FULL NAME › Katherine Ryan
AGE › eighteen
GENDER › Cis female (She/Her/Hers)
FROM › Boot Hill, Arizona
RESIDENCE › Villas Adobes (Downtown)
OCCUPATION › Student at Boot Hill High School, Babysitter
NOW PLAYING › You Should See Me In a Crown by Billie Eilish
trigger/content warnings: absent parent, death of a family member
Headstrong and independent, two words all of Katie’s teachers used to describe her in breakrooms. They’d warn each other– oh, you have her second period? Well, she’s certainly…opinionated. Of course, they’d write a simple “joy to have in class” on the report card and call it a day. It was evident after a few parent teacher conferences that Katie’s sister, Joey, was the one keeping the Ryan family together. The whole town knew about the Ryan family tragedies, an unfortunate plural, but judging by Katie’s attitude, they were doing just fine, so there was no need to intervene. Katie’s twin brother, Eddie, was a different story, but they knew Katie was handling that herself. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…right?
Katie never experienced familial structure– at least not any that she remembers. She’s been told she had a father, but that means nothing to her. She’s also been told she had another sibling, but all she sees are the remnants of that sibling’s life in the kids she tragically left behind. She’s been told that Felicity Ryan is her mother, but she’ll believe it when she sees it. As far as she’s concerned, the Ryan family is a family of five: Joey and Eddie, and the younger Ryan kids. Anyone else is inconsequential.
Katie sees everything in black and white, really. It’s all or nothing with her, in every sense. If she loves something, everyone will know. If she hates something, everyone will know. She typically loves more than she hates, unless that hate is an injustice, or neon yellow. There is no middle ground. There is no “complicated”. Things are as she sees them, and maybe that’s a flaw to some, but she’s never had a problem with it.
High school is all Katie has known for the last four years. Even before high school, she was itching for the freedom she felt it would bring her. She ran the place, being on cheer and student government, and babysitting to help with the costs. Now that it’s coming to a close, the uncertainty of the future is looming, and for the first time, she’s not sure what comes next. Her responsibility to her (chosen) family, her aversion to her “mother”, her love for her brother, and her need for freedom and experiencing the next adventure are all fighting for top priority, and she feels completely out of control of where that will fall.
❝ i don’t need anyone, i don’t need anyone, i just need everyone and then some. ❞
FACECLAIM › Kiernan Shipka
AUTHOR › Erica