Welcome to my RP blog for Campbell Bain!
I'd appreciate it if you read the background info on Campbell, me, and my general guidelines. Check below the readmore!
I do AUs, many AUs, all the AUs. Including but not limited to: Hazbin Hotel/Helluvaboss, Doctor Who/Torchwood, Tolkien-verse. I’m insanely flexible, always happy to try new things, so don’t hold back, just send me a message ;D
About Campbell
Campbell was born and raised in Glasgow, the only child of Andrew and Catriona Bain. He was especially close to his mother, as he was a sensitive kid and his father could be a little gruff sometimes. Andrew Bain had expected that he’d get a son who loved cars and roughhousing and soccer, but Campbell was more inclined towards art and reading and music. He was also a child with intense emotions, which soon led to his father often telling him to “man up” or “there’s no need to cry over this”. It came from love, from the fear that if his son didn’t fit in with the other boys he would be bullied, but I’m sure you can imagine how this made Cam feel unheard and rejected. More than anything, Campbell wanted to be a good child. He was, and still is, extremely sensitive to approval and praise, so he would try to be tough, and not cry, and when he did have to cry, he learned to do so quietly and not bother his dad with that. He learned to talk only rarely about his emotions and if he really had to, he sought out his mum instead. His mother, however, was prone to worrying, so he tried not to bother her.
As he got older, his emotional outbursts got more intense. In hindsight, he already had manic phases around age 14, but those never really stood out because those were the times when he was happy, energetic, and sociable. Sure, he would be loud and erratic and a little reckless, but he was a teenager, wasn’t he? It was the depressive episodes that his parents noticed, when he couldn’t be motivated to do anything and missed days of school. He struggled even more with this because he was keenly aware how this ‘useless’ behaviour clashed with the expectations his parents had. Campbell still very much wished to make his parents proud, but hadn’t yet found anything he was good at (mostly because he tried new things only briefly, giving up as soon as he found it he wasn’t a natural at it). He did alright at playing guitar, but didn’t excel. Playing soccer was okay, but he felt out of place in a team of rougher boys, his thin frame making him easy to push out of the way. Nor was he good at his schoolwork, as he was easily distracted and missed important things due to daydreaming. Teachers didn’t always understand him because he tended to ask silly questions (‘if we could make people into a liquid, could we have them solidify as a square if we cooled them down or would they revert to their original shape?’) or clown around to gain approval from his classmates. His missed days of school meant he wasn’t able to catch on with the new material they worked with, and he didn’t dare ask a teacher for help (afraid of judgement) - so he failed classes constantly. He would clash with his father, whose way of motivating Campbell was often limited to “stop complaining and just give it your best”. It made Cam want to stop trying entirely. It felt like even when he did do his best, it didn’t make for a better outcome anyway.
Around his fifteenth birthday, school called his parents because they were not only worried about his results, but his wellbeing too. A therapist was arranged and Campbell was prescribed antidepressants. But rather than help elevate his mood to a normal level, it caused Cam’s first full-on intense manic episode and he ended up hospitalised for the first time. Campbell struggled for the rest of his teenage years to balance the many unbalanced things in his life: his mood, his yearning for acceptance, his urge to become independent (like any teenager’s), the impossibility to talk about his emotions - and then I’ve not even mentioned the things any teenagers should be exploring during those formative years (love, sexuality, identity). He ended up in hospital multiple times throughout his teenage years, due to mania or suicide attempts, and during one of these the show he’s from (see below) is set.
At age 19, he leaves St Jude’s with no plans to go back to school, but with a job in radio (something he finally feels he can be good at), and with the hope that he can make it. I always headcanon that this career is fairly short lived, but he somehow makes ends meet. He DJs at parties or cleans offices or dabbles in more shady professions. There are a lot of options for roleplay here, Campbell’s twenties are a very flexible setting. He’s not particularly stable during this decade as he’s trying to figure out who he is, what he wants, and how he fits in in the world (catching up for what he missed during his teens).
Life gradually becomes less turbulent in his late twenties. His meds even him out more (he experiences mania a lot less often, though he still gets depressed fairly occasionally) and he manages to get a certificate in gardening and landscaping through a ‘learn on the job’ kind of program. Cam likes his job and his colleagues are good, reliable friends, and he moves in with a landlady (Gwen, who is a wedding planner) who he gets along with very well. In this phase (30+yo) he’s less often upset, though he sometimes (ironically) misses the mania and has kind of resigned to being single (although he really, really wishes he could really connect with someone and misses hugs). Putting yourself out there is scary and vulnerable though.. And shouldn’t he just be happy with what he’s got?
Character strengths
Has a good heart, he's empathic and his default setting is to help people when he can.
Creative, he enjoys music and art. He has never explored these options fully, because he assumes he isn't good at them, but he's a good out-of-the-box thinker.
