all images made and rendered here on homestyler. assume all potted plants are weed. hopefully you can tell which side is ollie's and which side is jacqui's. I think you can.
@jacqui-velazquez
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TASK 001: MEET THE FAMILY [REDUX]
Family Aesthetics: ‘you know you can tell us anything, right’, a completely filled ash tray, working terrible hours and coming home late at night, 90s grunge aesthetic, a teeny tiny apartment with no AC and a shitty water heating system, a fridge full of cheap knock off brands, been there done that, cheering extremely loud while the rest of the parents give them strange looks, terribly played out of tune guitars, ignored knowing looks, constant memes in the family group chat, lovingly giving each other shit, doing anything for their child and not understanding a word that comes out of his mouth, late night conversations over takeout.
PRE OLLIE
REN INOUE [ 48 yrs old ; mechanic ] [ fc yutaka takenouchi ]
Ren was born in Hiroshima Japan, and would be the only child his parents had. He lived in Japan for three years before his parents moved him and themselves to New York City, so he honestly doesn't remember much of it.
Like a lot of first gen kids from foreign families there was a lot of pressure put on Ren to become successful, and assimilate into a new country. Unfortunately for the Inoue's, Ren was an extremely rebellious person and that is what he spent most of his youth doing.
He created a band in High School with some of his friends called Drink the Kool Aid (he's the lead guitarist), and spent most of his time fucking around with them, fucking around with random people in bars, getting drunk, getting high, and partying. So, no, he did not graduate high school. He never saw the point in formal education.
When he was about 23 he met a girl named Faye and the two hit it off pretty fast. She was fun, she liked the same music as him, she thought his band was cool, the partied together literally all the time. They liked hanging out they were friends.
Until one day when he was around 27 Faye told him she was pregnant and thus Ollie was born.
FAYE INOUE [ 45 yrs old ; hostess & cashier ] [ fc christina ricci ]
Faye Bright was born in Hoboken New Jersey, the youngest child of the Bright family and the only daughter. Her mother left shortly after she was born leaving her and her three older brothers as her father's responsibility.
Her father was a drunk, and much much worse more often than not, and her older brothers weren't much better, so Faye often found herself anywhere but at home from the age of eight until she moved out on her own at the age of sixteen. She hasn't spoken to her brother's or her father since moving out.
She was mostly getting into trouble in those years. Going out and partying way too young. But who was going to fucking stop her?
It wasn't all fun and games, though. Faye often worked multiple jobs while finishing High School, supporting herself, because nobody was going to do it for her. Her life was rocky, and difficult, but she still managed to do it all on her own without needing anybody else.
When she was about 18 years old one night, wandering into some city pub playing some shitty punk band is the night she met Ren. He was fun, and interesting, and the two of them developed a fun little friendship.
She never planned for it to become more than that until she realized she was pregnant with his child, and everything changed for the both of them.
POST OLLIE
The first years of Ollie's life were rough for both him and his parents for many reasons. Ren, who at the time was also dealing with his father's death, wouldn't have known responsibility if you pasted the definition onto his forehead. He was great with Ollie but damn if he'd ever be able to take care of him. Faye on the other hand was almost the opposite, she had a job, she could buy food for the baby but … she was sorting through her own trauma and to say she was a bit cold towards the baby would be an understatement.
If it was not for Ren's mother, Yumiko, Ollie's Obaasan, he likely would have had a much much worse time during his early development. She set down an ultimatum, that unless they wanted her to take Ollie for herself, and move back to Japan they needed to shape up. It was rough for both of his parents. His father got clean (besides casual drinking and smoking pot), got his Equivalency, and started a job as a mechanic. Faye struggled a little more, but went to some free counseling at a shelter, and as time went on had an easier time building bonds with Ollie.
By the time Ollie was five his parents were making enough to move into an apartment of their own that was big enough to house all of them, not Ren's mother's one bedroom apartment they had been living in. And once Ollie was six Yumiko Inoue moved back to Japan feeling like his parents were up to the task of taking care of their child.
