[ e.r. fightmaster, nonbinary, they/them ] - was that K.P. MATTHEWS-KIDD i saw by the lighthouse today? i heard that the TWENTY-EIGHT year old who has been in nightrest for THEIR WHOLE LIFE and works as A TATTOO ARTIST AT PERMANENT RECORD has a reputation of being HELPFUL, but also SARCASTIC. they reside in LOW POINT & people in town usually associate them with THE SMELL OF DRIED INK, COLOR-STAINED FINGERTIPS, and THE STARS THAT FILL THE GALAXY. letâs hope the killer doesnât go after them next.
[ penned by sen, 18+, they/them, cst / gmt-6 ]
[graphics template by eternal summer]
BASICS:
FULL NAME: K.P. (Kip) Matthews-Kidd
NICKNAMES: K.P. (no one calls them Kip)
DATE OF BIRTH: 1995.12.14
AGE: 28
HOMETOWN: Nightrest, MA
ORIENTATION: Aroace
GENDER: Nonbinary, they/them
ETHNICITY: American
OCCUPATION: Tattoo artist at Permanent Record
PHYSICAL:
FACECLAIM: E.R. Fightmaster
HEIGHT: 6'1"
BUILD: Tall, thin
SKIN: Tan(ish)
HAIR: Light brown
EYES: Light blue
EXTRAS: Tattooed right sleeve
PERSONALITY:
+ traits: x
- traits: x
BACKGROUND:
They first picked up a tattoo needle when they were seventeen and have been teaching themselves ever since. Eventually, they picked up the job at Permanent Record just so they could keep doing itâand earn money for what they already enjoyed doing. Their favorite thing to tattoo is stars.
They have a younger siblingâtheir mom had a child before she met their fatherâwho was very much a goody-two-shoes, so they were always known more as the bad kid. Smoking, alcohol, you name itâthe only thing they never touched is drugs. Canât stand the stuff.
Their childhood was boringly average. Their grades were on the lower end, and they were regularly outshone by their younger sibling. They felt like they were never enough for their parents, and so they decided to ignore them altogether.
K.P. didnât realize they were despised until they came into contact with their half-brother. They werenât even aware they had a half-brother until they were about eighteen, but it certainly explained why their father hadnât been around for the first few years of their life.
They know a vague amount about their fatherâs drunken past, but honestly don't care enough to look into it. Itâs not like he was ever rough with them, anyway.Â
They very quickly learned that their half-brother did not like them, and have decided to be an equal bitch in return. Theyâre not outright rude to him, but they can certainly give as good as they get.
They aren't very close to either of their siblings, half- or otherwise. They're pretty much a lone wolf, in general: not known for settling down.
PERSONALITY:
Theyâre a hardass, no two ways about it. Sarcastic, blunt, slightly uncouth, just wild. Rough around the edges, for sure.
Pretty easy-going, but their whole demeanor changes the minute you talk about art. They did, in fact, get an art degree when they got their tattoo license, and they would be more than 100% willing to sit and talk philosophy and art symbolism for hours with you. Itâs the easiest way to distract them: start talking about the meaning behind still lifes or art history and they will talk for hours. HOURS.
Theyâre also very serious about their craft. They take it seriously: ink is permanent, they know that more than anyone, hence the reason they always wear crew socksâthere may or may not be a couple of embarrassing tattoos on their ankles from when they were practicing. They will sit with you and sketch out that design forever. Youâre sure thatâs what you want? Letâs go then. NOT the artist to go to for silly, drunk tattoos. Take their apprentice up on that one.
HEADCANONS:
They have a motorcycle: sheâs their baby, and her name is Louise. They love her very much. <3
The K.P. of their name actually just stands for their name: Kip. Itâs not fancy. They just prefer K.P.
Definitely had an emo-rock phase. Probably never left it, to be honest. Still listens to rock, for sure. The emoâs negotiable.
Can be found wandering the streets at night or sitting on a curb with a cigarette, watching the stars. Will likely complain about light pollution to you if you attempt to engage in conversation.
K.P. nodded slowly at his response, thinking over their words. "Well, is it what you want to do?" they questioned bluntly, shrugging. "Is it worth sticking him out? Is it worth doing what you loveâor, depending on what you're looking for, worth the money?" They glanced at them. "Or is it better to cut your losses?" At their latter words, K.P. hid a grin. "Mm-hm," they replied sarcastically, "I bet." They nodded. "Cool. Any ideas?"