Cam is an idealist and will fight for what he believes in, although it's not always attainable.
Intensely loyal (occasionally to the point of putting someone’s needs above his own). If Cam is your friend, you can count on him.
Character weaknesses
Cares too much about what others think of him and afraid of failure.
Has trouble talking about his emotions and will often react with anger to try and drive away whoever is coming too close.
He can be reckless, especially when manic. Tied in with this is his occasional inability to read the room, with inappropriate reactions as a result.
Not good with money. He has the talent to make ends meet when he has to, but is also prone to overspending (buying people gifts..)
Original setting
As not everyone has seen Takin’ Over the Asylum, here’s a short guide to the setting Campbell Bain originally belongs to. You can watch the show on youtube (please be aware that the final three episodes are a lot more heavy than the first three - self harm and suicide warnings here, be safe darlings <3) and you can also check out the TV Tropes page here.
Takin’ Over the Asylum is a six-part 1994 television drama about a hospital radio station in a Glaswegian mental institution. Eddie McKenna is a double-glazing salesman, although his real passion is radio. For years, he’s had a position at a Glasgow hospital where he operated the hospital radio as a volunteer. When he’s made redundant in favour of new, young blood, he’s offered to set up (or rather revive) a radio station at St. Jude’s, a mental hospital in Glasgow.
Campbell Bain is one of the inpatients at St. Jude’s at the time. He is 19 and suffers from bipolar disorder and embraces the concept of a radio station with extreme enthusiasm. While he and other patients assist Eddie in trying to make the hospital station into a success, Campbell decides that he aspires to a future in radio. His father, with whom he has a tense relationship, doesn’t quite approve of this. By the end of the series he manages (through various publicity stunts, antics, and even blatant lies) to get a position at Radio Scotland.
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Roleplays can be set at any point during Cam’s life. At St. Jude’s, during childhood, or after - anything goes. I play him well into middle age too, if you like! I’m also rather fond of AUs and crossovers, so hit me up via ask or message if you have an idea. The default age I play Cam is approximately 21 years old, maybe working as a DJ, maybe not - but out of hospital and eager about what the future will hold for him, believing anything is possible.
About the Mun
My name is Bianca, I’m 36, mother of two glorious kids (who are 8 and 5 years old) and partner to a lovely fella (and queer as fuck even though I’m straight-passing). Also an English teacher in secondary school (as a second language, I’m Dutch).
I always want to give everyone a chance when writing, but sometimes characters don’t click and as the little free time I’ve got goes into this, I tend to pick people and characters I connect with the most. If you don’t vibe with me or my writing style or Campbell, please just let me know. I won’t take it personally <3
I’m not mutuals only. If I don’t follow you, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to write with you. I like a dash I can keep up with, so sometimes I go through my list of people I follow to keep stuff manageable.
18+ content happens. I’m not averse to writing (almost) any of it. If you’re a minor, I strongly advise you not to follow me. I don’t roleplay with minors because of adult themes and triggering subjects etc.
Rules / things you should know before we start writing
You know the standard ones. Don’t be a dick, don’t godmod, etc.
I prefer just.. writing with text, I’m not very good at the whole aesthetic thing (as you can probably see from the layout of this blog lol). I cannot always use icons or gifs because I’m on my phone a lot (being behind a laptop with kids is.. a challenge) - but you’re welcome to be as aesthetic as you like as long as I can still read it ;)
I don’t have any xkit extension and probably won’t install it either (work laptop limits things I can do on it), plus I’m on mobile 99% of the time, so neatly cutting posts is not really an option.
I am VERY really very bad at realising which blogs go together. If you have multiple blogs and I follow those, I may forget or not realise they’re all yours - apologies in advance xD Same goes for linking names/discord handles to tumblr blogs. I will forget who you are, it’s not because you’re forgettable, it’s because my memory is shit.
A good relationship, be it irl or online, is all about communication. Keep those lines open. I much prefer to avoid drama and don’t do call-outs and stuff.
If you need to vent about something in your life, I’m your person. I will listen <3
I don’t take things personally and I can take criticism. If something I do bugs you, just let me know. If you feel like your dash would be safer/better/nicer for you if you blocked me, please do so. Again: I don’t take things personally. I want your time on tumblr to be a good time, even if that means avoiding me.
If I don’t reply at once, assume I’m busy or uninspired. Teaching has a lot of peak-stress moments when I have a lot of tests to grade or long days because of parent-teacher meetings and stuff. That and parenting two kids takes a lot of energy too. Feel free to drop me a line (because sometimes I miss things), but don’t overdo it. :)
I try to tag triggers as ‘cw (trigger)’ and ‘(trigger) tw’. Let me know if I missed something please <3
Last but not least: I am not my character. Don’t assume that I always agree with what he thinks or does.
[Updated 28 December 2024]
