Sheâs not a liar. OR, well â she is a liar, but only about things that benefit her. Itâs a good system: honesty is the best policy when it comes to the important things. However: all throughout high school, it was yes, Mrs. Smith, you did collect my test already, and yes, mom, it is Juliâs turn to do the dishes. So when sheâs approached by someone, she slips very easily back into dishonesty. But she has morals, STRONG ones, and standards, and ⌠well, that ring did look nice. Even if it didnât, she could sell it. Or maybe give it to her mom. That was a moral good, right ?  â Oh my god, you are a lifesaver ! â Â
   Her smile goes uncharacteristically wide. Think, Kitty, think. Whatâs a good lie ? Whatâs a FUNNY lie ?  â  I keep meaning to get it resized. Youâd think the man Iâve been dating for three years would ask my ring size before he proposed right ? All this worrying about it falling off not even for a diamond. â In any other conversation, she would dive right into the archaic and patriarchal ownership of women, or you know â not pretend NOT to be a lesbian, but ⌠well, when a ring falls into your hands ⌠she sticks out her hands, prepared to take it.Â
anton mirrored her smile, selling his relief that, yes, he found the owner of this little trinket. he is careful, though, not to stretch it too wide. just enough to reach his eyes, and he shrugged with undeserved humility. â a lady like yourself shouldnât be without your ring. â
 âif he asked, that wouldâa ruined the surprise. â playing along, of course, indulging the fantasy that the other was selling. his eyebrows inch upward as she mentions that itâs not even a diamond. he wasnât a jeweler or anything, but thatâs a diamond. bite it and it wouldnât bend or grind, breaking your teeth instead. anton may not be the rightful owner of it, but he worked hard to snatch it, you know. he gently rolled the gold band between his three fingers. â That so? Couldâve fooled me. Whereâd he find a diamond that looks so real? â he looked at the ring in a manner that was extra pathetic, then released a trailing laugh. â I proposed to the missus with a copper wire and some screws. A ring like this would have made her day. â at her beckon, he decided to allow her to hold it, gently placing it in her palm. he had a contingency plan if she tried to walk away with it, but anton wondered just how far sheâd be willing to push it. â take good care of it. Might not be a diamond but it could still feed a family of four. â
thereâs a grunt that indicates heâs not exactly inclined to pick up meat out of the road and put it in his mouth, even if he does grill it first. âor not,â he counters. mike isnât a picky eater. you canât be when you spend the majority of your time at sea on a ship full of prepacked meals thatâll last through a nuclear war, but the thought of eating roadkill is a little less than appetizing. âiâm a firm believer that pretty much anything is edible with enough spices, but that doesnât mean i wanna put something thatâs been run over by a truck in my mouth.â
â a lilâ raccoon never hurt nobody, â ant shrugged. he wouldnât know, though â heâs never had it, himself. â when times are tough, it all tastes like chicken after a while. â a half lie, but a harmless one. â no lettuce. no roadkill. what have you been eatinâ then? â
itâs technically his day off, but still he managed to go in extra earlier. work a few hours before his partner convinced him to go home, and be normal for once. not wanting to turn up back at his bare lonely apartment once again, the rest of his day open and free. he aimlessly wondered the town, trying to finally familiarize himself with it. âwhy, you looking to marry someone?â itâs a small joke, but the other has his attention now. brow raised he turned fully to the man, hadnât expected the sudden the question. or how odd and misplaced the question seemed to be. yet he stayed there, waiting for the punchline.Â
that response wasnât one that he expected. it delayed antâs response by a fraction of a second as he allowed a brief smile, humored. â one look at you and iâm considering it. â he laughed. â just tryinâ to be a good samaritan, is all. no one would just leave somethinâ so expensive lyinâ around. â uncurling his fist, he flashed the ring to the stranger. â i take it you havenât got down on one knee yet ? â
headphones BLARINGâzero boysâ vicious circle playing on a loop, fully living up to the albumâs titleâminoo near passes him by. sheâd keep walking, had the circumstances been different. but a valuable mentioned, and she stops. it wasnât hers. it wasnât anybody whose she knew either. stillâŚ
â   yeah, i do⌠my mom. she lost her engagement ring.    â
lying had always come easy to the youngest pearce :   a pretty mouth spewing untruths more often than not. given, most of the time, she had more preparation. winging it now, she goes on. Â
â   i was actually just looking for it, so.   â
not so fast. antâs been in the game for a while, and he wasnât as intuitive as he was impulsive, but the holes in her lies were so glaring that ant almost pitied her. amateur. he appeared cool, though, quietly sighing to hint at his relief that his âgood intentionsâ didnât go unpunished. after all, he had to sell the part. â poor lady, losing her ring on a busy street like this. it just fell out in front of me and, you know. i had to do something. â anton let his expression brighten as he peered over her head. â is she nearby? i wanna see the her face light up when i hand it to her. â
Theoâs eyes roll back like clockwork at the familiar sound of their older brotherâs voice and any kind of embarrassment they may have felt quickly dissipated. âNever.â They gasp. âThe only thing Iâm willing to kick are people. Specifically people related to me and happen to be right in front of me.â The mess is already forgotten about as Theodora follows after Anton, just glad to have another living, breathing human being to talk to. It helped that said human being had a bigger knack for getting in trouble than Theo themself. âI donât know what youâre talking about.â They shrug, ignoring two more strays that they see from the corner of their eye. âIâve never seen a single cat here once in my whole life. I think Maude is the one feeding them. You should talk to her about it. It could be a real problem.â
