When’s the last time anyone heard anything about [Evan Beckett]? Old friends remember him as [devoted and gentle] but also [hesitant and naive], no wonder he’s still known as [The Good Christian Boy] around town. Today, in 2006, he is [39] and some people say he reminds them of [the sunlight coming through a small town church skylight mid-day, the smell of a handcrafted cabin tucked into the South Carolinian forest, the way one’s chest burns when their entire world view comes into question, the simplicity of a notebook and a fresh cup of coffee, and the way the brightest smile can cover up the emotional bruises of a childhood spent wondering if their sister was ever really real].
BIOGRAPHY
1972 – 1985 ( SOUTH CAROLINA )
THEN .
She went missing before he was able to remember her face. All he has of her are shadows of a sister; her hand picking up a toy, her dress in the wind, the squeak of her bike wheels, the cackle of a laugh. He remembers only the pieces he is supposed to remember because there was more to her than that, but those things were locked away long before Evan could make sense of it all. There were power outages and sudden breaking dinnerware, there were slamming doors and flies buzzing in a pattern that was unnatural. He’d never understood the chaos around him and why his sister couldn’t control herself, or why his parents always fought over what to do with her or where to send her. These were things his young mind wouldn’t latch onto, lost to the times in which they existed, Evan unable to return to them. All he understood was she was long gone by the time he was old enough to remember she existed at all, and by then it was far too late.
It wasn’t long after that his parents separated. His father became his anchor to the shores of South Carolina and his mother the bird that flew free, taking with her only an overnight bag and the family car. She, too, like his sister, was gone, but this time Evan had enough of a memory of her to know that it stung, that he’d cried himself to sleep before deciding there was no use in that. She’d made the decision to leave and not call, or write, or bother to show up to his first swim meet. He remembers her promising him that she would be front row, because she knew he was a fish on land, destined for greatness in the sea. That was the night Evan decided he’d only cry over worthier things. Evan existed in a protected bubble, still young and carefree. With his mother gone however, his father expected great things and it was easy to obey that, as Evan’s mind didn’t have anything worthy of wandering to. No day dreams or wishes, nothing until he was graduating middle school and he and his father were packing up the bungalow in which he’d lived his whole life in. They couldn’t afford it anymore, but his grandparents had died and left his father their pile dwelling so it was across town and to the sea they went. While he was helping pack up the home he’d found a box buried in the back of a closet, very cliché and very telling even to a boy whose biggest curiosity was why his crush savannah hadn’t accepted his hand at the Sadie Hawkins’ dance.
1986 .
THEN .
It was that box’s content that forced Evan to grow up. He’d been forced to realize his sister was taken, not gone, that his parents had kept something important from him his entire life and it had ruined their marriage. He’d gone from barely an imagination to someone who lived in a thousand different timelines, not just for himself but for his sister, trying to make sense of everything he had read on the pages filling that box. There had been medical records dating back to her birth that linked her to a doctor out of Indiana, a state he hadn’t known either parent to have a connection to. His family on both sides had been born and raised in South Carolina, so any connection to a landlocked state was a mystery Evan knew he couldn’t solve overnight. ( he would later learn the state flirted with Lake Michigan, but any state not bordered by the sea on one side would be a landlocked prison in his mind ). It wasn’t until his high school graduation that Evan was able to start working a job to save up enough to leave. Then he was on a one-way greyhound out of state and to somewhere he was unfamiliar with, both in geography and the accent of the people there. He stood out, the ‘ not quite southern ‘ southern boy, the one who spent half his days at the community pool or trying to hitch rides up to the edge of Lake Michigan. He wanted freedom in the sea, but that would come after he found answers. His sister had been taken to this state, to a town called Hawkins, and he wanted to know why.
Evan knew he might not ever get answers. He knew that secretive boxes in the backs of closets weren’t the kind of thing that ended in happy endings with cliché running-hugs between siblings who barely knew each other, but for the sake of the story, didn’t matter. No, instead he knew all of his leads might end up nowhere, or worse, to things he shouldn’t be digging into. It was with a sense of both caution and reckless abandon that Evan moved to Hawkins, Indiana with, determined to figure out what happened to his sister.
1986 – PRESENT [ tw: war mention ]
NOW .
Moving to Hawkins was a choice that young Evan Beckett was thankful to have made. He made friends easy and sunk himself into the small town life. His work gave him enough income to get his own apartment and keep his old car going, even taking trips up to the lake to remind himself what it was like living at the edge of the sea ( not that it would ever compare ). Trying to find answers about his sister’s disappearance was second to making an income but he never gave up. Sarah Kline, daughter of infamous Mayor Kline, became a fast, quick friend, and soon he was confessing his love to her. With her help and contacts in the archival offices, he was able to make huge headway into the disappearance of his sister.
