“Oh I was joking, don’t take me seriously,” he laughed, knowing that he had his faults but he wasn’t that bad. “Oh, uh, yeah, totally,” he nodded, scratching the back of his neck, “but you go first, what was your favorite subject?”
If there was anything Kennedy knew about, it was marine life. “Biology.” The confirmed, not needing to think about what their favorite subject had been. “I’m a marine biologist now, or at least trying to be.” They shrugged, the water being their favorite place. “If you say yours was math, I don’t think I can continue this conversation in good faith.”
“How much is a hair cut normally?” Nixie hadn’t gotten a hair cut in years. They didn’t trust anyone else, and they often trimmed their own curls. “Yes. What else would us freaks do?”
"What do I look like, a yellow pages?” Kennedy asked with a laugh. “I have no idea, and my hair should tell you it’s been a while since I last got it. Surely anything more than $20 is a rip off?” They would rather have someone else cut their hair than pay a ridiculous amount. “Makes sense to me, though I am partial to a bracelet.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised, I barely know anything” he laughed, knowing that that wasn’t true but he always viewed himself as less than with others, and it showed at moments when other’s showed their intelligence. “Anything, honestly, enlighten me with all your knowledge”
Kennedy sat back in their chair, a frown forming on their face. “Please, this is the only thing I know anything about. You’re bound to have something that you know a lot about.” Kennedy wasn’t very clever when it came to anything other than their field of interest. “Wasn’t there something you liked learning in school?”
Carsyn looked up from her studies. Boy, did she hate spending so much time looking over paperwork and tests. She longed to be outside. To be running. Swimming. Anything. The comment by the other made her laugh. “Are they really? Makes sense I guess. They are mammals.”
"Hairy whales. Who would have thought it?” Kennedy asked with a grin, though they were more musing to themselves than the other. They couldn’t help themselves from peering over the top of their laptop though, to eye up what the other was doing. “Anything exciting? More exciting than hairy whales and bubble-blowing belugas?”
“What if I pay you to go get a mullet?” Nixie suggested. “If you get a mullet, I’ll let you give me one.” They didn’t necessarily trust Kennedy’s hair cutting skills, but they’d give them a chance.
Kennedy paused for a moment to consider their offer. “Exactly how much is on the table?” They asked, knowing that for the right price there wasn’t much that they would do. “Is this like friendship bracelets, but for terrible haircuts?”
“Only if I can get you a little bit of a mullet too.” Nixie said, placing their head on Kennedy’s shoulder. They allowed themselves to take a deep breath. “I’m not sure I trust you with my curly hair.”
"There is absolutely no way in hell you are coming near my hair with a pair of scissors. You’ll end up giving me a bowl cut.” Kennedy joked, their head leaning against the others as it rested on their shoulder. “Hey, I’d do a good job on your hair! I’ve got loads of special skills, hair cutting might be one of them.”
“Seriously?” he whispered as if they were telling him a secret not one other soul could possibly know. Leaning forward, he looked at the computer with a curious eye, wondering what they were typing and if it had anything to do with what they had just said but he wasn’t going to pester them. “What else do you know?” Okay, maybe he was, but he’d be nice about it
Kennedy looked up from behind their screen, their cheeks pulling their mouth into a knowing smile as the other seemed to question the extent of their knowledge. “I know everything.” They confirmed, pulling the top of their laptop down just a touch to see the other better. “What do you want to know? I am the gatekeeper of all there is to be known about the ocean you see.” They teased, even if their knowledge was rather extensive.
“The more you know I guess,” he laughed, looking over at them with a raised brow, wondering where they got this information and why he was totally into it and wanted to know more. “Anything else you have to share because I’m genuinely interested”
Kennedy couldn’t help but chuckle at the other, their brain filled with so many facts about the creatures of the ocean that they could chatter about it for hours if they would be allowed to. “Depends on what you want to know. Whales only? Because I have some cool research on sharks too, but whales are where most of my work is focussed. The odd bit about lake life because Echo Lake is a little easier to manage by myself than the Pacific Ocean.”
Freyja found comfort in old books, and loathe as she was to admit it, the local library was full of them, which almost was enough to make this trip. What she was not fond of, though, were the folk that made up the town.
With a heavy sigh, Freyja set down her coffee cup and glanced sideways at the person beside her. They were typing away on a computer and it was only now that Freyja acknowledged how loud it was. With a deliberate slowness, she closed over the first edition Marcel Proust and kept the page with her thumb.
“I wasn’t aware that we were friends.” Freyja said with a smile, though it was edged like cut glass. She eyed them carefully, the pale grey of her stare as haunting as it was ominous. “-how lucky. I’m in town 2 days and i’ve already made myself a little buddy.” Freyja blinked, smile locked in place like a vice should her face suddenly crack into a scowl.
