Clay rounded the corner, coffee in his hand as he quickly made his way back home. It was freezing outside, the wind biting at his cheeks and causing him to glance down as he tugged his denim jacket closer to his body with his free arm. He didn’t realize anyone was in front of him until his shoulder was colliding with theirs, and suddenly he snapped back into reality. Coffee slushed over the skin of his right hand, causing him to curse under his breath as he jerked back. “Shit, I’m so sorry, I --- Bambi?” His eyes zeroed in on the girl in front of him. He remembered flashes of the night of the masquerade, an all too quick reunion that only led to confusion for him the next day. He only remembered bits and pieces. But he’d definitely remembered her being back in town - kind of a hard detail to forget. His tone quickly turned deadpan. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
Clay’s knuckles wrapped against the doorframe gently before he walked through, ducking around the corner to come face to face with the man he was there to see. Guilt struck him immediately at seeing him stuck there; harsh fluorescent lights ensuring no one was comfortable for even a second. “Hey.” His voice was careful; gentle as he hesitated walking in further. Like taking any other steps would somehow harm him. “Up for a visitor?”
job: musician & music teacher at greenview high school
new resident, lives in town
hometown: austin, texas
family: younger sister
three positive traits: gifted, charismatic, cheerful
three negative traits: ditzy, naive, excitable
background:
originally hailing from austin, texas.
clay was lucky enough to come from a well off family and grew up on a ranch along with his younger sister.
he had a fun and happy childhood growing up on the ranch with all the animals.
he was a talented horse rider but it wasn’t until he fell off and got an injury did he have the time to find something else to focus on. it was then he found the piano and the rest is history
from a young age it was clear that clay was gifted in music but lacked in actual solid intelligence.
had a fairly normal upbringing considering he was in a world of classical musicians who’s overbearing parents were a complete nightmare and would compete kids against one another like it was a sport. think dance moms/toddlers & tiaras but for kid musicians.
himbo extrodinare.
has a heart of gold
human golden retriever
his sister is the reason clay is still on this earth - she's saved him many of times from doing stupid things. truly a miracle that this man is not dead.
it was a good job that he was incredible at music because the himbo brain was himboing during his time at school.
he was a protege in music and was sent to berklee college of music to study and hone his craft. afterwards he went to julliard
after graduating he had a successful career as a musician and then found a love of teaching.
after touring for years, he settled in greenview and teaches at the local high school while he works on his own music on the side.
found a puppy abandoned on the side of the road while on his way to greenview and named him peanut
dedicated dog dad
he’s taken the post as greenview elementary’s music teacher with his dog acting as back up vocals and class mascot - the kids clearly like the dog more than him but he’s okay with that.
hat enthusiast
lover of apples, hater of cheese
he feels a sense of accomplishment when he gets to teach
What's your favorite plot line from Alien Killer Robots?
“There’s this part where one of the side characters, Devi, gets exiled from her home planet because she refuses to help with the invasion. It’s a bonus issue that the artist released on his Patreon, but... it makes so much sense. Devi doesn’t want to save humanity, but she doesn’t want to be the reason it ends, either. So she ends up running into this group of survivors, and...” He trailed off as he began to spiral into the plot, catching himself at the last minute. He couldn’t help but be self conscious of who was asking and why. Comics and Sci-Fi were an easy target for people to poke fun at, because in reality, they didn’t know anything else about him. And in that case, Clay preferred not to give them more ammunition than necessary. “You know, you’d probably have to... read it yourself. It ties in a lot with the other issues in ways you wouldn’t expect.”
"Hey.” This felt strange, but necessary as he approached the other person. Caution and paranoia were a constant duo that thrived wildly under the surface. Some days it ruined things for Clay, but then others --- it was useful. “I don’t know if you know them, or anything, but I keep noticing this person.” He started, and fought not to motion behind him and make it seem obvious. “Behind me. In the red jacket. It looks like they’re following you. I don’t want to, uh, scare you or anything...” Clay trailed off, not knowing how else to put it. “Just wanted to let you know.”