Ant pressed a hand to his heart in mock offense. âbeen a while since iâve been in a fight. bring it on. i got a secret weapon this time. â reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the piece from his coat, holding it in front of him to display it to theo. âisnât she a beauty? it only cost me an arm and a leg. And a finger.â Ant paused. The arm and the leg part was completely fabricated. He couldnât say as much for whoever he talked it off of. â Iâll steal you some glasses, pipsqueak. â he said sympathetically. more cats entered, lured by the spilled milk that theo discarded. â think oleâ Maudeâll believe us if we said that puddle showed up by itself? âCause I ainât cleaning that up. â He rotated his body so that he could let his legs dangle off the arm of the chair, the curve of his spine resting against the opposite arm. â Business must be bad if sheâs recruitinâ cats. Slow day? â
     itâs not everyday that walking home from work bears a conversation. thatâs how he likes it. talking to people isnât his thing. but itâs hard to ignore the pull of curiosity, and so instead of shooting a glare in his direction and continuing on his way, he pauses to consider the question. â a ring? â he asks, cocking a brow. â i might. mind if i take a look? â at the very least, maybe he can pawn it off, somewhere. morgue work doesnât pay well.
â not at all, my man. donât look too hard now, â Ant responded with a wink. he opened his fist, the heel of his palm pushing the ring to his fingers so that he could hold the little circlet between his thumb, middle, and index fingers. unlike his usual trick with crackerjack rings, this one was real. real enough. he picked it off of some poor soulâs finger while they were too distracted by another scheme Ant pulled. Honestly, he couldnât keep track. â look any familiar? iâd reckon itâs some zirconia, but people go through lotsa trouble to get hitched. âÂ
On a street flushed with people, Ant clogged the flow of traffic at the glint of something small and shining. As if itâd fallen out of the sky and landed at his feet. He bent at the knees to grab the item, squinting at the little iridescent glass atop of a metal circle. A ring, in the middle of the street. â Iâll be.... â Slowly, Ant closed his fist around it and rose to his full height, catching up with the nearest random who paced past him. â Excuse me, know anybody lookin' for a ring? âÂ
âwhat the hell am i supposed to grill if i canât grill meat? fucking lettuce?â mike huffed, eyes rolling. he wasnât upset about the whole venison ban, not one for deer meat, really. not enough to care, anyway. but cows? pig? he couldnât decide if they were taking this too far or not.
â My friend, you ainât lookinâ hard enough. â Ant lulled his head to watch the other, red as a tomato after that adorable outburst. Food came to the Rileysâs so scarcely that Ant never complained about what he put in his mouth, as long as it filled his belly and gave him energy for the day. To borrow their words, fucking Yuppies.  â Roadkillâs always in season. âÂ
Afternoons at the shop were seldom slow but with Maude gone running errands for the day and Anton out doing who knows what (some of them had jobs, freeloader), Theo was left to their own devices. Theyâre quick to ignore the list of busy work on the paper taped to the fridge and rather open it in hopes to steal one of the spare beers that were in there. Their nose wrinkles, the smell of spoiled milk hitting them like a bus. âUgh.â Picking the carton up, they give it another sniff before immediately regretting it. Making their way to the garbage can outside to dispose of it, one of their many feline friends walks up to them. âHey buddy.â Theo coos, crouching down to scratch the top of itsâ head before beginning to walk again. The animal meows in protest, weaving between Theoâs legs, and causing them to drop their trash. âFuck. Now I have to clean this up.â They look down to the cat. âListen up, if you try that again I am going to spank you. I am going to spank you so hard your great, great, great grandma kitty will feel it and thenâ.â Theo stops at the sight of a passerby who was a little too close for comfort. âI donâtâŚI donât actually spank cats. I promise.â
âI believe you.â Ant said in a serious voice. Itâs paper thin, transparently teasing, as he loped to meet his sibling. A heavy part weighed in his coat, tucked in an inner pocket, the imprint slightly peeking through the fabric. Maude requested it earlier, and Anton knew a guy who knew a guy. He quirked a brow at the cat who scampered from between Theoâs ankles, unmoved by some wide-eyed flea bag. âJust kick puppies, right?â Cleaning up the milk wouldâve been the right thing to do. Responsible, dignified, but Ant makes his way to one of the waiting chairs, eyeing the mess, instead. Heâs none of those things if he can help it. âMaude'll hate what youâve done with the place. Itâs a mechanic shop, not a petting zoo.â
⢠   â   ( JEREMY POPE, CIS MAN, HE/HIM )   Trading in their SET OF LOCK PICKS for LEAD PIPE might not come easy for ANTON RILEY. This 28-year-old grifter brings determination, a silver tongue, and expertise of their location to the table ⌠but their stealing everything their grimy hands land on and selfishness could drag the group down. And while their calculated nature might raise group morale, their disloyalty might give them a few enemies. Thatâs the last thing anyone needs right now. Hopefully, in the apocalypse movie thatâs now their life, this SELF-MADE ORPHAN will make it to the end credits.   ( GARNET, 22, SHE/HER, KST )
hi hi!! iâm garnet and i do be ready to be totally tubular during the zombie apocalypse. if an apocalypse happened tomorrow i would simply pass away but i love that thatâs a trait I didnât pass on to my new child anton. heâs just a little shit with silly little emotional trauma but youâd never tell just by looking at him. <3 hereâs more about him and if you think you and your character would vibe, like this and Iâll give u a cheeky follow up message!
