( deniz can aktaş, cis male, he/him, muse k ) oh snap! is that KEMAL ’ KEM ’ ARSLAN? they work over at high volume where some of the other employees have labelled them as THE MALINGERER. that’s probably because they can be a bit ( candid ) but also pretty ( aloof ) they’re 25 and they’ve been living in woodstock for TWENTY THREE YEARS. it must be their shift because i totally hear 4 NON BLONDES blasting from the record store. ( aesthetics: concealed bruises under layers of clothing, flannel shirts making up the majority of his wardrobe, dark circles beneath tired eyes, and a brush of his hand through his curls ) [ MOCHI, 25, GMT, SHE/HER ]
HI ! so please click here for an update on kem’s journey since the ending of season one and beginning of season 2 !
hi guys ! ♥ i will defo ( probs ) give him an actual graphic but today is not the day (and it still isn’t 7 months later ) ! this got pretty long ? it’s mostly just waffle but i didn’t wanna cut things and lose potential parts of him so, whatever !
i will say now there are some possible heavy triggers so i’m putting this as a lil warning but i will try and also include tw by section to make it easier to avoid, so it might be a lil choppy but better safe than sorry ... tho i am sorry if i have missed anything !! and also there will be a lil completely safe tldr at the bottom ( before personality section !! ) so feel free to scroll to that !! even if you’re not bothered by the triggers and just cba to read... i get it bro
overall triggers are: blood, abuse ( inflicted by parents, emotional and physical ), alcoholism and drug abuse/use mentions.
let’s start with some fun stuff because kem’s life isn’t particularly fun to read about but his fun fun parallels are:
ryūji takasu
davos seaworth
charlie swan
jon snow
hakoda
remus lupin
charlie kelmeckis
jonathan buyers
obi wan kenobi
HISTORY
his mom left when he was seven, they'd all moved to the states from turkey for her when kem was four. she had a cousin who was supposedly going to help them have a great life… it didn't end up that way. they were in the woodstock trailer park with both parents working too many jobs to pay kem any mind and still struggling to afford necessities. eventually, his mom just packed and left, without a word. he knew his parents fought, didn't know it back then but she was having an affair, or he was, or both, something like that. even now, he still doesn't know all the details.
tw. child abuse, blood, alcoholism.
so it was just kem and his dad which was… quiet. kem wanted to ask about it but his dad would shut him down everytime. it started with just wanting space, neglecting his son a bit and ignoring him or blowing up at kem to get him to leave him alone, only talking when he wanted a beer. kem would get it in hopes that it might make his dad happier and he could be of some use to him. he's always drank, it's not like he suddenly just became an alcoholic as soon as his mom left, it just got worse. he'd never hit kem while she was still around, and kem didn't ever expect it, even if his dad scared him sometimes. the first time it happened he'd ended up knocking out a tooth, his gums bleeding as his eyes welled up and he clutched his cheek. he ran out of the trailer, wandered around for a few hours while the pain subsided and he stopped crying. when he snuck back in, his dad was passed out. that was the general routine growing up: it would come out of nowhere and then kem would find somewhere to hide for a bit. eventually he would learn the warning signs, as best he could anyway, but a lot of the time he just made himself more sparse, kept himself busy and only stayed at home when his dad was knocked out, somewhere else, or if he had no other option.
tw. child abuse. alcoholism.
when he was younger, there wasn't much he could do about it. now, he at least has a chance of dodging them, can block it if he's seen it coming early enough. he doesn't like restraining his dad, makes him feel worse, but he's used to it. he's had countless bruises, one too many broken bones for a boy who doesn't play sport or acts out recklessly. no one would blame him if he did, they all know who his dad is, what he's like after a drink. it didn't mean anyone helped him, though. he's pretty sure the doctors knew, his teachers at school, friends’ parents… they usually just didn’t want him friends with their kids.
end of tw.
he was skinny as a kid, pretty shaggy, all his clothes with holes, he definitely wasn't nurtured, and because of who his dad was, it made people quick to assume who kem was. and they liked to assume he was a bad kid.
truthfully, he did get into a couple of fights sometimes if people said shit about his dad, or mom. but he wasn't bad at school, he did quite well. not enough to really afford going to college so he's been working at high volume since he was about 16 and he's not sure if he pictured being there for so long but there's definitely worse jobs and he'd probably be a lot less content about sticking around woodstock if not for his friends there.
he keeps trying to save up in the hope of a small escape, even if it's just out of the trailer park but his dad always finds his cash. but kem doesn't care, really, because deep down he's quite aware he can't leave his dad. going to rehab was quite good for him in that sense, even if he was still worrying about his dad, he did realise his dad was somewhat capable without him. still, he was only there for 60 days and he asked his neighbours to check in every now and then on his dad, just to ensure he was breathing. he doesn't know if they actually did, but he came back to his dad passed out as usual.
tw. abuse, alcoholism.
he's old enough now he doesn't have to live with his dad, but with just leaving rehab he's not exactly got the most money or options and his dad is … complicated. even through all the years of abuse, physical or otherwise, kem can't quite leave him. he thinks if he does his dad will end up dead in a week and he doesn't want that on his conscience, blaming himself for his mom's departure is enough for him to deal with for one lifetime. plus his dad can be alright, can be a dad sometimes. he's got a great sense of humour when his words aren't slurred or he's not launching a fist into kem's face.
