open starter, ( @palmviewstarters ) !
location, @ siren karaoke bar !
he's a man of many skills... but singing ? well, to put it lightly, after his friends heard him sing back in the day for the first time they all agreed he should be a tenor… as if ten or twelve feet away from all musical instruments at all times. but does that mean he lacks the confidence of grabbing a mic to potentially ( definitely ) make a fool of himself on a friday night ? absolutely not. “ how about this… i'll sing with you yeah, i'll even belt a troy bolton but you have to get this chick off my back, “ daniel muses to his company, motioning towards the legged blonde that keeps on eying him like he's on her tonight's menu. “ she came over to say that she can tell by the way i'm ignoring her that she should just wait for me in the backseat of my car… and she wasn't even joking, “
this wasn't exactly how he thought he'd be spending his friday night but since some of his friends had made some kind of bet, he couldn't deny that he was curious about how it was all going to go so he just tagged along to the karaoke bar. as long as he didn't have to sing, it'd be fine. although he knew he'd be dragged onto that stage at some point. maybe some liquid courage could help. as the guy next to him at the bar starting talking, he took a look at the blonde and shook his head in amusement. "think you got a cougar on your back, man. think she might be a bit older than she makes herself out to be. they tend to be quite determined." the way the woman kept looking at the guy, it's as if she was ready to jump her prey. "alright, i guess i can help you out. just be warned, i'm not the best singer. so, what will it be: an upbeat song? something romantic to give her the surprise of her life?"
The late afternoon sun shone onto the table as Ken sat outside, her warm plate of tacos in front of her, immersed in a book as she tried to decompress from a full day of teaching first graders at the pool. Tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear, she looked up as the door swung open, her gaze falling on someone. “Oh, um, hi. Sorry, did you wanna to sit here?”
"Only if no one else is sitting there and you wouldn't mind the company? I've just been inside and it's packed so thought I'd come look for a spot out here but also quite crowded." Aidan chuckled softly, not wanting to invade her privacy or anything if she'd rather just sit there alone.
at giselle's on opening day with anyone … @palmviewstarters
the night was approaching its end and movement had decreased significantly so she left her staff in charge of the little there was to do in the kitchen and sat outside for a bit. unsure if she'd wanted to stare at the restaurant or the marina, vivi took turns doing both. at that specific point though, she had her back to the building and watched as the moonlight danced on the water making the boats sway rhythmically in an almost soothing way which left her unaware of the person coming from inside. and it startled her when she did notice their presence. “ putain, tu m’as fait peur ! ” the words came out in the wrong language. “ you scared me. ” she corrected. “ smoke break ? i was watching the boats. it's quite calming and i was a little overwhelmed in there. ” but perhaps it wasn't something she needed to be sharing. “ hope you enjoyed yourself tonight. ”
since there wasn’t much to do that evening, aidan had decided to accept one of his collegues’ invitations on going to the opening night of this new dining spot in town. of course he had heard of the executive chef and how her food belongs to some of the best of the world. not his own words as he had never tried some before. he was glad to find out that his friends weren’t lying. everything was delicious. taking a deep breath, he excused himself before heading outside, needing some fresh air as it was a little crowded there. “sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” chuckling softly, he raised his brow. “i do understand why people think the french language sounds sexy.” shaking his head in amusement, he took a seat next to her. “smoke? nah, it’s a nasty habit i don’t want to start up again. you’re right, it does seem quite calming. don’t blame you, it was quite crowded tonight but also a success i believe. you’re the owner, right?” he had seen her pass through the place from time to time. “i did enjoy it. everything was delicious.”
[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed AIDAN SHEPHARD walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who HE is ? they kind of look like AARON TAYLOR JOHNSON and i could be wrong but i think that they might be 34 years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last FIVE YEARS. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of SETH COHEN from THE OC. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at PALMVIEW UNIVERSITY as a ANIMATION & GAME DESIGN PROFESSOR. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the INSURGENT of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty SARCASTIC at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty DETERMINED to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that 2 BEDROOM apartment beside me over in OCEAN'S EDGE. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!
STATS
full name : aidan jasper shephard
nickname(s) : aj, aid
date of birth : june 8, 1990
sibling(s) : atlas shephard (25), ____ shephard
relationship status : single
gender identity : cis man ( he/him )
sexual orientation : pansexual
faceclaim : aaron taylor-johnson
label: the insurgent
counterpart: seth cohen / the oc
BACKGROUND
the eldest of the shephard siblings and probably one of the loudest in the family, at least back when he was still a kid.
has always been more the artsy type of the family, being very much into drawing ever since he was young and that carried on through high school. you could always find him sitting somewhere, drawing his fellow students or anything that caught his eye.
comic books were his go to whenever he wanted to relax and escape reality or his parents. they didn't seem to like it much but he didn't care.
at quite the young age, he kind of took on the lead over his siblings as their parents were barely around. only during the holidays they seemed to care about their children as they just wanted to look good.
it was known that he was supposed to take over the family business some day and while his parents tried their best to groom him into it, he wasn't having it. he had no interest in it at all. his dad didn't seem to want to take no for an answer which is why aidan started to act out.
as he entered high school, he was mostly overlooked as he was more the geeky type so he never really fit into the popular crowd. not that he cared much. but with his parents pressuring him into something he didn't want to do, he started hanging out with the wrong crowd. it may have given him a bit more popularity but more in the negative way. smoking behind the bleachers, getting into fights, those were the things that happened daily.
not giving into his parents' wishes, he went off to college, studying animation. he loved to draw and one of his biggest dreams was to work for an animation studio like disney or pixar or even marvel. it was much to his parents' dislike and they did threaten to cut him off. getting a job while being at university, he managed to pay for it himself without any help. he refused to give in and frankly, he doesn't really care much about money.
after college, he went on to become a TA at one of the local colleges before he got an offer from the palmview university five years ago. he moved back there and became the animation and game design professor there. might not be his dream job but he still gets to do what he likes to do. sometimes he does get a call for a certain animation job.
now that he's back in the same town as his siblings, it's easier to keep an eye on the youngest. making sure that he isn't getting pressured by their parents and that he does what he wants to do instead of obeying. he might not be the best example or person to look up to, but when it comes to his brothers, he only wants what's best for them.
PERSONALITY
aidan has always been that geeky kid at heart. Using sarcasm as his only protection when growing up. he wasn't necessarily a loser but also not the most popular kid in school.
had a bit of a rebellious streak in his teenage years but that didn't take away his nice and caring personality. he mostly did it just to piss his parents off. but he did get in a lot of fights, both physical and verbal, so he may have come over as an asshole at times.
very protective over his younger siblings, especially atlas. of course he noticed how the little boy wanted their parents' attention and only got it during the holidays so they could parade around with their "perfect" children. after that, they were on their own. which is why aidan sort of took on the role of dad when growing up. just to make sure his siblings stayed happy and not become depressed.
in a nutshell, he's a nice and caring person that could use sarcasm as his defense. he's not one to get angry that easily but when he does, be careful. his siblings' well being means everything to him so he can come over a bit overprotective. but overall, he's not the worst guy.
