste of space. Relying on the skills he had picked up from his part-time job as a barista, he tried to settle into a simple routine that would allow him to find solace.
Goals:
-Not losing his mind
-Trying to find some direction in life
-Building some healthy connections
Likes:
-80's clothing and movies
-Video games, especially retro ones
-Books, particularly the choose your own adventures variety
Dislikes:
-Arrogance and pretension
-Liars, and those that take advantage of others
-Being trapped, not necessarily in a physical sense
