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ddsapphire
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ddsapphire
Other Characters Currently In-Game: N/A
Character Name: Cater Diamond
Series: Twisted Wonderland
Age: 18
From When?: Book 7, Lilia's going away party. As Malleus overblots and puts everyone in an eternal sleep, I'd like to headcanon that Cater used his cloning ability, Split Card, to avoid attending the party himself and was instead in his dorm using pills to put himself in his own, much more fatal, slumber. It's very clearly implied in canon that Cater is struggling with a depression that he refuses to admit to even his closest friends, so I'd like to play with the idea that the knowledge of his time at Night Raven College coming to an end (wih planning beginning for their off-campus internships) along with Lilia's (one of his first and closest NRC friends) sudden departure put him at his breaking point. After a long childhood of moving from place to place, living without close interpersonal bonds, he'd finally spent long enough of a time at one school to grow comfortable. Realizing that he's so much more at home there than he had anticipated, having to leave it all behind for an indefinite and completely ambitionless, aimless future is too much for him to handle.
If this is a little too much of a stretch, I'd still like to have him have made the choice to end his own life, but it can be much more simple: an "accident" in flying lessons where he appeared to lose balance and simply let himself fall off his broom to the ground.
Inmate Justification: A fully selfish individual, Cater currently views the things and people around him as means to an end. How can he use people to get by? What do they want to see from him to make the time he spends around them easiest? Although this thought process is fueled by his own desire not to experience the kind of emotional hurt that he's felt in the past, he's become a vicious manipulator in his determination to escape that pain. He doesn't care what bridges he has to burn, so long as he's not around to see the fallout. As soon as it's time for him to move on, he cuts people out of his life without a shred of concern for their own feelings, callously calling anyone who tries to maintain a relationship with him past their necessity someone who "can't take a hint". He has a long history of cutting people out of his life despite promises to keep in touch, and has no intention of stopping this behavior anytime soon. Behind his smiling, friendly mask, the lengths at which he strives to keep people from knowing anything relevant about him is ruthless. Even after three years of bonding with others, most certainly the longest stretch of time he's ever been able to spend with anyone, he fully intends to remove them from his life as soon as he's graduated without ever having let them know his true colors.
Cater needs to find a reason to live. He needs to learn to love himself, and to get past the emotional and mental blockages that tell him he's never going to be good enough. That the eventuality of all things doesn't have to mean being so scared of starting any meaningful relationship with another person. Working with someone who can help him see that he doesn't have to be perfectly agreeable at all times to matter, and that he doesn't have to keep everyone at arm's length, will do wonders to change his outlook on life for the better.
Arrival: Against their will; in the beginning Cater won't feel as if he has any real reason to keep living. This is something that he'll need to be convinced of as he goes through the process.
Abilities/Powers: Split Card - Cater's unique magic (an ability that is purely his own and unable to be studied or emulated by other magic users from his world), Split Card, allows him to fully replicate himself. His clones, while each independent of thought, share his memories and personality completely. They're capable of everything he's capable of, but easily destroyed if attacked. It doesn't appear that there's any specific limit on how many of these duplicates Cater can make at once, but he does state that the more he creates, the more taxing it is on him. The same can be said about prolonged use of Split Card--while he doesn't need intense concentration to keep it active, the longer they exist the more tiring they are to maintain. A single split card Cater could have up for the better part of a day, but each new split card cuts that time down significantly. He also needs to be awake and alert for his split cards to remain active, so one could never continue to exist for a full day's time. If he were to be rendered unconscious, any and all split cards would vanish at once. I'd love for Cater to be able to retain this magic, as it's important to him to have and it isn't offensive in any regard, but understand if it should be nerfed to any degree!
Elemental Magic - In Twisted Wonderland, the elements are divided into that of flora, fire, water, and cosmic. All Night Raven College students have proficiency in these four basic elements, though it's not uncommon to master one more easily than another. While certain students harness cosmic energy in the form of light, Cater is among the vast majority that harnesses cosmic energy in the form of dark. This magic, in all of the applicable elements, is generally displayed in their spontaneous creation versus manipulation of ones already existing. Cater doesn't show any particularly out-of-the-ordinary aptitude for elemental magic over other types of magic and can't perform any particularly exceptional feats. Outside of harmless displays, a spark of fire in his palm or an orb of water, sprouting a seed, this would generally be nerfed.