NAME: anton octavius riley
BIRTHDAY: september 25, 1955 (libra)â¨
SEXUALITY: bisexual
â¨JUNG TYPE: ISTJâ¨
TEMPERAMENT: phlegmatic
MORAL ALIGNMENT: neutral evil
VICE: greed
VIRTUE: patience
HISTORY:
Batman and Robin. Iilya and Napoleon. To Anton, he and his sibling Theo joined the ranks of these iconic dynamic duos. They grew up in the same shitty situation with less than glamorous parents who treated themselves poorly and their children worse. Anton learned about what it meant to be responsible for another human being at a young age. Responsibility was a big, dirty word, but he learned how to keep his sibling alive. It was the two of them, no matter what, for the rest of their lives.
The mechanic, Maude, was more Antonâs family than his own parents. The first time she caught him, he was a scrawny little boy, scrounging around her trash can looking for something to sell at the pawn shop â and he ran away, toppling her trash can in the process. The second time she saw him, Theo was with him as he attempted to steal from the place. Thankfully, her heart thawed at the sight of a pair of scrawny children and she opened her place as their real home, or the closest thing theyâve felt toward it. Although initially a little distrustful, Anton warmed to Maude. She was sharp and didnât fall for his typical antics, which only fortified his trust in her.
She is the only person who knew the truth about his parents. After a particularly bad day when Anton was seventeen, he went to the drug store and came back with a stolen bottle of prescription medicine. Anton then ground it into powder and poured it into his parentâs drinks during dinner, dissolving it with a spoon, covering its remnants with ice. Under Antâs watchful eye, they drank every last drop.
Anton told Theo to pack a bag because that they couldnât stay at home anymore; something killed their parents. He told them that they just dropped like a spirit collected their souls. That spirit had a name, all right, and its name was Anton Riley.
Soon, Anton and Theo end up on Maudeâs doorstep. Maude puts Theo to bed, and Anton completely breaks down in the dining room table where she first fed the Rileys. Everything stumbled out of his mouth, the story splintered by loud sniffles or shuddering breaths. He didnât know what to do; heâs only seventeen. And he was dirt tired and he wanted them to stop hurting Theo. The adult Rileys, they were evil somebodies, and the only way to stop them from acting in their way was to out-evil them. But why did he feel so bad about it?
Maude listened. She nodded at parts. It was nearly impossible for even Ant to figure out what sheâs thinking. After an eternity, she scoots out of her chair to grab him a glass of water. âIâve seen a lot of horror in this world. I wonât let you be one of âem.â Her footsteps creak against the tile as she hands him the cup. He accepts it without looking at her. âDonât do it again.â
 And, he didnât. Antonâs gotten himself in a-many unsavory situations, but none of them escalated to a lethal degree. Instead, he busied himself by working for Maude, going on trips to get parts she needed at the lowest possible price. By lowest possible price, he definitely means he stole them. When he wasnât diving around junkyards to disassemble old cars, he was slinking on the sidewalk and taking from those who Have. Heâs been stuck as a Have Not his entire life, and heâs just levelling the playing field. Of course, he still did honest work for Maude but, he fully believes if he does make it to the end, there better be a fountain of money on the other side.
PERSONALITY:
To put it bluntly? Full of shit. Anton just says things without really meaning them, because he thinks that they may be what someone wants to hear. This is especially true when someone has something he needs. Which is to say heâs a little bit (read: a lot) of a dick, who unlearned how to be sincere. Thereâs two exceptions to this, which are Maude and Theo, but itâs a dog-eat-dog world out there and Anton doesnât agree with throwing people bones. Heâs had to fend for himself his entire life and he expects everyone else to do the same; nothing personal!
CONNECTION IDEAS:
Friends! Very basic. Childhood friends would also hit because he might have something vaguely resembling loyalty toward them. Not quite loyalty tho.
Co-conspirators/accomplices! I think itâd also be interesting if they shared some sort of secret that keeps them bonded, or something that keeps Anton loyal or honestly vice versa
âEmployersâ that he worked for. In other words, people who paid him to do their bidding. Some people canât be bought. Anton isnât one of them.
Enemies! Unfortunately for us all, Antonâs a dick, so heâs bound to have snaked people in the past or straight-up have betrayed someone. Heâs too pretty to fight but unfortunately his mouth makes him very punchable :/
ANYTHING! Come at me with connections you might want to be filled and Iâll love u down.