—— ROMAN TAYLOR | 31 | MALE | JAKE GYLLENHAAL
“My black fire’s burning bright, maybe I’ll go out tonight.”
STATISTICS
Birthday: May 17th, 1985
Birthplace: Blue Ridge, Georgia
Neighbourhood: Chestnut Brown
Sexuality: Bisexual
How long have you been in Aiken, South Carolina? 24 years.
BIOGRAPHY
Iris was a woman of simple tastes. She’d grown up in the countryside without much more than her family’s acres of fruit trees, and her schedule stayed the same year after year. Plant, wait, harvest, then sell what she hoped would be enough to keep her family full through winter. She was good with numbers like that. When her mother fell ill one fall, she was forced to move into the city to afford her care.
This was where she met Jonathan Taylor. Charming, dark, mysterious and as rich as they come. Never having been one to be wooed, she feel for him quickly, and he her. Their week together seemed to pass too quickly, but he promised on his life he’d be back to see her. And he kept true to that. Months on end he’d find a few days to come and see her.
One trip he came to her apartment to find her in hysterics - half a dozen positive pregnancy tests strewn around her. The news didn’t go over well and John was forced to admit that he had a wife in South Carolina. He agreed to pay a hefty child support and to be a part of their life as long as Iris kept both quiet and out of the way.
And she did. For seven years, Roman was raised on the farm, just like her. He was bright, playful, and seemed to have a never ending supply of energy. His father would pick weeks out of the year to take him on a trip to the Keys, or Baton Rogue, maybe even camping in Utah, but he never stayed long and never offered an explanation. He accepted it as his reality.
Miriam Taylor was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but it’d been years of unexplained business trips and what seemed to be John simply burning money away at ‘charities’ in other states. She’d been cleaning the house when she found John’s wallet, forgotten by the working man on his way out the door, and instead of photos of their tenth anniversary or their daughter, it was several battered ones of Roman and Iris.
After the accusations had been made and proven, he managed to calm her down - and to convince her that inviting Roman to live with them was a good idea. The invitation was accepted and he moved in just before his eighth birthday.
His arrival was not well received into the town - it was hardly recieved at all. It was easy for him to slip into the background, develop a few close friend and ride it out. School was easy. He got good marks, had supportive friends and family, didn’t get into too much trouble. He was accepted into a prestigious local law school, fell in love, then wandered too easily into the family business.
Upon graduation, he felt his first heartbreak. What was meant to be loyalty turned into something much worse - something twisted. He discovered how empty he felt. He had a good job and good friends, but he still felt like he was alone. Solace was found at the bottom of bottles; wether they be wine, beer, whiskey. He still had a grip on his life and tried not to let too many people in on such a tired secret.
Currently, he’s successful as ever. In line to inherit the family company, wealthy, a picture perfect house in the Brown. On the other side, his drinking has all but consumed his life and meaningful connections are all but a thing of the past.
PERSONALITY
Roman is not unlike a coin. Heads up, you get someone unyieldingly bright, giving, caring. The type to drive across town to say good morning, to pay for your cab out of goodwill. He occasionally comes off as abrasive, but anyone who’s anyone in this town knows he just might be the friendliest person around. His biological mother is to thank for this, southern hospitality and all.
However, when tails inevitably lands, all hell breaks loose. A flame, if you would - pretty too look at, painful to touch, and leaves nothing but destruction in his path. When you get too close, he’s bound to explode. Push you away, excommunicate you. Crawling back to a bar for some sweet relief - then comes the destruction. When intoxicated, no matter the substance, hes volatile, impulsive at best. Car crashing, drugs, fights - nothing seems to stop him when he’s under like that. Count on his law degree and family name to keep sweeping it away; you couldn’t find anything if you tried.