Applied Magic - This category of magic refers to non-elemental spells, such as manipulating physical objects. Cater is shown enchanting a full spread of tea party dishes and cutlery to fly back into their packages in a specific order, and is also seen "painting" white roses red using only magic. While it's stated by Riddle that applied magics has never been a particularly strong subject for Cater, he also remarks at how quickly Cater pulls off such a hefty stunt despite it. It seems that when he buckles down and studies properly, Cater's able to perform feats of magic with an ease at which others may be unable to. He shows a high aptitude for learning and learning fast--but lacks the general motivation to try. During lessons, he is often seen daydreaming about the next meal break, slacking off on his phone, suggesting that he's considering ditching class, and even saying in so many words: "I can't be bothered to try any harder." In this field of magical study, Cater has the potential to be great--even adept, but due to his own apathy has relegated himself to simply being decent. It's possible that with further tutelage, he could demonstrate some impressive feats, but is unlikely to do more than simple object manipulations, color changes, or outfit quick-changes.
Alchemy & Potions - While far from being an exceptional student in the field, Cater studies alchemy as a required part of the Night Raven College curriculum. As a third year, he even enrolled in Poison Refining as an elective--so he's likely decently knowledgeable in making certain concoctions. As with most other subjects, however, Cater tends to fall short with anything he finds uninteresting. Outside of using magic to speed up the growth of mandrakes, Cater doesn't seem to particularly enjoy this area of study and would likely be best suited to assisting more dedicated students than making anything on his own. Granted, just like in applied magic, if he became particularly fired up about showcasing a specific feat of alchemy, he would likely put his nose to the grindstone and work hard to make it happen. This entire ability, of course, completely depends on the materials that are available to work with. Cater's unlikely to ever go out of his way to perform an alchemical miracle or deadly poison.
Flight - It's stated that Cater has incredible good balance--as such, this is certainly his best field, hands down. The students at Night Raven College can't fly on their own, but rather are able to use magic to control enchanted brooms. While he's nowhere near the more athletic students on campus, he's very skilled with a broom, able to easily manipulate one fully standing where the vast majority of students need to sit and maintain a grip with their hands and legs. Because this comes easy for him, he's able to perform magic while mid-flight, making him a decent player of Spelldrive (a magical sport played both in flight as well as on field). As long as he has an enchanted broom, I'd love for him to be able to fly on it, but without one this would be impossible for him to do. He still has great balance, though!
Animal Linguistics - Another mandatory field of study at Night Raven College, not much is stated about Cater's proficiency in the subject. Students are able to communicate with animals by learning their dialect. Like most other subjects, he's likely not interested enough to try particularly hard. Because Heartslabyul houses specific animals within the dorm grounds (hedgehogs and flamingos in particular), he's likely most skilled at understanding those. In general, he may have a basic grasp on what some animals are saying if he focuses on them, but wouldn't be able to communicate with them directly to an extent where they would listen or understand in return.
Overblot - When an individual from Twisted Wonderland uses magic, it produces a negative substance called "blot", which fades with rest and proper nutrition. Magicians with a particularly high aptitude for magic have the ability to overblot if certain requirements are met: an excessive overuse of magical reserves often paired with an extreme stressor. Overblotting is a phenomenon that maxes out the magician's magical output at a deadly cost, creating a phantom of negative emotions that will sponge off of them until they die. Cater has never overblotted himself and it's not known if he's technically strong enough to overblot...but it's a possibility that must be acknowledged. Something like this would only happen in-game if submitted as a player plot!
Inmate Information: Cater Diamond's greatest skill is his ability to adapt himself into any situation. A chameleon to a fault, he thinks quickly, solves problems, and sheds one skin for another whenever the need arises. By being able to read any room he's put in, by keeping up with the latest trends, and by having a finger on the pulse of social media goings-on, Cater is always prepared to face any hardship that comes his way. Although he often puts on the face of a slacker and an airhead, he's savvy enough that he can pick up new skills quickly. He calculates his actions to an almost scary degree, if you're paying attention to notice. There's a reason that he's considered one of his Housewarden's right hands: if you leave a task up to him, he'll work it out. He's a jack of all trades that can slide into any given group of people like he belongs there, and has learned how to present himself in such a way as to be most appealing to his surrounding peers. Though he claims that there are better people out there to depend on, one could do far, far worse than Cater Diamond.
