→ INTRODUCING MATTHEW TURNER
in character
Name: Matthew Turner
Faceclaim: Scott Speedman
Gender & Pronouns: Cismale & He/Him
Age: 45
Birthday: December 27, 1979
Occupation: Owner of Pet Avenue
Neighborhood: Masonboro.
Does your character have a secret? He attempted to commit suicide after his accident and was institutionalized until they felt as though he were mentally well.
Would you be willing to have this secret used against them at some point in the future? Yes
biography
TW: school shooting, suicide
Matthew Turner was born to Sarah & Michael Turner in Duluth, Minnesota as the oldest brother of 2, having a younger sister born a couple of years after him, one he was extremely protective of growing up due to the fact that he took his role as a big brother a little too seriously. That was the thing about Matthew though. Most things in life were serious to him and that included school, his relationships, and his friendships. With that being said, he made it through school being one of the five in the top of his class. While he'd aimed to be the top, there was always one or two people that managed to beat him to it but he didn't let that get him down. Instead, he took that determination with him to college, where he joined his best friend Atlas at the University of St. Thomas.
Matthew majored in history and managed to get his master's degree in the subject, which led him to teach classes at the same University he graduated from. This was seemingly the job of his dreams. He was able to teach people about things he was severely interested in and he seemed to be good at what he did. This very university is where he met his future wife. She was older than the rest of the students and she'd decided on finally getting her degree. Her drive is what made Matthew fall in love with her and the two managed to get both engaged and married within a year, where the two of them bought a house and attempted to start a family. Due to infertility issues, they were unable to do ever have kids.
He got to bond with his kids at school, despite them being older. They all meant a lot to him though and there wasn't much he wouldn't do for them. That included protecting them and he didn't hesitate to do so on that god forsaken day. One Thursday in October, a student decided to bring a gun to school and shoot innocent students. In an attempt to stop him, Matthew fought with him for the gun and the trigger was pulled next to his ear and that ultimately caused him to go deaf in that ear. Despite the ringing in his ear, he managed to get the gun away from them before anything else could happen and the kid was taken to jail. Despite the problem being solved, he still felt as though he didn't do enough due to the fact that so many students had managed to die.
His inability to cope with both his recent disability and what had happened resulted in an attempted suicide attempt. Matthew trapped himself in the bathroom and drew himself a bath after taking a bunch of his antidepressants all at once. Antidepressants that were supposed to help him get through everything and that a psychiatrist had put him on. His wife managed to get in before it was too late and she called an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital and his stomach was pumped before he was forced into a mental institution, where he was kept until he was well enough to leave.
Once he got home, his wife had packed up and left divorce papers on the counter of their shared home. She couldn't handle being with him after everything that he'd been through and in return, filed for divorce. Devastated, he decided to pack up and moved across the country where he'd move in with his best friend and his most recently acquired service animal, which was a golden retriever named Dolly.
After he got settled into wilmington, he bought a local pet store from a couple that was ready to retire and made it his own. Pet avenue was a place that he felt comfortable bringing his service dog and somewhere that wouldn't trigger the memories of what he went through in Minnesota.