All they could do was sigh, a defeated shrug of their shoulders. "I don't know, anymore - maybe I'll go back into piercing. I've been writing songs, again - but just small shit. And a lot of it's about Seinfeld 'cos that's what I've been - watching after I smoke. There's only so many ways to rhyme Kramer. Gamer. Lamer. I can't think of another word." Gabe attempted to straighten themself up, "It's - hard, when it's family - you know this, KP." At their question - they shook their head, but stood anyways, "Nah - is there anything you've been wanting to do? I mean - maybe a fucking like, giant cat. A jaguar would be sick - no reason, just think big cats are neat."
They paused, tapping a finger to their chin. After a moment of silence, they snapped their fingersââDisclaimer.â They nodded. âThereâs another rhyme.â K.P.âs grin was faint. âYeah, I do. I know. ButâŠI have to admit, IâŠI finally reached out to Grey, andâŠâ They trailed off, nodding. âIt was the best decision Iâve made since my first time with a needle.â K.P. shrugged. âDonât let me tell you what to do, butâŠmaybe you could at least try talking it out?â At his latter words, they chuckled, shrugging again. âCats are cool,â they agreed. âIâm down for that.â
They nodded slowly, taking a long sip from the drink of their own. "Ditto." K.P. let out a sigh. The fallout of the engagement party was still fresh in their mind, but they were sick of thinking about it. They couldn't go anywhere without a book reminding them of Julia, without music reminding them of Dante. God, Dante. They shook their head, grin returning at Greyson's joke. "Not at all, idiot. Go get that hellspawn."
It will take a long time before Grey admits it out loud, but he was slowly accepting and enjoying his time spent with K.P. Who knows maybe one day he'd tell it to their face, but for now, this was enough. "You know what, I should start recording all these cute little nicknames and see what Fey thinks about them." He raised a brow, bringing the glass back to his lips for another sip. "Then none of us are safe."
At Greysonâs response, K.P. nearly choked on their drink, quickly setting it down on the surface in front of them. âOh dear god, donât you dare,â they warned, waving a finger at him. âNo, no, no. Iâve already seen that little fire bitch in actionâdonât you dare sic her on me.â They grinned slightly. âNobody wants to see that fight.â
"oh my god, seriously?" k.p. let out a chuckle, gratefully accepting the cup and immediately attempting to down approximately half the mug. finally taking a moment to breathe, they groaned. "remind me to never stay up past four a.m. again," they muttered, shaking their head. "does she really? i never took her for a sports kid." they grinned.
"stay up late drinking?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at them. she didn't miss those days. the days of staying up way too late. she was content with going to bed before midnight during the week. and most of the time, the weekends as well. "she does." she replied as she nodded her head. "i didn't think she would come to love football either but she does."
They grinned. âMaybe a little.â K.P. gave her a shrug. âHey, you know me. Iâm not ever gonna turn down happy hour at Deadlights, you feel me? And if happy hour runs a bit late, wellâŠâ They waved a hand. âSo be it.â At her latter words, they nodded. âHowâd you do it? Just forcing her to watch a bunch of games?â they joked.
K.P. laughed, shaking their head. "Physics, Santi. I'm talking about rocket science. Astronomy." At his latter words, they adjusted themselves on their seat, nodding as they listened to his thoughts. "Sounds good to me. I'll throw something together and get back to you, then." They raised an eyebrow. "Please. You don't know me by now?" K.P. rolled their eyes. "It'll look good. I promise." They grinned, taking a sip from their bottle. "Not much. Work's been kind of slow. Mostly just avoiding being murdered, I guess."
"You think I know anything about that?" Santi asked, letting out a laugh. "It better," he jokingly threatened them, though he trusted them a lot, trusted their artistic vision and trusted that they knew him well enough too to know what he would like. "Yeah, tell me about it," Santi muttered with a deep exhale. "I thought this shit was over and done with, but I guess not," he said, shaking his head. "We just had a party, and then a week later, a body's been found. Then four days after that, another body. It's bullshit."