Time after time, Cater is given the opportunity to open up to others. To show himself for all the complicated less-than-ideals that come with it. Each of these times, he chooses to fortify the walls he keeps around him. What's the point in being honest, in forming a real bond with someone, when it only ultimately leads to heartache. As far as Cater's learned from life: everything ends. The time you have with others is fleeting, and getting too close means setting yourself up for bigger let-downs. It's this mindset that has Cater putting himself in positions that chip further and further into his own misery. Because he doesn't want to be hurt my others, he hurts himself. He lies to himself, he wastes his time doing things that he dislikes, and he panders to people that he can't stand. He calls himself a party boy, he says he's carefree and lives in the moment. Picture perfect snapshots of all the fun he has every day with everyone around him--each one a memory that means nothing to him. Cater fills his life with hollow trends and insignificant bonds that he can cut ties with whenever he wants, pretending that it saves him from slipping into the lonely void he's put his heart in. As that void gets bigger, however, it takes more and more drastic means to ignore it...and that means bigger lies leading to bigger feelings of self-hate. Cater would sooner swallow his pride and make himself sick on overindulgence than he'd admit that he has a problem.
So, who is Cater Diamond? Cater Diamond can be anyone you want him to be. The cutesy, feminine-leaning trendsetter. The uber-cool punk-rock showstopper. The clout-chasing fair-weather friend that only wants you for the views it gets him. The mega-popular classmate who can be friends with everyone. He always has a smile for you, is quick to diffuse tense situations with his people-pleasing energy, and treats everyone with equal consideration and care. How do you like him? Whatever you find least offensive, he'll bend himself to fit that mold. Just don't call him out on his shifting personality traits or the smiles that don't quite reach his eyes. And if he says something unusually sharp-tongued or cryptic? It's just a joke, fam, for real!
Underneath it all, Cater Diamond struggles with a depressive streak that runs so deep he can't always keep it from slipping out. He knows that he's a mess. He knows that he's cripplingly lonely but refuses to let anyone in. He feels that he doesn't measure up to anyone around him, and generally doesn't see the reason to try. He has no ambitions--has built his whole life on the concept that he'll never matter enough, never be enough, never mean enough. Having grown up moving from place to place all over the world, he learned at a young age how badly it hurts to have the things you love taken from you. He grew up surrounded by family that pressured him into being someone he wasn't. It was easier, he decided, less painful, to play the part that others expect from him...but when the cameras are off and no eyes on him, he crumbles. It's exhausting to live a lie. He feels miserable and separate and hopeless. He feels there's nothing he can do to change his circumstances, so he doesn't try. In fact, he actively turns himself away, sinks farther into himself. The things he wants he doesn't let himself have, and no matter how many copies of himself he makes, he never feels any less alone. Some days, he struggles to keep on a happy face. To keep up the lie.
Being accepted into Night Raven College was the start of a new stage of life for the teen who'd spent his childhood moving too frequently to ever make a real friend. Finally, being housed in an all-boys boarding school meant he'd be guaranteed to live the next three school years with the same set of students. Over those years, he made friends that he's grown more attached to than he thought possible even as he strove to keep them from knowing anything of consequence about him. For three years he's developed bonds that he's prepared to break off at a moment's notice while desperate to hold on tightly. He's tried to live his time on campus knowing, as he always has, that it was just another transition. That once the time limit was up they'd all move on and never see one another again, but he couldn't have possibly anticipated just how much that time would matter to him. Through navigating dramas, overblots, and chaotic school festivals, he's unconsciously let himself feel at home.
But the fourth and final year of Night Raven College has its senior students working indepently for off-campus internships. As the end of his third year approached and Cater received with his classmates the paperwork for this upcoming decision, reality came crashing back to him. His peers all seemed to know exactly where they were going to be applying, and Cater had to face the facts: he had no plans. No idea of where to go next...but that it was finally time to wash his hands of everyone and everything he'd come to know during his time there.