They hadn’t intended on drawing attention to themselves in the way that they seemingly had done, but they weren’t going to refuse it. “You consider me a buddy? We’ve literally never spoken.” Kennedy said, their eyebrows raising as they surveyed the other in front of them. “New to town though, that’s cool. Get to learn all the weird things about this place for the first time, there’s enough to know about.” They explained, resting their chin on their hands as they looked over at her demeanour. Something about it didn’t sit right with Kennedy, but who were they to judge somebody that they didn’t know?
Nixie had just finished drying off after a swim whenever they saw Kennedy sitting on the Marsh memorial bench. They walked up to the other, wrapping an arm around their best friend. “Maybe I should cut my hair into a mullet. Wouldn’t I look good with that in the water?”
Kennedy let out a small groan as their best friend approached, followed by a smile to show that they were of course only joking. They let out a laugh, the thought of Nixie in a mullet wasn’t one that they had bothered to entertain themselves with before. “I think you should. You know what, I actually dare you. Will you let me do the cutting of the front? I reckon I could be good with a pair of scissors.”
Kennedy sat at their computer, fingers typing away at the research she had just finished analysing. Their annual four week trip to Alaska had just come to an end, and they were determined to make sure that they didn’t miss out a single thing when it came to their summary report. They had put together this report so many times they could do it in their sleep - but they still wanted to make sure it was perfect. This was their life’s work, after all. “You know some whales are totally born with hair? Imagine rocking a mullet 100ft under the ocean. I’d do it.”
(brigette lundy-paine, 23, non binary, they/them) The war is about to start KENNEDY BROOK. We see that you will be fighting for the NEITHER family as a FRESHWATER MERFOLK. THEY reminds me of FAST MOVING RAPIDS, IRIDESCENT SCALES and EYES BENEATH WATER REEDS. We wish you luck.
basics →
FULL NAME: Kennedy Brook.
AGE: 23.
GENDER/PRONOUNS: non-binary, they/them.
SPECIES: Merfolk - Freshwater.
headcanons →
Kennedy was a water baby. They started taking swimming lessons, partaking in water sports, and spending their spare time in the water.
Kennedy has a tattoo of a beluga whale on their upper left thigh - it was a dare, and she never backs out of a dare.
Kennedy knows there is a was but is disinterested in it more than anything. They don’t understand why it’s still going on with the heads of each family dead.
They are very thrifty - they will scrimp and save for the most part and never knowingly more for something than they need to.
They are very conscious of climate change and the implications it can have. Kennedy tries to adopt a zero waste, vegan, lifestyle to try and contribute to the bettering of the problem.
They go to Alaska nearly every year to monitor the whales up there, it is usually a 4 week trip.
Kennedy is the most clumsy person you might ever meet.
biography →
Kennedy is the only child to their parents Clifford and Louisa, born and raised in Cresthill. Kennedy struggled with their upbringing, often feeling neglected and left out by their parents who didn’t have the same interest in their child as other parents tended to have. Because of this, they spent a lot of time with their neighbours, both of which were lifeguards, and got Kennedy interested in the water from as early as they could take them out.
By the time they were fourteen, Kennedy had a deeper understanding of the world around them and the way that they had been treated by their parents. They had never been interested in them, never even met their grandparents. Because of this, Kennedy was quick to file for emancipation. They had no remorse with it and no regret, and the impression that their parents were almost as equally pleased with the arrangement.
Kennedy found the love and support they had needed from their neighbours, learning to swim, lifeguard, and spend enough time with them on their travels to become at one with the sea. An interest in marine life and their ecosystems had been sparked, and the freedom of being detached from their parents meant that they really had the opportunity to do whatever it was that they wanted without running the risk of them holding them back.
Kennedy studied hard during high school to get into the University of Tampa, with marine biology as their main focus. They enjoyed the university life in Florida, even if they didn’t enjoy the humidity that came with it. The resources and opportunities that came from studying there provided them with the chance to do and see things they wouldn’t have if they had remained in Cresthill. Upon graduation they moved back to Cresthill immediately, to help take care of the parental figures, their old neighbours, who had since become older and more elderly.
One night, Kennedy was out exploring by Echo Lake. They had been assessing the impact of bioluminescent bacteria within the lake, and whether or not it could be sustained appropriately. This of course, meant that they were out in the middle of the night. Being as clumsy as they are, Kennedy unknowingly found themselves near the moon pool, wading in deeper and deeper as they thought they were making progress with their project.
Kennedy isn’t entire sure what they are. They understand that they have a tail and scales, and that they need to be in the lake more often than they might like, but in true essence, they don’t understand. They have a very scientific brain, and are looking to understand the how and the why. It is since turning that they have become more aware of the other supernatural beings in the town, and don’t understand completely the war - and as such is just keeping their nose out of it, to avoid any unwanted trouble.