Ren and Faye were legally married pretty soon after that at a local courthouse, mainly for the benefits it would bring, rather than being in love with each other - but who needed to be in love to get married? If anything their relationship was much stronger than almost every single one of the married couples around them, they've shown that years and years over now. Ollie's never had a reason to complain about their relationship.
While the bonds between the Inoue family were quite good, it was still rough going. Ren and Faye were working more often than not and Ollie found himself home alone often. They did their best to make sure he wasn't left up to his own devices hen they could, and there were many free children's programs Ollie was stuck into. Everything from children's tumbling, to summer reading programs and everything in between. It was many of the people in charge of those programs that told Ren and Faye that Ollie was showing signs of being an extremely gifted child. He was learning at a much faster rate than any of his peers, had a reading level far beyond someone his age, and was frankly just very smart.
They didn't ever have the means to put Ollie into any advanced private schools, and any time someone offered any sort of opportunity for a scholarship Ollie outright refused. He just wanted to go to school with his friends, and all was well about it, really. He did eventually get tested officially, and it was determined his IQ was 169 (nice) which put him in the .03 percentile of the world's population.
His parents did what they could to insist Ollie take advantage of the skills he'd been given. He had a real opportunity to become something much better than either of them became. He could really do something to help all of them in the long run. They didn't mean to but there was a lot of pressure put on Ollie, and he didn't want to disappoint anybody. So, eventually Ollie agreed to advance his classes, and was put into High School a year ahead of his peers.
Ollie became a lot to handle for his parents through out his teenage years, despite how hard they tried. They fought all the time, Ollie would be gone for days at a time with only a few texts telling them (lying) about where he was, and the signs that Ollie was using drugs (to two people who also got into drug use when they were younger) were probably pretty obvious. But it was hard to really do anything about it. Ollie was still getting top grades in school, he was turning in all of his work, he was so skilled at fleecing the system that neither his parents, nor his school could really … do much unless he was the one who reached out. And he never did.
It was clear that Ollie was a troubled teenager, but his parents worked so hard and so often all they could really do was make it clear that if he ever wanted to talk they would listen. He never did.
So, despite the underlying worry that always lingered around their son, they were always extremely proud and supportive no matter what he was able to accomplish. He graduated the top of his class, and they were so excited for him. He got accepted into such a great school, Ogden, and was the first person in their family to go to college and they were so excited for him.
There were a lot of rough years for the family, but things have come full circle. Ollie's matured a little bit (shocking I know) and realizes his parents aren't actually out to get him, in fact if anything they've been probably a little too soft with him but he appreciates them. And the longer he's been away from home the more he's come to appreciate them (hard not to when he's surrounded with the terrible stories everyone else at Ogden has of their parents). Over all things with the Inoue family are going well. At least as far as Ollie is concerned. He sees no reason why his parents would still be worried about him, or anything. He's doing great.
OLLIE'S OPINON
First of all, write this down: his parents are really fucking cool. They're both still very 90s grunge type of people, and it's obvious to tell just by looking at either of them, or their aesthetic. It was fairly often that Ollie was brought to some shitty dive bar to help his dad and his dad's band set up for some set they were playing. They were never good, but it was always a lot of fun, and Ollie has a ton of fond memories hanging out with his mom and dad, eating some real good bar food. Most of his childhood was honestly a really good one, from everything he can remember. And even though things got tougher as he grew up (mostly thanks to him) it's extremely hard not to look at his relationship with his parents and see it positively. They fought a lot when Ollie was a teenager, Ollie did a lot of shitty and stupid things just to be a brat. But he is aware that despite how busy they were working they were doing it all for him, and they tried so much to be there for him. He's not stupid, he's not blind, he saw it all. He resented them for it at the time, but it makes him love them even more now.
All that said they put a massive amount of pressure on Ollie. They knew he was the only way they were all getting out of the hole they live in, he knew that too. They told him multiple times everything was his choice and they'd never make him do anything he didn't want to do but he saw the disappointment every time he turned down some opportunity that would have really done something for him. Eventually he gave in, and that is likely why he is where he is now, but it was never something he actually ever wanted. it was simply clear that… he had to make it. They made that clear. He couldn’t waste what he had- skill, potential, natural talent. They never were mean about anything. He never felt like if he screwed up that they wouldn’t love him. And that made it so much worse but he constantly feels like he’s fucking up. That he’s living on this precarious edge that any wrong move he makes will show all the ugly, messy, fucked up things he does, and feels, and this image that they have of him will be shattered. He’s terrified of that happening, but he feels like it’s only a matter of time.