Path to Redemption: As Cater is now, he hides his true thoughts and feelings behind a cheery, unserious persona. He'll appear to take everything as it comes, like it's all no big deal, and he's just there to party hard. And anyway, he doesn't want to take it seriously. As overwhelming as it'll actually be for him, he won't start off with any desire to go back home and give life another shot. In order to avoid admitting his real reluctance to live, he'll pretend as if there's nothing deeper than what you see on the surface. He'll lie about why he died in the first place, claiming it's all a silly reckless accident and that he didn't have any actual agency behind it.
Being assigned to a warden will annoy him, but he's used to being in a position underneath others, and he'll easily slide into the role of inmate. He'll tolerate having a keeper--and all the while refuse to admit to any of his issues and blow off the individual entirely. He'll need a lot of patience at first, because as agreeable and friendly as he'll act, any actual attempts at getting to know him will be met with a wall of avoidance. Really, persistence is the key to breaking through to Cater; he's used to being able to easily leave people behind and ghost from their lives. He'd try to do the same with those he meets, here. After all: the whole situation is temporary. Why should he count on getting to really know anyone here when the goal is to leave the Barge behind?
At the same time, it's those very same potential relationships that will motivate him to change, once he's finally encouraged to let them happen. At the very end of the day, all Cater wants in life is to be able to connect with others...if only he would let himself.
History: here
Sample Network Entry:
[Cater's set up his device so he's fully on display, brandishing a red electric guitar with black and white checkerboarding on its face. He's grinning from ear-to-ear as he strums a dramatic set of chords, striking a pose.]
As you can see, I've been #blessed with this sick guitar due to me being such a good little inmate. Anyone ever get time off for good behavior?
[Laughing, he strums out a little tune, winking.]
But anyway, what I really wanna know is if anyone else has any instruments. Playing all on my lonesome is a decent enough way to pass the time but what I'd really like is to be part of a band. Any bassists, drummers, pianists in the house? Miscellaneous instrument operators? Music is, like, totes way more hype when you can jam out with some pals!
[He gives a two fingered salute to sign-off the broadcast.]
Lemme know, fam! TTYL!
Sample RP: Test Drive
User DW:
ddsapphireE-mail/Plurk/Discord/PM to a character journal/alternate method of contact:
Other Characters Currently In-Game: N/A
Character Name: Cater Diamond
Series: Twisted Wonderland
Age: 18
From When?: Book 7, Lilia's going away party. As Malleus overblots and puts everyone in an eternal sleep, I'd like to headcanon that Cater used his cloning ability, Split Card, to avoid attending the party himself and was instead in his dorm using pills to put himself in his own, much more fatal, slumber. It's very clearly implied in canon that Cater is struggling with a depression that he refuses to admit to even his closest friends, so I'd like to play with the idea that the knowledge of his time at Night Raven College coming to an end (wih planning beginning for their off-campus internships) along with Lilia's (one of his first and closest NRC friends) sudden departure put him at his breaking point. After a long childhood of moving from place to place, living without close interpersonal bonds, he'd finally spent long enough of a time at one school to grow comfortable. Realizing that he's so much more at home there than he had anticipated, having to leave it all behind for an indefinite and completely ambitionless, aimless future is too much for him to handle.
If this is a little too much of a stretch, I'd still like to have him have made the choice to end his own life, but it can be much more simple: an "accident" in flying lessons where he appeared to lose balance and simply let himself fall off his broom to the ground.
Inmate Justification: A fully selfish individual, Cater currently views the things and people around him as means to an end. How can he use people to get by? What do they want to see from him to make the time he spends around them easiest? Although this thought process is fueled by his own desire not to experience the kind of emotional hurt that he's felt in the past, he's become a vicious manipulator in his determination to escape that pain. He doesn't care what bridges he has to burn, so long as he's not around to see the fallout. As soon as it's time for him to move on, he cuts people out of his life without a shred of concern for their own feelings, callously calling anyone who tries to maintain a relationship with him past their necessity someone who "can't take a hint". He has a long history of cutting people out of his life despite promises to keep in touch, and has no intention of stopping this behavior anytime soon. Behind his smiling, friendly mask, the lengths at which he strives to keep people from knowing anything relevant about him is ruthless. Even after three years of bonding with others, most certainly the longest stretch of time he's ever been able to spend with anyone, he fully intends to remove them from his life as soon as he's graduated without ever having let them know his true colors.
