wolfgang novogratz | he/him | cismale | hey, you know alex mullner? i’m pretty sure he’s 23 and has lived here for 23 years. he spends most of his time at the ice cream stand but also goes to the tree outside his house a lot. if you ask me, they can be encouraging, but also arrogant at times. if you want to get on their good side, give them a complete breakfast next time you see them! ( goob, 25, she/her, est )
⚠️ ⚠️ TW: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DEATH ⚠️ ⚠️
full name: alexander mullner
age/d.o.b.: 23, august 13th 1998
gender/pronouns: cismale, he/him
sexuality: heterosexual ( but bicurious 👀)
height: 6′2″
+ traits: proactive, helpful, encouraging
- traits: arrogant, impatient, straight up dumb
hobbies: football, basketball, exercise, eating grandma’s food
⚠️ TW: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DEATH ⚠️
“i just woke up and i’m hungry for some protein!”
most of what people know about alex mullner has come directly from the guy himself. it wasn’t that he was lying to everyone, but he never told the whole truth. he’s been able to mantain the look of a “cool” athlete, and considering pelican is such a small place, he’s figured his grandma hasn’t done much talking, and his grandpa... well, he hasn’t done much asking. but here’s the thing about alex, he wasn’t born and raised in pelican town, although he will swear up and down that he was. he was very young when he moved to his grandmother’s house in the little town, but before this, he used to live in the city with his parents. no one would really know this, because he never talks about them at all.
he was very young, yes, but what he saw and experienced in the little city apartment as a young boy stuck with him, and has followed him, even after all these years. there was always so much screaming, loud thuds and bangs, lots of crying coming from both his mother clara and himself. he mostly remembers the pained gasps his mother would let into his small body, as she protected him from his very angry father. alex never understood why he was so angry, he could never wrap his little mind around what he or his mom could’ve done to make him so angry. little alex always made it a point to be nice to his dad, to watch sports with him and stay out of his way when he told him to; and his mom was nothing short of an angel. but it never seemed to be enough... no, it simply was never enough.
but somehow, they got out. clara got herself an even smaller apartment closer to the outskirts of the city, so they’d be a little closer to grandma and grandpa, or so she’d said. and for a while, everything was perfect. they played catch in the park in the afternoon, eat dinner together every evening, although she never really seemed to eat; and slept in the same little bed. but one morning, his mom could not get out of bed. it was a good thing alex knew how to use the phone, because the ambulance got there soon enough so that he could spend a few more days with his mom. it was all very sudden, and he had always refused to believe his mom “had gone to heaven” and was “happy” there. how could she be happy leaving him behind? if they were all supposed to be happy she was in heaven, why was his grandma crying so much?
he had already moved into his grandmother’s house before his mom died, because the doctors had told evelyn they didn’t think she’d recover, and that if she did, it would be slow. in the end, she hadn’t recovered, and alex moved to pelican town to live with his maternal grandparents. evelyn, the sweet old woman, moved herself and her husband into their guest room and re-decorated the master bedroom for him, footballs covering every wall. of course he was grateful, but as a young child stricken by grief, he never really thanked her properly for the gesture.
living in pelican town wasn’t all so bad. he made friends with the other children in town, always closest to the burton sisters and sebastian park. as he grew up, doted on by his grandmother, he became a little too sure of himself, a confidence that bordered on arrogance, that only continued to cross that line as he grew older, well into his teens. he was captain of the football team in high school and was dating haley, the prettiest girl in school and his best friend in the world. school staff talked about him, his counselors told him how easy it would be for him to get a full sports scholarship if he could only work harder on his grades! but the boy just thrived on the attention of being popular and an important member of the school’s sports community, he had plans for him and haley to marry and move to the city where he would go pro and she could focus on her photography or her love for fashion... but it didn’t quite go that way.
after graduating, he really struggled to get into any university due to his bad grades. apparently c’s get degrees only if it’s mostly c’s, not when his report cards were covered in d’s. and then haley broke up with him, because she didn’t love him — in fact, she loved girls. it took him a good moment to process this, to process the breakup and the reasoning. he felt like he’d been lied to, betrayed even. he even adopted a dog, dusty, in the midst of his blues, in an attempt to attain a “new best friend.” in the end he missed his human best friend more than he missed the failed relationship. luckily, haley missed him enough and their friendship picked back up, almost as if nothing had happened. to this day, haley is his favorite person in the world and he would go to the ends of the earth for her... which was another reason why he stayed in pelican after graduating. how would he leave haley behind, after everything they went through?
nowadays alex spends most of his time working out, playing with dusty or his football. now and then he can be found manning the otherwise abandoned ice cream stand by the library, as he is saving money for when he goes pro.