SOME FUN FACTS
Due to dad and his grandma mostly handling his very early childhood he learned Japanese before he learned English, but he doesn't know how to write it. And he doesn't necessarily consider himself fluent, because beyond his grandma and dad the only real place he heard Japanese was in anime or movies. Which is a bit different than how people speak if he were to actually go to Japan and speak with people. But it was technically his first language.
No one in his family cooks. Ollie can bake, but cooking? Most meals in the Inoue family were sandwiches, mac & cheese, instant ramen, rice, and onigiri. Also anything you can microwave. That was basically it.
Ollie's parents always try very very hard to go to school functions when they can. It's not easy since Ogden is about 6 hours away from New York, but they really try hard to show up when they can to important things. Ollie doesn't hold it against them, and if they do miss something important they always go out to celebrate on their own together when they can.
The whole family is stoners, sorry. Yes, his parents know he smokes pot, and have said they know. But he's an adult now and can do what they want. The apartment has a ton of snacks in it because they're all stoners though.
Do they know he does harder drugs (yes). Do they know he has addiction problems (probably). Have they ever addressed it? No. Honestly one of the biggest problems with his parents is they're not really good at discipline, it's always been a thing. They probably don't know how to even begin addressing this sort of situation. It's strange. He’s kind of existing in this strange place where like… If they confront him about it he’ll die figuratively, if they DON’T … he might die literally. he really doesn't know what he wants to happen.
[ + one song for each year ollie has been alive ! ]
Ollie set his phone up onto the stand, taking a moment to press play before hopping up onto his bed and laying out dramatically. "Hello," He said, resting his hand against his cheek with a grin and a very cheesy wink, before he dissolved into laughter. Okay he would cut that part out.
"Hello Ogden in fifty years! I'm -" he paused a moment, giving a small snort and shaking his head, "names don't matter. I'm definitely going to be dead, I'm fairly sure I'm going to be dead in ten years tops, but fifty for sure. I don't even know if Ogden is going to exist in fifty years, I'm skeptical if the world will exist in fifty years, and if it does it's probably all very Water World-esque so I hope my pirate students are out there, having a good time. I know I am." Though Ollie's expression turned from something amused, into something more… wistful and he gave another short sort of laugh, shaking his head once again. "That's actually not true. We're all going through a pretty hard time right now, maybe you've already heard."
He sat up straight on his bed, reaching out to once again adjust the angle of his camera, before resting his hands in his lap with a sigh. "To be honest I've had a pretty hard time for the past … seven years of my life - being a teenager is hard for everyone, I guess, but it's different than that. It's not just been teen angst it's… It's like being trapped somewhere you're never going to be able to escape from because it's your own fucking head. And I've fucking tried. By doing healthy shit too, despite what people think. It's not all sex, and booze, and drugs, and getting obliterated until I blackout for a weekend and wake up the next state over."
Ollie gave a small huff, reaching up to push his hand through his hair in a nearly compulsive sort of manner. "I guess the one thing that does help… if anyone is actually watching this and relates at all, I'm sure you have bigger problems like sharks or raiders or whatever post apocalyptic problems you have. My advice is find someone you can talk to. Everyone says that, but fuck if it's not the one fucking thing that's ever been able to bring me peace at all. Whether it's a therapist, or your sibling, or your best bro… There's billions of people in the world, pick someone. And I've never had an easy time opening up to people, even my friends. It's scary. But you never know, I guess. One day you can be getting stoned in your room after a party and some scrawny little shit head from South Dakota will walk in and suddenly maybe you don't want to die as much as you used to…" Ollie shrugged his shoulders a little bit, a smile crossing his face as he lowered his head a touch. Something just on the side of sheepish in his expression. "But I guess there is a lot of shit I still haven't told him. Like, I'm just really ..."