Cater needs to find a reason to live. He needs to learn to love himself, and to get past the emotional and mental blockages that tell him he's never going to be good enough. That the eventuality of all things doesn't have to mean being so scared of starting any meaningful relationship with another person. Working with someone who can help him see that he doesn't have to be perfectly agreeable at all times to matter, and that he doesn't have to keep everyone at arm's length, will do wonders to change his outlook on life for the better.
Arrival: Against their will; in the beginning Cater won't feel as if he has any real reason to keep living. This is something that he'll need to be convinced of as he goes through the process.
Abilities/Powers: Split Card - Cater's unique magic (an ability that is purely his own and unable to be studied or emulated by other magic users from his world), Split Card, allows him to fully replicate himself. His clones, while each independent of thought, share his memories and personality completely. They're capable of everything he's capable of, but easily destroyed if attacked. It doesn't appear that there's any specific limit on how many of these duplicates Cater can make at once, but he does state that the more he creates, the more taxing it is on him. The same can be said about prolonged use of Split Card--while he doesn't need intense concentration to keep it active, the longer they exist the more tiring they are to maintain. A single split card Cater could have up for the better part of a day, but each new split card cuts that time down significantly. He also needs to be awake and alert for his split cards to remain active, so one could never continue to exist for a full day's time. If he were to be rendered unconscious, any and all split cards would vanish at once. I'd love for Cater to be able to retain this magic, as it's important to him to have and it isn't offensive in any regard, but understand if it should be nerfed to any degree!
Elemental Magic - In Twisted Wonderland, the elements are divided into that of flora, fire, water, and cosmic. All Night Raven College students have proficiency in these four basic elements, though it's not uncommon to master one more easily than another. While certain students harness cosmic energy in the form of light, Cater is among the vast majority that harnesses cosmic energy in the form of dark. This magic, in all of the applicable elements, is generally displayed in their spontaneous creation versus manipulation of ones already existing. Cater doesn't show any particularly out-of-the-ordinary aptitude for elemental magic over other types of magic and can't perform any particularly exceptional feats. Outside of harmless displays, a spark of fire in his palm or an orb of water, sprouting a seed, this would generally be nerfed.
Applied Magic - This category of magic refers to non-elemental spells, such as manipulating physical objects. Cater is shown enchanting a full spread of tea party dishes and cutlery to fly back into their packages in a specific order, and is also seen "painting" white roses red using only magic. While it's stated by Riddle that applied magics has never been a particularly strong subject for Cater, he also remarks at how quickly Cater pulls off such a hefty stunt despite it. It seems that when he buckles down and studies properly, Cater's able to perform feats of magic with an ease at which others may be unable to. He shows a high aptitude for learning and learning fast--but lacks the general motivation to try. During lessons, he is often seen daydreaming about the next meal break, slacking off on his phone, suggesting that he's considering ditching class, and even saying in so many words: "I can't be bothered to try any harder." In this field of magical study, Cater has the potential to be great--even adept, but due to his own apathy has relegated himself to simply being decent. It's possible that with further tutelage, he could demonstrate some impressive feats, but is unlikely to do more than simple object manipulations, color changes, or outfit quick-changes.
Alchemy & Potions - While far from being an exceptional student in the field, Cater studies alchemy as a required part of the Night Raven College curriculum. As a third year, he even enrolled in Poison Refining as an elective--so he's likely decently knowledgeable in making certain concoctions. As with most other subjects, however, Cater tends to fall short with anything he finds uninteresting. Outside of using magic to speed up the growth of mandrakes, Cater doesn't seem to particularly enjoy this area of study and would likely be best suited to assisting more dedicated students than making anything on his own. Granted, just like in applied magic, if he became particularly fired up about showcasing a specific feat of alchemy, he would likely put his nose to the grindstone and work hard to make it happen. This entire ability, of course, completely depends on the materials that are available to work with. Cater's unlikely to ever go out of his way to perform an alchemical miracle or deadly poison.
