two drinks ago, getting up on that stage would have been an impossible task. now that søren holmström — wicklow's resident dad, surgeon, and scandinavian — was sufficiently tipsy he was ready for anything. there was some footage, somewhere at the bottom of a memory box, of him belting out an ABBA three - song medley at his wedding, but he would keep that safely tucked away ... alongside his ring and the memory of a love that wasn't built to last. “a lot of scandinavians can sing, you know,” he wasn't sure where he was going with his point ; he wasn't one of them. “björk. a - ha. me and the lead singer aren't too different in age, you know. you've never seen me and morten harket in the same room.” when the starry - eyed performer in front of them left the stage, he moved to take their place. “come up with me. i'll need somebody to help with the high notes.”
HE'S NOT DRUNK—those days are over, left behind in the shadowed hills before the tight-laced vermillion shoreline of sobriety. he might be a little high, three unlabeled cookies later and a bit woozy, "no' a chance," rough gravel has been smoothed some, his accent a bit thicker, "i open me mouth and dogs start barkin',"
the world is too slow. he likes it. he can hear his heartbeat and the buzz of the stereo inside the karaoke machine, acidic feedback. his tongue catches his lips and his head tips sideways, faux-askance, almost dog-like, "unless you have summat good queued, maybe i'd go fer it... they got wannabe by the spice girls in that fuckin' thing?"
★ ‧₊˚ ⋆ samuel roukin. cis man. he/him… now playing: yen by slipknot — oh , that ? might be simon paul lark , an forty-four year old clinical social worker who’s been hanging around wicklow ridge for six years , just long enough to stir up some trouble if you ask me. they’re a regular at wicklow ridge community center , always going on about “we have all the time in the world” like it’s gospel. around town , folks say they’re temperate & discerning — but when they think no one’s listening ? it’s more like shut off & wary. are the rumors true ? maybe not … but it sure makes life around here a little more interesting.
BASIC INFORMATION
FULL NAME : simon paul lark.
MEANING :
name: simon (hebrew): “he has heard,”
middle name: paul (latin): small, humble.
surname: lark (english): a songbird, symbol of dawn, renewal or freedom.
DATE OF BIRTH & AGE: october 24th; forty-four years old.
ZODIAC SIGN : scorpio sun.
ORIENTATION : bisexual.
MARITAL STATUS : unmarried and has never lived with a partner.
OCCUPATION : clinical social worker (va outreach; trauma focused, heads the anger management programme)
CURRENT LOCATION : wicklow ridge.
BACKGROUND
PLACE OF BIRTH : manchester, england.
RESIDENCES :
- former: army barracks, temp. housing in leeds and london.
- current: a rented cottage. small, open concept space with a loft bedroom.
RELIGIOUS VIEWS : quiet agnostic; raised anglican, not practicing.
EDUCATION :
- military training
- ba in psychology (completed online over years)
- msw (master of social work) post discharge
LANGUAGES SPOKEN : english (fluent), pashto and arabic (military field fluency, now rusty), bsl and asl (functional, moreso in bsl).
FAMILY :
mother – deceased; no contact at time of her death
father – not present
siblings – younger half brother (estranged)
OTHER FAMILIAL RELATIONS : none maintained. no spouse. no children.
APPEARANCE
FACECLAIM : sam roukin.
HAIR COLOUR / STYLE : dirty blonde, cropped short on the sides with a messy top when not trimmed.
EYE COLOUR / SHAPE : deep-set, heavy-lidded dark brown eyes with light lashes.
HEIGHT : 6’3” (190.5cm)
BUILD : lean and sinewy, narrow-wasted, but strong; military carriage.
SPEECH STYLE : soft-spoken, crisp northern english accent; rarely raises his voice.
RECOGNIZABLE MARKINGS : long, pale scar running from the right cheekbone across to his jaw, a slit in his eyebrow, a thin scar that curls across the bridge of his nose, shrapnel scarring at the base of his throat, slight tremor in his left hand (nerve damage)
BEAUTY HABITS : extremely clean but minimalist, keeps his nails trimmed to the quick. dresses plainly: dark sweaters, clean slacks, sturdy boots. wears light cologne; something dry, vetiver based.
PERSONALITY
MBTI : istj – the logistician
ENNEAGRAM : 6w5 – the loyal guardian.
ALIGNMENT : neutral good.
TEMPERAMENT : melancholic-phlegmatic.
POSITIVE TRAITS : steady, empathetic and fiercely protective.
NEGATIVE TRAITS : closed off, mistrustful, stubborn to the point of sabotage.
HABITS : rubs the scar on his jaw when stressed, counts his breaths in multiples of four, journals compulsively in code.
HOBBIES : woodworking, sketching from memory, yoga, hiking on his good days, reading.
ADDICTIONS : formerly addicted to painkillers post-discharge, now stone sober.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
born in manchester, raised by his single mother who loved him but didn’t know how to care for him. his father was never even on the birth certificate. their power was off most of the month, their flat was cramped and cold, and simon learned young that silence was safety. he was a quiet child, not because he had nothing to say, but because saying it didn’t change anything.
the neighbourhood was rough. the schools were worse. he was one of those strange, discordant little boys who never belonged to any crowd. too observant, too clever, too quiet. teachers said he had a “nasty streak” when he snapped under pressure, but never noticed the bruises.
he grew up thin, wiry and watchful, less a child than a loaded spring.
TEENS
at sixteen he started spending nights away from home. sometimes on friends’ sofas, sometimes outside. the night always felt cleaner than the places he’d come from. he worked whatever jobs he could get his hands on: construction, warehouse work, kitchen, until he was old enough to lie about his age and enlist.
by seventeen he’d joined the british army with a forged signature and no one to notice he was gone.
the military gave him structure. purpose. and for a time he thrived, training obsessively, gravitating towards sharpshooting. he found himself routed towards advanced recon and sniper programs. officers said he had “an eye for terrain” and a head for the long game. he didn’t make friends, exactly, but some of the other soldiers called him “lark” in a tone that wasn’t cruel, and that was enough.
SERVICE
served in the SAS with a focus on reconnaissance, long-range engagements and embedded operations, often alone. the kill list was long and the missions classified. but he was good at it, too good, maybe. he disappeared into the role with frightening ease.
the silence that once protected him started to turn on him. he failed two psych evals, then a third. he punched a superior officer who called him a moral liability. he was given a choice; go quietly with commendations, or be dragged out of service in disgrace. he chose quiet. he left with nerve damage in his hand, a mangled knee and half his hearing in one ear gone.
POST DISCHARGE.
relocated to wicklow ridge six years ago. current occupation: clinical social worker specializing in post-traumatic recovery, anger management and crisis de-escalation, particularly within the va system.
known locally for maintaining a low profile, strict privacy and a near constant presence at wicklow ridge community center, facilitating group sessions and one-on-one casework. quiet, disciplined, “unnervingly composed”.