end of tw.
at high volume, kem and jerry got on really well, he was almost like a father figure to him in a way. he knew a lot about his home situation so he could be quite flexible with his shifts and bail early if he needed to sort his dad out. if kem called in sick it was almost always to do with his dad, and jerry understood that. but it also meant kem could come in when he needed a little escape, too. so he is a bit uncertain with his disappearance, not sure he believes he'd just bail after all the work and love he'd put into the store, even if it's not THAT out of character for him to be gone for a little while.
tw. drugs mention.
when drugs were found in his locker, he doesn't think anyone was shocked. even his closest friends didn't really question it, jerry assumed they were his dad's and he gave up with trying to deny it, realising it was a lost cause quite early and just took the fall… he's pretty sure he knows who's they were, anyway, and it's better him than them when his life is pretty fucking shit already.
rehab wasn't terrible, it was quite peaceful, actually, kind of nice… he read a lot. there were a lot of therapy sessions, and even though he doesn't actually have a drug problem, he found it still quite useful when they kept making him talk about his family and childhood. now he's out, he still has group sessions he has to go to for another couple months, though he's pretty sure they're just an opportunity to test how clean he is. honestly, it's just another excuse to get out of the trailer a bit. plus the coffee's free, so…
end of tw.
TLDR.
moved from turkey as a toddler. mom left when he was seven. his father has not been the best but kem’s conscience won’t let him ditch. spent 60 days in rehab, still goes to group sessions.
PERSONALITY
( tw small vomit mention... just incase )
… he's a bit of a wallflower… a loser, really, but more than likely one of the most genuine people you could meet even if he's outwardly a little moody. he just sorta keeps his distance, takes quite a bit for people to go beyond acquaintances to friends for him because he doesn't trust people all that easy even if he wants to give you the benefit of the doubt. most people in his life have disappointed him, and he's stupidly loyal so it's better to just not even bother with those kinds of attachments because he's tired of being let down and he knows he'll allow it, a strong believer in second chances… and third and fourth ones, too. he'd meet you at 4am in the morning to walk you back home, even if he barely knows you, and last time he did you vomited all over him and called him a dick — he just tries to do what's right but you probs wouldn't expect that unless you knew him, and i feel like a lot of people naturally just keep their distance from him and he's more than happy to do the same.
still !!! that doesn't mean he's a goody-goody lawful type… he's not opposed to rule breaking, or law breaking… but he doesn't intentionally do anything at the cost of others, he doesn't agree with being a dick without reason and usually he needs a pretty good reason for that…
big do as i say, not as i do mentality
OTHER LIL BITS
alcoholism tw. doesnt really like to drink, aware of what it does to people, so often is the ‘boring one’ in the corner at parties drinking juice rather than beer, but no one seems to complain when they need a designated driver. and it’s not that he NEVER drinks, he does sometimes, but rarely gets drunk tbh. if he isn’t going back home that night, he’s more likely to drink, but he can’t go home drunk to his dad, it's not a great combo.
wears the same clothes often, ya boy poor… probs has like two pairs of jeans worn to shit with holes in... he invented the ripped jean look
rarely invites people to his trailer, even if you've known him years the most you've probably done is wait outside unless his dad wasn't home
can play guitar and bass but doesn't own either.
drugs tw. used to smoke weed every now and then, now doesn't out of principal bc of the rehab thing, might have done harder stuff if it was offered but he aint got money for that... whether he’ll get back into smoking once he’s completely done with the rehab thing ???? tbc...
his all time fave band is 4 non blondes............ he’s praying for a reunion.... but he also loves counting crows, elliott smith, the cranberries, bjork and nirvana... but only bc 4 non blondes broke up jshbjshbsjhb
AT HIGH VOLUME;
kind of the dad/grandpa of the group ? definitely has a different rep in store than he does among the town, he's very helpful and patient, not at all the bad boy causing trouble that a lot of people try and make him out to be. he'll always cover your shifts, talk shit for hours when it's quiet in store, wait around if you need someone to walk home with — he's not super super close with a lot of people but his colleagues at high volume ARE his friends, even if he feels like half of them need babysitting most of the time… which is fine, too, since they're basically family to him.
WANTED CONNECTIONS... y’all i’m so bad at these BUT i do want them all
someone he does always walk home with after shifts to make sure they’re good... i just think this is so cute .... maybe they look at the stars omg??
someone he showed the ropes to at high volume !! he’s been there like 10 years p much since opening and he is one of the older... (oldest??) workers there so cud be cute !! cud hc if their first day was a disaster bc of kem or amazin !!!
ppl who know of his dad................ whether they like kem or not ?? up to u ... like i assume even if they didn’t, they might like him now since working with him ? interesting to play around with bc i bet his dad’s done some embarrassing/questionable/down right fucked up shit so !!!!!!! fun !
this goes to the muses who are 24/25 but ppl who were in his classes at school ?? those kind of childhood connections of knowing each other their whole lives kinda things !
imma post a plotting call in the discord but feel free to just hmu if u have ideas or anything !! super excited to plot and rp with you all !!!