âNo, in fact, I know you donât, which is why I clarified,â they deadpanned, grinning. At his latter words, they let out a long exhale, nodding. âI know,â they murmured. âThree already? Itâs insane.â K.P. shook their head, glancing away. âI donât know who this is, or if they think itâs funny or something horrible, but I really just wish theyâd knock it off. Canât we have one week without this shit? I feel like Iâm still recovering from the one a few months ago.â
They nodded thoughtfully. "You know what? Good incentive." Bacon was always a good incentive. "I'll take the deal." At Bash's response, they let out a raucous burst of laughter, flipping the coin towards him. "Fine, fine. Keep your precious silver dollar, then. Guess I'll just have to survive off of Mama's bacon for the time being. But you owe me some, eh?"
Bash slapped his chest twice to indicate he was the man. Proud to know the way to everyone's heart- through bacon. His catch however was not as good as he thought, "You ain't throw it correctly." he blamed KP as he leaned town to pick it up. "Mama's got some good ass bacon. Specially after a long night of drinking." he turned his head and laughed, "Exactly what do I owe you now? I'll let you pick your own chicken, how about that? But I get the pleasure of watching you run around and catch it."
They raised their eyebrows indignantly. âMe? I didnât throw it right? No, you just canât catch for shit!â The grin on their face betrayed their joke, and they rolled their eyes, leaning over to grab their forgotten beer can from the sand nearby. âOh, please, Iâm not that stupid. Iâm not gonna be able to catch a chicken, please. And again, what the hell would I even do with that?â They shook their head. âNope. Better you keep the animals in this relationship.â
"Now that's just awful. I've done nothing to deserve this treatment from you." Bash scoffs, turning his head in the opposite direction so he wasn't looking towards them. "You won't have to buy bacon for the next like two weeks, so you can't even front. And the baby-back? Massive!" he laughed knowing well that KP probably won't be taking the pig. Not alive that is. Where would they put it? "You're just full of jokes then, ain't you? That don't count. You already seen the date. I'm keeping my pig!"
They nodded thoughtfully. "You know what? Good incentive." Bacon was always a good incentive. "I'll take the deal." At Bash's response, they let out a raucous burst of laughter, flipping the coin towards him. "Fine, fine. Keep your precious silver dollar, then. Guess I'll just have to survive off of Mama's bacon for the time being. But you owe me some, eh?"
They shrugged. âDonât know. Just something about yourâŠenergy.â They grinned. âVery exuberant. And not in a bad way. JustâŠnice.â K.P. raised their eyebrows. âWhich there seems to be a black hole of around here recently,â they mumbled to themselves, shrugging again. âSorry. That was probably a weird answer.â
âNo that was actually a really great answer, Iâm happy I could fill your hole,â Jade said, before laughing. âThe black hole, obviously,â she added, before shaking her head. She really wishes she could write her own dialogue in advance, because some of the things she said made her wish she never went out in public. âBut yeah, Iâm new and Iâm Jade.â
They nodded, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, I knew what you meant, trust me." Resisting the urge to go into a rant about black holes, K.P. reached out to shake hands. "K.P. Nice to meet you."
He shrugged his shoulders as he picked up the glass to take a sip from his drink. "Trying to move on. You?" He didn't want to stay focused on the past and what happened to them. He wanted his attention brought back to people who were still here and his music, something that always helped him go through his life and recently he felt like the muse for it was coming back. "Why? You rooting against us?" He quirked a brow as he glanced at K.P., not long after giving them a small smile to indicate he was playing.
They nodded slowly, taking a long sip from the drink of their own. "Ditto." K.P. let out a sigh. The fallout of the engagement party was still fresh in their mind, but they were sick of thinking about it. They couldn't go anywhere without a book reminding them of Julia, without music reminding them of Dante. God, Dante. They shook their head, grin returning at Greyson's joke. "Not at all, idiot. Go get that hellspawn."
"I don't like you." Bash joked, crossing his arms over his chest after being denied view. "I'll bet you a pig. How about it? A singular pig, and you get to pick which one. As long as it's not my old man George." he settled, taking a seat as he waited. There was no doubt in his mind now that KP was more than likely correct, but he wasn't going to give in. "What you got a coin degree that I didn't know about?"