Flight - It's stated that Cater has incredible good balance--as such, this is certainly his best field, hands down. The students at Night Raven College can't fly on their own, but rather are able to use magic to control enchanted brooms. While he's nowhere near the more athletic students on campus, he's very skilled with a broom, able to easily manipulate one fully standing where the vast majority of students need to sit and maintain a grip with their hands and legs. Because this comes easy for him, he's able to perform magic while mid-flight, making him a decent player of Spelldrive (a magical sport played both in flight as well as on field). As long as he has an enchanted broom, I'd love for him to be able to fly on it, but without one this would be impossible for him to do. He still has great balance, though!
Animal Linguistics - Another mandatory field of study at Night Raven College, not much is stated about Cater's proficiency in the subject. Students are able to communicate with animals by learning their dialect. Like most other subjects, he's likely not interested enough to try particularly hard. Because Heartslabyul houses specific animals within the dorm grounds (hedgehogs and flamingos in particular), he's likely most skilled at understanding those. In general, he may have a basic grasp on what some animals are saying if he focuses on them, but wouldn't be able to communicate with them directly to an extent where they would listen or understand in return.
Overblot - When an individual from Twisted Wonderland uses magic, it produces a negative substance called "blot", which fades with rest and proper nutrition. Magicians with a particularly high aptitude for magic have the ability to overblot if certain requirements are met: an excessive overuse of magical reserves often paired with an extreme stressor. Overblotting is a phenomenon that maxes out the magician's magical output at a deadly cost, creating a phantom of negative emotions that will sponge off of them until they die. Cater has never overblotted himself and it's not known if he's technically strong enough to overblot...but it's a possibility that must be acknowledged. Something like this would only happen in-game if submitted as a player plot!
Inmate Information: Cater Diamond's greatest skill is his ability to adapt himself into any situation. A chameleon to a fault, he thinks quickly, solves problems, and sheds one skin for another whenever the need arises. By being able to read any room he's put in, by keeping up with the latest trends, and by having a finger on the pulse of social media goings-on, Cater is always prepared to face any hardship that comes his way. Although he often puts on the face of a slacker and an airhead, he's savvy enough that he can pick up new skills quickly. He calculates his actions to an almost scary degree, if you're paying attention to notice. There's a reason that he's considered one of his Housewarden's right hands: if you leave a task up to him, he'll work it out. He's a jack of all trades that can slide into any given group of people like he belongs there, and has learned how to present himself in such a way as to be most appealing to his surrounding peers. Though he claims that there are better people out there to depend on, one could do far, far worse than Cater Diamond.
Time after time, Cater is given the opportunity to open up to others. To show himself for all the complicated less-than-ideals that come with it. Each of these times, he chooses to fortify the walls he keeps around him. What's the point in being honest, in forming a real bond with someone, when it only ultimately leads to heartache. As far as Cater's learned from life: everything ends. The time you have with others is fleeting, and getting too close means setting yourself up for bigger let-downs. It's this mindset that has Cater putting himself in positions that chip further and further into his own misery. Because he doesn't want to be hurt my others, he hurts himself. He lies to himself, he wastes his time doing things that he dislikes, and he panders to people that he can't stand. He calls himself a party boy, he says he's carefree and lives in the moment. Picture perfect snapshots of all the fun he has every day with everyone around him--each one a memory that means nothing to him. Cater fills his life with hollow trends and insignificant bonds that he can cut ties with whenever he wants, pretending that it saves him from slipping into the lonely void he's put his heart in. As that void gets bigger, however, it takes more and more drastic means to ignore it...and that means bigger lies leading to bigger feelings of self-hate. Cater would sooner swallow his pride and make himself sick on overindulgence than he'd admit that he has a problem.
So, who is Cater Diamond? Cater Diamond can be anyone you want him to be. The cutesy, feminine-leaning trendsetter. The uber-cool punk-rock showstopper. The clout-chasing fair-weather friend that only wants you for the views it gets him. The mega-popular classmate who can be friends with everyone. He always has a smile for you, is quick to diffuse tense situations with his people-pleasing energy, and treats everyone with equal consideration and care. How do you like him? Whatever you find least offensive, he'll bend himself to fit that mold. Just don't call him out on his shifting personality traits or the smiles that don't quite reach his eyes. And if he says something unusually sharp-tongued or cryptic? It's just a joke, fam, for real!