He married Sarah two weeks after his 23rd birthday. They’d been young and in love, five years into forever with the promise of eternity in their smiles. Loving her had been easy and fast. It had been the freedom Evan had been looking for and the reason to grow roots in this small town. He’d always been a home body, someone who wanted streets to become so familiar he could draw them with his eyes closed, or the type who became the town local that newcomers were told about — ‘ that Evan Beckett, a fine boy, knows everything about this town, even the secrets ‘ . Even in the face of God and the promise of eternal love, he and Sarah fell apart. Five years in and ten years together they were signing divorce papers promising to keep in touch, promising that even if their love wasn’t enough, their friendship would be. He had to grow and find himself, so did she.
Evan moved back to South Carolina shortly after and inherited his father’s pile dwelling. After his passing, Evan decided it was time to quit freelance journalism and find himself a ‘ real job ‘. His calls to Sarah slowed — weekly, monthly, and then promises to update every six months. Then nothing. Evan was trying to build his career but no newspapers were hiring for his specialty. News networks were, however, so he found himself as the mid-day news anchor, then slowly out in the field doing community work, and in 2001 he was sent to Afghanistan. This was a chance to prove himself worthy of real journalism that made a difference, that didn’t allow governments to lie about their actions.
( He knew all about that. The truth about his sister’s disappearance was uncovered shortly after 1986. He’d always known she was dead and his search for answers weren’t deluded into thinking he would find her, but nothing could have prepared himself for the truth ).
A few girlfriends here and there, but Evan kept his life back home quiet and steady. He’d grown up this way and it was ingrained into his DNA. He never married again nor did he come close to it, not out of unhealed love for Sarah but because he wasn’t sure that he was made for it. What he felt ‘ made for ‘ was helping people and doing good. Those were the roots that Evan Beckett laid for himself.
In the years since coming home from Afghanistan, Evan got back into journalism and worked his way up into a senior position role at The Post and Courier (a Pulitzer prize winning newspaper running for major cities in South Carolina). He preferred writing and investigating rather than being in front of the camera so he sunk into a busy but quiet job at the newspaper. He’d forgotten all about the details of his life in Hawkins but never the terror that gripped the town. He never told anyone what he saw or witnessed out of respect for a town trying to heal its wounds, but he never forgot them.
The letter informing him of Joyce Byers’ death came as a shock. He was never particularly close to Jonathan, nor his group of friends back then, but he supposed he’d made enough of an impact in Hawkins to be invited to the funeral. Evan didn’t need to think twice about it. Just as he’d done as a young man, this time with an upgraded car, he headed out to the Midwest. What adventures were coming his way were up to fate.
STATS
Athletics (How Athletic are they?): 2 Burglary (Can they swipe stuff?): 0 Contacts (Do they know people with information?): 3 Deceive (Are they a good liar?): -2 Drive (like, actual driving ability): 2 Empathy (On a scale of 1-10 how much of an empath are they?): 2 Fight (Do they have hands?): -1 Investigate (Can they sleuth?): 3 Lore (Kinda like knowledge): 2 Medicine (First Aid Essentially): 1 Navigation (How good are they with a map/getting around?): 3 Notice (Is your character observant?): 3 Provoke (Are they a shit stirrer?): -3 Rapport (Are they charming? Can they do it on command?): 2 Resourcefulness (MacGyver scale): 2 Stealth (Are they sneaky?): -1 Will (Tenacity): 3
EXTRAS .
BIRTH CHART: 3.09.1967
VIRGO SUN .
Virgo people are generally respectable, hard-working individuals who have a love of knowledge and know-how. Virgos are sensitive to their surroundings and tend to embarrass easily. Solar Virgos have a strong sense of responsibility. Virgos want to do things well. Some are exacting and thorough, and those Virgos who have convinced themselves to do a less-than-perfect job will generally feel incomplete. There’s an odd combination of the intellectual and the practical in Virgo that is sometimes mistaken for coolness. In fact, Virgos are often self-effacing and shy.
LEO MOON .
He is brave, knowing how to take risks and possessing the courage of his convictions, honest, imposing, and sharp. He has a great sense of, and respect for, justice. Expressive. Seeking adoration. Organizational sense. Selectivity with friends but is not overly influenced by them. Taste for splendor. A social leader.
SCORPIO RISING .
Scorpio Ascendant people have a lot of presence. There is something about them that tells the world that they are not to be pushed around. Scorpio rising people can be quiet or loud, but they always seem powerful and determined. Scorpio rising people, in their dealings with others, look for answers by reading between the lines. Scorpio rising natives are drawn to down-to-earth, natural partners. Reliability in their partner is very important. They generally look for complete commitment and have little patience with flighty partners.
MORAL ALIGNMENT .
lawful good
MYERS - BRIGGS .
ENFP – campaigner