"I don't like you, either." K.P. laughed, grinning. "A pig? Bash, why would anyone but you want a pig? But fine, I accept." At his question, their grin only widened to a level some may have described as shit-eating, and they flipped the coin in their hand over, pointing their pinkie to the year inscribed on the coin. 2008. "I don't need a degree in coin-ology to read a date."
"Nothing -" They began - but faltered. KP was one of the few people Gabe didn't want to lie to about their well-being; they cared for them too much for that. " - It's just - I dunno, what's the fucking, point? I can barely get clients - I keep fucking, fighting with Jaz so I'm probably on my way out the door, anyways - I have other talents. I can do other things." It's not that convincing; there's only so much Gabe can do besides strum a guitar and re-watch the same '70s horror films. "I want a new chest piece, I think. But that's kinda fucking - massive. Maybe something on my arm, instead."
K.P. nodded slowly at his response, thinking over their words. "Well, is it what you want to do?" they questioned bluntly, shrugging. "Is it worth sticking him out? Is it worth doing what you loveâor, depending on what you're looking for, worth the money?" They glanced at them. "Or is it better to cut your losses?" At their latter words, K.P. hid a grin. "Mm-hm," they replied sarcastically, "I bet." They nodded. "Cool. Any ideas?"
Gabe glanced up from trying to inconspicuously put all their belongings into a tote bag - except they had a lot of shit at the shop, like a little designated Gabe Corner; and it was getting increasingly harder to find the space to cram shit into. "No - Jaz doesn't let me book shit," They're blunt - blunter than normal, kicking the tote bag behind their feet before straightening up. "I haven't - noticed. I've been kind of - out of shop lately. If it's dead, you can tattoo over one of my tattoos - I'm getting kinda, like - bored of them?"
K.P. blinked, glancing over at the other. "...ohhh-kay?" They paused. "The hell is up with you?" they replied, equally bluntâthough it's more expected coming from them, and there isn't any real ire behind the words. "Out of shop? More like out of it." They waved a hand at him playfully. "Earth to Gabe." At his response, they shrugged. "If you want me to."
"A man can dream." he said sure of himself, "You think it's worth anything? You never know we could become millionaires with this." Odder things had happened before, surely. Bash leaned on over still assessing the coin from KP's hands. "No, you're blowing smoke. That got to be a Spanish coin."
K.P. glanced up at him, a faint grin on their face. "Oh, yeah? You really think so?" They clasped their hand shut, hiding the coin from view. "Alright, prove it. How much you want to bet it's aâwhat did you call it? Spanish coin?" They mocked him playfully. "Because I bet you more that it's not. And I have a sneaky feeling I'll be winning that one."
They chuckled at her reply, nodding. âThatâs very true.â They cocked their head. âAre you new? I havenât seen you around town. I mean, I know I donât get out much, but at the same time, I feel like Iâd remember you.â K.P. grinned. âYeah, Nightrest parties areâŠgenerally very eventful. Great for the books.â
âI am new... but why do you think youâd remember me?â Jade asked. She spent so much time focused on what other people put off she never thought about the energy she gave. âSorry that was kind of a weird question.âÂ
They shrugged. "Don't know. Just something about your...energy." They grinned. "Very exuberant. And not in a bad way. Just...nice." K.P. raised their eyebrows. "Which there seems to be a black hole of around here recently," they mumbled to themselves, shrugging again. "Sorry. That was probably a weird answer."
"i swear, the moment i mentioned to emine that we were going to the opening game for the michigan wolverines, she got all excited." pouring coffee for the two of them, she soon enough brought the cups over to were her friend was. handing k.p one of the cups, she sat down next to them. "you should see her at the games. i swear, she cheers louder than i do."
"oh my god, seriously?" k.p. let out a chuckle, gratefully accepting the cup and immediately attempting to down approximately half the mug. finally taking a moment to breathe, they groaned. "remind me to never stay up past four a.m. again," they muttered, shaking their head. "does she really? i never took her for a sports kid." they grinned.
"A doubloon? What are you, in some kind of teen pirate movie?" K.P. shook their head, leaning over to pluck the coin out of his grasp. "It's just a dirty silver dollar. Still rare, yeah, but not centuries old." They chuckled.
"How're you holding up?" It felt like weeks since they'd seen Grey around the town. Granted, it had taken them a while to get out of the house again after the disaster at the engagement party, but even so. "You and Fey still going strong?" K.P. smirked.
