Post by James Clark on Aug 23, 2023 20:00:57 GMT -5
WELCOME TO LOS EUROSIA,
AVERY JAMES CLARK
"Time is an illusion that helps things make sense / So we're always living in the present tense / It seems unforgiving when a good thing ends / But you and I will always be back then"
BASICS
NAME: Avery James
AGE: 37 (not 11, like he should be)
BIRTHDATE: September 10, 2012
GENDER: Male
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Married (?)
OCCUPATION: parole officer; previously a social worker; LCSW
NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown
MEMBER GROUP: Human; Sector-affiliated
POWERS: n/a
THE LOOKS
HEIGHT: 5' 7"
WEIGHT: 145 lbs
HAIR COLOR: Dark Brown
EYE COLOR: Gray/Blue
FACE CLAIM: Joe Flanigan
OVERALL APPEARANCE: Often dressed in dark khakis or jeans, with a solid-colored t-shirt or button up, James' fashion sense is simple and mostly forgettable. His tussled hair never wants to behave, randomly sticking out in whatever direction it wants despite his efforts to tame it. At first appearance, he comes off quiet and reserved (and possibly chronically confused), but still has an air of friendliness that makes him approachable. He says a lot with his facial expressions and body language, sometimes preferring that over actual words. Though he's on the shorter side, James is extremely fit and muscular. He's not one for tattoos or jewelry, but he wears a wedding ring on his left hand and always has a simple chain necklace tucked under his shirt with a small circular pendant. As a parole officer, he also often carries a pistol in a holster around his waist, even when he's off duty.
INSIDE
LIKES:
history - Studying history is the only way to understand the present (just not his own).
shooting - Can be found practicing at the range every Tues night.
Lost tv show - Don't spoil the ending, hasn't seen the finale yet.
running - 3.1 miles every morning.
dad jokes - he's got a million.
DISLIKES:
2023 - Wants to get back to his wife and children in the past.
city life - Stupid downtown apartment drives him crazy.
binge streaming - Whatever happened to shows just once a week?
the existence of the gifted - Would make things so much simpler if there was just a cure to stop the madness.
STRENGTHS:
quick learner - Great at picking up new skills (so long as it's not technology based).
good liar - Comes in handy now and again.
industrious - Can take care of himself, self-made.
empathetic - Years of being a social worker will do that to ya.
WEAKNESSES:
closed off - Gotten so good at hiding his emotions that he struggles to share any of his real feelings.
literal - Often misses sarcasm and jokes.
distrustful - No sense getting too close to people or focusing on the future; might not be there tomorrow.
stubborn - Knows how to hold on to a grudge.
alcohol - A rather new distraction that sometimes numbs the emotions.
OVERALL PERSONALITY:
James isn't one to initiate conversations with others (unless he's working), but he's a great listener (even when people don't realize it). He mostly keeps what he is thinking to himself and when he does speak, it's intentional and to the point. He often brushes off uncomfortable situations with a smile or joke. When it comes to technology and current pop culture, he's usually totally lost, having skipped over the last 15 years. In general, he comes across as easy-going and optimistic in most situations, but deep down he hides his pessimistic outlook on life and the aching pain that he still feels over the recent loss of his family.
BACKGROUND
HOMETOWN: Irvine, California
FAMILY:
from present timeline
Mother - Rachel Graushuper, living
Father - David Graushuper, living
Sister - Katie Graushuper, age 29
from past timeline
Adoptive Mother, Sharon Winslow, now deceased (was 71)
Adoptive Father, George Winslow, now aged 89, dementia (was 74)
Wife - Tabitha Simmons, now aged 51 (was 36) [open!]
Daughter - Samantha, now aged 25 (was 10) [open!]
Son - Peter, now aged 21 (was 6) [open!]
PETS: retired police dog named Gum Shoe, brown Labrador, trained to detect narcotics and weapons
HISTORY:
James is a man displaced in time, a puzzle piece that never seems to fit within the jumbled jigsaw of his life. From the very beginning, he was born late--eighteen years after his sister. He doesn't have many memories of her, but he does remember his loving parents--Rachel and David--who gave him massive amounts of attention, their sweet baby Avery. It wasn't until he was much older that he realized his birth parents were probably a little too over-protective, a little too ever-present, a little too overly-concerned.
Looking back now, it's obvious they wanted to keep him from turning out like his sister. He never understood what happened, never learned why she suddenly disappeared from their lives. Maybe he was just too little, maybe his parents were too afraid to talk about it out loud, but they barely ever said her name. All he had left of Katie were the pictures on the walls, which eventually moved to the tabletops, which eventually moved to hidden inside drawers. Avery always figured she ran away, that she didn't want anything to do with him or their parents. He was just starting preschool and she was gone. Super meanie, jelly beanie. What kinda sister does that?