Underneath it all, Cater Diamond struggles with a depressive streak that runs so deep he can't always keep it from slipping out. He knows that he's a mess. He knows that he's cripplingly lonely but refuses to let anyone in. He feels that he doesn't measure up to anyone around him, and generally doesn't see the reason to try. He has no ambitions--has built his whole life on the concept that he'll never matter enough, never be enough, never mean enough. Having grown up moving from place to place all over the world, he learned at a young age how badly it hurts to have the things you love taken from you. He grew up surrounded by family that pressured him into being someone he wasn't. It was easier, he decided, less painful, to play the part that others expect from him...but when the cameras are off and no eyes on him, he crumbles. It's exhausting to live a lie. He feels miserable and separate and hopeless. He feels there's nothing he can do to change his circumstances, so he doesn't try. In fact, he actively turns himself away, sinks farther into himself. The things he wants he doesn't let himself have, and no matter how many copies of himself he makes, he never feels any less alone. Some days, he struggles to keep on a happy face. To keep up the lie.
Being accepted into Night Raven College was the start of a new stage of life for the teen who'd spent his childhood moving too frequently to ever make a real friend. Finally, being housed in an all-boys boarding school meant he'd be guaranteed to live the next three school years with the same set of students. Over those years, he made friends that he's grown more attached to than he thought possible even as he strove to keep them from knowing anything of consequence about him. For three years he's developed bonds that he's prepared to break off at a moment's notice while desperate to hold on tightly. He's tried to live his time on campus knowing, as he always has, that it was just another transition. That once the time limit was up they'd all move on and never see one another again, but he couldn't have possibly anticipated just how much that time would matter to him. Through navigating dramas, overblots, and chaotic school festivals, he's unconsciously let himself feel at home.
But the fourth and final year of Night Raven College has its senior students working indepently for off-campus internships. As the end of his third year approached and Cater received with his classmates the paperwork for this upcoming decision, reality came crashing back to him. His peers all seemed to know exactly where they were going to be applying, and Cater had to face the facts: he had no plans. No idea of where to go next...but that it was finally time to wash his hands of everyone and everything he'd come to know during his time there.
Path to Redemption: As Cater is now, he hides his true thoughts and feelings behind a cheery, unserious persona. He'll appear to take everything as it comes, like it's all no big deal, and he's just there to party hard. And anyway, he doesn't want to take it seriously. As overwhelming as it'll actually be for him, he won't start off with any desire to go back home and give life another shot. In order to avoid admitting his real reluctance to live, he'll pretend as if there's nothing deeper than what you see on the surface. He'll lie about why he died in the first place, claiming it's all a silly reckless accident and that he didn't have any actual agency behind it.
Being assigned to a warden will annoy him, but he's used to being in a position underneath others, and he'll easily slide into the role of inmate. He'll tolerate having a keeper--and all the while refuse to admit to any of his issues and blow off the individual entirely. He'll need a lot of patience at first, because as agreeable and friendly as he'll act, any actual attempts at getting to know him will be met with a wall of avoidance. Really, persistence is the key to breaking through to Cater; he's used to being able to easily leave people behind and ghost from their lives. He'd try to do the same with those he meets, here. After all: the whole situation is temporary. Why should he count on getting to really know anyone here when the goal is to leave the Barge behind?
At the same time, it's those very same potential relationships that will motivate him to change, once he's finally encouraged to let them happen. At the very end of the day, all Cater wants in life is to be able to connect with others...if only he would let himself.
History: here
Sample Network Entry:
[Cater's set up his device so he's fully on display, brandishing a red electric guitar with black and white checkerboarding on its face. He's grinning from ear-to-ear as he strums a dramatic set of chords, striking a pose.]
As you can see, I've been #blessed with this sick guitar due to me being such a good little inmate. Anyone ever get time off for good behavior?
[Laughing, he strums out a little tune, winking.]
But anyway, what I really wanna know is if anyone else has any instruments. Playing all on my lonesome is a decent enough way to pass the time but what I'd really like is to be part of a band. Any bassists, drummers, pianists in the house? Miscellaneous instrument operators? Music is, like, totes way more hype when you can jam out with some pals!
[He gives a two fingered salute to sign-off the broadcast.]
Lemme know, fam! TTYL!
Sample RP: Test Drive