@mapleviewstarters
𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 – 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘣𝘺-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 – 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵). 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.
『 dev patel. twenty-nine. cis man. he/him. 』 oh heavens, is that LOUIS BHATT from CHESTNUT DRIVE i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them -OBSESSIVE & -IMPATIENT. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool ARCHIVIST at MAPLEVIEW PUBLIC LIBRARY and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +ORGANIZED & +RATIONAL. i hope i see them around again! 『 may. 21. est. she/her. 』
hello hello ! after some delay,, i am here,, w information on louis ! while my roommate’s boyfriend makes the weirdest noises i hate it !
backstory:
triggers: near-death/death, something that’s suicide attempt -adjacent but... not directly a suicide attempt because the end goal wasn’t actually death, terminal illness ( cystic fibrosis - but no, not 5 feet apart )
Louis was born and raised in Mapleview, NC. His parents had moved to the Carolinas after years in LA, finding that… maybe the reason they were having trouble conceiving was because of the stress of city life?
Perhaps that was true. Perhaps that wasn’t. It probably wasn’t. Indeed, it was probably just dumb luck that they finally succeeded when his mother was 36, a late pregnancy which prompted them to keep a close eye on little Louis’s health.
When he came out perfectly healthy on the 7th of December, they simply could not have been more joyous. So they celebrated him, born on a lucky day.
He started his life as a fun-loving guy! A kid who played with everyone turned into a teenager who had no shortage of friends. Being a bit of a stoner, he wormed his way into a tight-knit group… that was pretty much full of other stoners.
However, his fun-loving nature changed on a fateful day when he and his friends found a man, so close to death. They managed to get him to the hospital in time to save his life, but Louis was changed that day. Their hometown hero status didn’t mean much to Louis – no, he just wanted to become acquaintances with the man and figure out what it was he saw during those moments of half-death.
And so acquaintances they became. The man telling Louis that he saw nothing, recalled nothing, felt nothing… it brought both terror and peace to the young man.
It also brought morbid curiosity. He began withdrawing from his friends and family, really only continuing to speak to Adrien and their other friend (wc on main!) as they had actually been there. They’d shared that experience that Louis’s therapist called ‘trauma.’
A few months after the incident, his curiosity got the better of him. He didn’t hope to die – not really – but he hoped to come close. He stuck a knife into an electrical socket and… saw nothing until his parents found him – thank goodness – just in time.
And yet, he’d never been more at peace.
However, no one in his family was necessarily ‘good’ at dealing with problems. Instead ot talking about it, instead of sending him to a therapist, they all just pretended it never happened after they paid off the hospital bill. He wasn’t suicidal, just curious!
So he began applying to colleges – all was well! Although he was accepted into the Carolinas’ more prestigious universities, such as Duke and Wake Forest, he wound up attending his safety school out of adoration for its campus: University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA, s/o to myself because this is where I go!)
He began his studies with the intended double-major of Literature and History and he was doing well. He was shining in college, too distracted by Whitman’s ego to worry about the concept of death.
Until he met his college girlfriend, that is.
A victim of cystic fibrosis, Louis knew their time was likely limited to perhaps another decade and a half (unless scientific advancements were made – you see, he would’ve switched majors, but he wasn’t STEM-minded in the slightest). They decided they’d make the most of their time together and, as Louis was taught to do, largely ignore the elephant in the room.
To receive a Masters in Library Science (MLIS), he transferred to Appalachian State University (“App”) with his girlfriend by his side, earning her own Masters.
Things were simply beautiful. Everything was looking up. He felt just as much peace as he had in half-death, but it was in life!
But… complications got complicated!
A clinic had his girlfriend getting special treatment… but it also had her near other CF patients. And they couldn’t even be sure she wasn’t on the placebo! So, after a few treatments and instances of getting a bit too close with some of the other patients, her condition worsened and things… were not looking spectacular.
This was around the time Louis completed his degree at 25 (did I do the math right?). They initially had plans to marry after they completed their courses, but gave up any ideas for large weddings and were officiated by a friend who signed up online. Their plans of moving somewhere bigger – still in state, so as to make travel easier, but bigger, nonetheless – were also cut short. Louis’s parents advised him to do what they had done and return to Mapleview, a calm life that they thought had allowed them their pregnancy.
Louis figured it was an idea worth trying. It wasn’t as though it would improve her condition, but it would improve her overall quality of life, right?
When he was 27, she succumbed a bit early to her illness. And he was at peace with that. He missed her – dear god, he missed her – but she’d returned to the night sky, the stars that he could see.
However, his life has since become incredibly rigid and routine. His obsessions worsened after her death, as did his craving for cleanliness and overall order. Being an archivist was perfect for that, but was terrible for most other aspects of his life.
Yes, yes, his quality of life deteriorated.
He’s essentially become Jane Kerkovich-Williams from the iconic Happy Endings, suggesting better organization systems… in stores dedicated to organization. He no longer attends therapy, refusing to agree with their diagnoses. Because he’s fine. There are no problems. Indeed, quite the Type A.
But also on a sliding scale that could put him in a very Judah Mannowdog from the Bojack Horseman (why do I keep taking inspiration from this show-) box. Depends on the day.
tl;dr:
was a sociable kid and teenager. withdrew after finding a man on the brink of death with his friends and became lowkey obsessed with death. (suicide attempt-ish tw) stuck a knife in an electrical socket because he had to know what was beyond life, but not necessarily bc he wanted to die (end tw). everyone ignored that. went to unca and fell in luv w a girl who had cf. went to app state to gain an mlis. her disease worsened during a clinic. moved back to mapleview. she died. rip ip. wasn’t the typical Grieving Widower™ bc he figured he knew what was on the other side and it was nice! but,, his mental state did worsen and his obsessions, need for organization, and overall type-a demeanor amplified.
connection ideas:
** all are open to any gender
childhood friends (0/??)
high school friends (0/??)
his other bff (wc on main!) (0/1)
high school girlfriend/boyfriend/partner (0/2)
ppl he went to college (unca + app) with (0/??)
ppl who knew his wife before she yeet’d into another plane of nonexistence (according to louis, at least) (0/??)
overall there’s more potential w past connections on louis than on judith aflhskdj
feel free to like or hmu if you’d like to plot!