He silenced himself with another shake of his head, and took a deep breath. "… Forget it. Look, after everything I've said I'm probably not the person you want to hear advice from. But uh… Maybe it's more like someone out there just needs to know that shit's hard. It's hard right now, and I'm sure it's hard for you with the apocalypse, with ai taking over careers, with the disembodied head of elon musk still out there terrorizing everyone. Just know that I feel you, bro. We're all going through it."
[TW: under the cut there is a gif of the creepy dude from pan's labyrinth. courtesy of cola.]
what’s your mutant’s ability? (if you need help finding a proper definition or just a resource for abilities, you can head over here. i recommend that you also link the page on your post when you find the ability you were looking for!)
Rome's ability is bogeyman physiology.
what’s your mutant’s classification level? (you can choose it here.)
Alpha
how old were they when they first discovered their abilities? how did it happen?
It first showed up when he was really young, before he can remember it. By the time he was a toddler, he was unable to control himself and was terrorising his parents left and right, becoming monsters that were much bigger, much louder than their angelic three-year-old baby.
so, what can your mutant do with their abilities?
He is the personification of a person's fears. When standing in front of someone and choosing to use his Bogeyman abilities, he will turn into a representation of that person's biggest fear. Like boggarts from Harry Potter vibes. When alone, or making an effort not to channel into someone's fears, his neutral Bogeyman form, and what he considers to be his true authentic self, is this guy: (faceclaim is the pale man, from pan's labyrinth)
…and what can’t they do (at least, not yet)?
He cannot assume the abilities of the creature he turns into, he has only his own (human-grade) strength, stealth, agility, etc. But as far as visuals and sound, he becomes the thing. For example, if someone's biggest fear is a werewolf, Rômulo will turn into a werewolf; he will look and sound exactly as the person expects in their worst nightmares, so say he has fur, is three times larger than himself, and he can howl. He even has the sharp teeth and can attempt to bite them, perhaps, but he does not have super strength or a bite that would be as strong as a werewolf's. This also means that if someone's biggest fear was another mutant, Magneto for example, Rômulo would be able to turn into Magneto visually, and even mimic his voice and mannerisms, but he would not have the ability to mess with metal.
what’s one thing they hope to learn or are currently trying to learn with their abilities?
He hopes he can learn to channel's someone's fear from further away. At the moment he can only do it if he's standing a few feet apart from the person, at most, but he thinks it'd be useful if he could tap into people's nightmarish visions from afar.
what is the most powerful thing your mutant can do with their abilities? do you think they would actually do it?
I think the worst he could do would be either giving someone a heart attack on the spot (which he wouldn't have much control of), or terrorising someone to the point of a severe trauma response. And I think he would, given the right amount of anger to tick him off. I don't think he has enough of a moral compass to point him the other way.
what are your mutant’s weaknesses?
Most people can be scared by something, even if that thing is just their old mother yelling profanities at them, but if the person is emotionally well resolved or their fears more abstract in nature, Rômulo cannot take on a new form, and will only be able to present his Bogeyman (pale man) self to that person. Which, can still be pretty gruesome, but probably inflicts more disgust than genuine fear. He also doesn't have a full grip on his human form, after growing up with an auntie that adored his Bogeyman form. It takes a fair amount of concentration to stay in human form, and if that concentration slips, he becomes his Bogeyman self, which can be an issue on day to day life. And he is also still susceptible to any human weaknesses he might have, so he could visually become Wolverine to scare someone off, but he'd still die from a bullet to the chest.
do they use their abilities in their day-to-day life? in what ways?
He'll bring it out if he feels the need to freak someone out, like terrorising some poor junkies who aren't paying him right. But in his day-to-day he mostly keeps it hidden, specially when he's bartending.
as a mutant, do they have any goals? dreams?
To be accepted, loved, adored for his mutant self. His goals are pretty self-centred for now, and he's leaning onto the brotherhood's cause to get somewhere.
how do they feel about the last 30+ years of mutant history? notably, the presidential address of 1983 and the essex house?
Rômulo has only ever had eyes for how badly the humans have treated mutants over the years. If there are any redeeming points in history, they have gone over his head, leaving him with a bitter taste in his mouth, so he's ready to wreak more havoc.