Halfway through his first grade year, time again decided to play with him. Was it the substitute teacher that day? Or one of the kids from another grade? Just some random fluke? The question of why has haunted him ever since, but the issue of what forever changed the trajectory of his simple, well-planned life. One second he was doing the monkey bars at recess, the next second he was falling to the ground in the middle of a forest, breaking his arm. He wasn't found until six days later, confused and starving. Nobody ever heard of his school (it wasn't built yet) and nobody understood why he wanted a cell to call his parents (they weren't invented yet) and nobody believed him that his last name was Graushuper (because Avery loved to pronounce it Grasshopper on purpose).
He was six years old and stuck in 1975.
Placed in foster care, Avery bounced around between a few families until eventually landing with the Winslows. With them, he decided to make a new start and asked to be called by his middle name: James. He got along great with the older Winslow couple and was eventually adopted by them. Though not a particularly hard worker, James always learned quickly and easily; he graduated college with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and completed his masters in social work a few years later, becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who took a job at a nearby group home.
At the age of 24, he married his high school sweetheart Tabitha Simmons and they started a life together in the good ole 1990's. Over the next few years, they had two children, a daughter and a son. Like all families, they had their ups and downs and, like all marriages, Tabby and James had their fights, but for the most part, life was good. Despite his general happiness, James still had questions about his early life. He never doubted himself, never questioned his sanity; he knew he was from the future originally but couldn't entirely explain what happened. In his spare time--some might call it a hidden hobby--he'd research odd occurrences and happenings, slowly opening himself up to the world of the gifted.
Then came Imani Emerald Dubois, probably the one person James truly and really hates, deep down to his very core. His sister Katie may be a super meanie, jelly beanie, but Imani Dubois is a terrible, terrible, terrible person--like a pizza burn on the roof of the world's mouth. Yes, she saved a gazillion people from death and destruction. Yes, she stopped something truly awful from happening. Yes, she gave James a new chance at life when she probably didn't have to. But none of that changes the fact that she is responsible for ripping James away from everything he loved--his wife, his 10 year old daughter, his 6 year old son, the second daughter he was supposed to have...
In 2008, when James was 37, Imani traveled back in time to retrieve James and bring him back to the present. She really didn't have many options. James and his wife were about to have their third child, a little girl named Hannah with an incredibly unstable and dangerous power. In 2015, the young child would cause a massive hurricane, basically bringing about the destruction of San Diego. Not long after, this was followed by additional weather disasters in neighboring cities. When The Sector began researching the gifted person's history, they learned James was never supposed to be in the past to begin with. Unable to identify him by his original name, they couldn't pin down when he was first sent to the past. So it was either kill the child or bring James back before the child could be born.
James sometimes wonders if it would have been better to kill him instead of bringing him back to the year 2023.
He's been back in the present for about six months, once again not entirely sure where he fits. Technology has changed dramatically in the 15 years he missed and he struggles to keep up with the lingo of streaming, tweeting, and texting. The Sector set him up with a new identity--James Clark--and renewed his credentials. He's currently working as a parole officer and will help out The Sector from time-to-time with gifted individuals due to his background in social work. He is cordial and stiff around Imani now, but he still can't look her in the eyes. The Sector has forbidden him from making contact with his wife and children, but he can't help but stalk them from afar. He sometimes breaks the rules to visit his adoptive father with dementia and he's been known to steal mementos from his wife's house when she's not home.
James is just a man out of time, trying to live in the present, hoping to find some way back to the past, and completely distrustful of the future.
TIME TRAVEL HISTORY/MAJOR EVENTS:
2012 - born 18 years after his sister Katie Graushuper, goes by the name Avery
2018 - at age 6, sent back in time to 1975
1979 - at age 9, fostered by Winslow family, starts going by the name James
1984 - at age 14, adopted by Winslow family
1993 - at age 23, graduates with degrees in criminal science and social work, LCSW
1994 - at age 24, marries Tabitha Simmons
1998 - at age 28, daughter Samantha is born
2002 - at age 31, son Peter is born
2008 - at age 37, Imani Dubois brings him back to present (daughter is 10, son is 6)
timeline erased by Imani Dubois:
x 2009 - at age 38, daughter Hannah is born
x 2015 - at age 44, Hannah causes massive hurricane, destroying San Diego
2023 - at age 37, returns to present day, given new name James Clark by the Sector
2023 - at age 37, becomes parole officer, helps out Sector on case-by-case basis
THE PLAYER
NAME: DontBlink
AGE: 30s
TIMEZONE: CST