Wesley Emiliano Guzman is thirty-three years old and a game store owner in Greensville.
It was surrounded by love that Wesley Emiliano Guzman was born in the wee hours on a chilly November morning. With two loving mothers and a (tough) loving sister, he was raised to treat others with kindness and respect, even if they themselves lacked in those departments. He’d always been a loner by nature, found peace in solitude and never felt quite understood by anyone. Growing up, Wesley discovered himself a passion for video games. He couldn’t get enough of them, from Super Mario Bros to the Elder Scrolls series, there wasn’t one game he didn’t at least appreciate in some aspect. His new passion, though, isolated him even further than he’d previously been. But it wasn’t as difficult to bear as it previously was; he kept himself occupied. His newest obsession led Guzman, then aged 15, to apply at a local video game store, 1-UP Games. Its owner, Edward Price, even if he thought Wesley was a bit young, took a liking to the boy and hired him part time. He mostly made him work on the facing, which kept him busy and, most important of all, surrounded by like-minded people. At work, he was able to befriend kids his age who liked games like he did, and therefore not feel so lonely anymore. But his search for his ‘tribe’, out of work hours, brought him online. More specifically, to a video game forum. There, he met Magalie L’Écuyer on June 6th 2002. In his day-to-day life, girls barely spared him a look. But Magalie? She was special, and he was instantly smitten. He didn’t know where she lived or what she looked like, but a month to the day following their first meeting, Wesley asked her to be his girlfriend. Ever the romantic, he was convinced he’d found the love of his life, so when Maggie explicitly told him not to divulge any information about their budding romance to his family, he obeyed, as to not offend her. They talked every day, through the forum or MSN Messenger. Wesley managed to keep his relationship a secret to his mothers, Debra and Lorena, and his older sister, Analee, for a total of seven months. The moment it broke out, his mothers actively opposed to it, demanded he block her online and move on. But it didn’t end this way. When he didn’t listen, they took away his computer, first. Then his console. But Maggie had dug her claws deep into him, and used Wesley’s adoration for her to turn him against his family. The tension was palpable in the house, and going through puberty only worsened his snappy moods. They didn’t want him to be happy, he believed. Why else would they keep him from his beautiful Magalie? On his 17th birthday, Debra and Lorena extended an olive branch and got their son a cellphone, but all it did was further drive him into Maggie’s arms. He was practically glued to the thing, texting his older Canadian girlfriend almost every moment of every day. His grades began to decline, and his boss noticed him slacking at work with the new duties he’d been given. As time went by, Maggie only got more needy, possessive. She coerced him into quitting his job, which he did, thinking it was his own decision. Shortly after, she talked him into moving to Montreal to be with her. And on June 15th 2004, Wesley packed his things and disappeared into the night, driving 13 hours to be with his lady love. Things were all sunshine and rainbows at first, or so, Wesley thought. Slowly but surely, Magalie made it so Wesley was purely and utterly alone, left with only her. He worked for her father on her terms, cut contact with his family, claiming that they could deport him back to North Carolina. Without a permanent residency card, Wesley was unable to pursue any studies legally. And even when he obtained his PR card and signed up to the Lasalle Cégep in Computer Science Technology, Magalie suddenly developed some disorder that gave her panic attacks, conveniently when Wesley had to go out with friends he’d made in his program. He was always a bit naive, but downright blind when it came to her. He simply refused to believe she was manipulating him, and so, cut ties with the few friends he’d made at college who tried to tell him so. Wes fell into a deep depression and dropped out; nothing made him happy anymore. One last incident in 2010 saw Wesley, then aged 24, finally leave Magalie for good, after 8 years of dating and 6 of cohabitation. That fateful night, he drove all the way to Greensville and never looked back. He had no idea what became of his family and tried his luck with his sister’s old phone number, which, to his surprise, she picked up. Analee took him in, not without a yelling match, but she was never the coddling type and so, she pushed him to get out there and find a job to get over Magalie. Coincidentally, 1-UP Games was hiring, and the owner, now 62, instantly recognized and hired him. He should’ve been retired by that time, but the business was failing so he’d taken up extra hours. Edward never married or had kids that could take over, so it was all on him. It became clear to Wesley pretty early on, now that he wasn’t 15 and could have an actual adult relationship with the man, just how lonely he was. It reminded him of himself. Therefore, he made it a point to maintain a relationship outside of work with Edward, being a loner himself, and it blossomed into something he could’ve never imagined. Edward became an honorary member of the Guzman clan. He spent the holidays with them and attended every family dinner from there on out. Wesley either saw or talked to Ed every single day. It’s not like it was going out of his way either, they had common interests after all, and a natural chemistry. Edward knew from the moment he came back that he wanted Wesley to carry on the store’s legacy when he passed, that he wanted to gift him its ownership. But that decision was forced on him when, while restocking, he had a fall and injured his back. Wesley, who was assistant manager then and had been taught all the ropes, was forced to manage the store on his own for several months. Ed saw it as some sort of test, and Wes passed with flying colors. And so, when he turned 29, Edward officially transferred the business to him as a birthday gift. It’s been 5 years, now, and Wesley is just as happy (if not more) as he’d been when he came back to Greensville in 2004. 1-UP Games is his pride and joy, but more importantly, Edward’s legacy. He makes sure to treat it and it’s employees with the utmost care. He’s thought of going back to college here and there, but has no regrets as to where life has taken him. He’s with his family, and sometimes family means two moms and one black grandpa.
FACE CLAIM: Penn Badgley STATUS: TAKEN RELATIONSHIPS:
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