Atticus Faulkner

Atticus Faulkner (a.k.a. Piano Man)

____________________________________________________________ ◸ Atticus was born and raised on an imperial pleasure world, into an upper-middle class family that specialized in falconry; however, a difference in religious opinion drove a wedge between he and his kin over the span of his adolescence. He left home at a young age, fell in with a variety of questionable folk, and made coin on the streets of Nova Taxus with the aid of his beat up acoustic guitar. ◿ ◸ During his early twenties, he fell in love with a jazz vocalist and the two of them eventually had two twin children together. He drifted apart from his daughters' mother, but made it a point to maintain a strong relationship with his children-- up until his career made it difficult for him to keep in close contact. ◿ ◸ In an unfortunate turn of events, Atty uprooted the four of them, hoping to elude his previous employer, and shoved off to a rural town on the other side of the planet. ◿ ◸ As of now, he takes on a broad range of jobs, often requiring scouting and recovery of artifacts on neighboring planets in his system. It makes just enough credits for him to scrape by. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

◸ Atty is lanky. He's rather thin, likely attributed to his poor diet, and carries what little weight he has around his middle. His lungs cause him a great deal of discomfort and have been showing signs of serious COPD from years of chain smoking, so he struggles to run long distances or scale flights of stairs. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Body Features

◸ Atticus has a nasty scar at his right shoulder that ails him to this day, preventing him from raising his same-side arm above his head. Additionally, his chest, arms, and legs are coated with thick, coarse body hair. ◿ ◸ His fingers are all adorned with ink along his knuckles, harboring all eight phases of Terra's moon, Luna. There's also a pair of handprints over his left pectoral muscle, a bass clef on his left forearm, and a treble on his right. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Facial Features

◸ Atty's eyes are of a striking, steel-grey hue. They're almost always half-lidded out of bemusement, exhaustion, or -- often times -- ardor. His brows, which are fairly average in thickness, hang low over his icy gaze, and he's able to isolate the left one high above its twin when the situation calls. ◿ ◸ His nose is quite prominent and hooks downward at the point. It's been broken once or twice. Beneath that rests his thin-lipped mouth, accompanied by a distinct, raised mole at the right side of his chin. He hasn't much of a jawline. ◿ ◸ He's rarely seen without stubble. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Identifying Characteristics

☢ Bright eyes ☢ Chin mole ☢ Faint scarring above his right eyebrow ____________________________________________________________

Physical quirks

◸ When speaking, his lips draw off to the right, nearly reminiscent of a lisp; however, his real-world Bostonian dialect muddles his words enough as it is, it'd be hard to distinguish the slant specifically as a verbal impairment. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Special abilities

◸ He has a reasonable vocal proficiency and can play the guitar; however, his true passion lies in piano. He's a fabulous musician. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Apparel & Accessories

◸ His tops are normally low-cut, revealing a great deal of chest hair. For the most part, he sticks to vintage pieces that have been updated to fit the current times. ◿ ◸ He's never seen without a pearl in his right earlobe. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Specialized Equipment

◸ Atty has a general grasp on most combat stimms and typically utilizes them when in a pinch. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Atticus Faulkner was born on a paradise-world to an entertainer and lesser noble.
His father died when he was still an infant, so he never properly met him. Not even a year passed and his mother was re-wed to a wealthy falconer.
He learned to play piano at a very young age and spent most of his free time with the hunting hounds his parents reared on the side. His stepfather lamented that Atty showed no interest in falconry, but he wasn't terribly tore up once his wife provided him with four additional children to pass on his business.
Throughout his childhood, he was consistently overlooked. His stepfather always favored his biological children over Atty; however, the neglect he experienced also became his safe haven-- he was able to leave for days at a time without immediate notice.
He eventually grew apart from his family, his new ideals driving a distinct wedge between he and his stepfather. At the age of fourteen, he made his separate way and shoved off to a neighboring system with the help of a handful of close friends.
There, he relied on his knowledge of guitar in order to scrape by, occasionally performing at dive bars when they'd have him. He gradually gathered a following over the years and this sparked intrigue in a local lounge owner. As a direct result, he was hired as the primary entertainer within the week.
Because he was so frequently in and out of back alley pubs, he brushed elbows with a variety of underhanded folks. It wasn't long before he found himself entangled in the scavenging industry. ____________________________________________________________

Gender Identity

◸ Male ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Sexuality

◸ Pansexual ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Education

◸ Music theory on paradise-world Cestius Beta ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Employment

▐▒░ [ 098.M42 ] ☢ Street Performer ☢ Self-Employed ▐▒░ [ 101.M42 ] ☢ Pianist ☢ Hired under Ysrael Moreno, lounge owner on Nova Taxus ▐▒░ [ 108.M42 ] ☢ Courier ☢ Delivering stims for drug kingpin Lefteris Psanadarion ▐▒░ [ 114.M42 ] ☢ Scavver ☢ Self-Employed ____________________________________________________________

Accomplishments & Achievements

◸ Father of two, bright young girls. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Failures & Embarrassments

◸ His shoulder injury-- incurred at seventeen-- was, for the most part, self-inflicted. In the middle of the night, he wrecked his friend's motorbike into a storefront. Because of his social status, he was unable to afford reasonable medical treatment at the time of the crash; however, now that he [I]can finance proper surgery, he's opted to just endure the subtle pain and restricted movement that persists to this day. His coin could be put towards something far more interesting, anyway. ◿ ◸ Atticus was present when one of his close coworkers overdosed on a bad batch of chaos-tainted flects. Incidentally, this coworker also happened to be his boss's nephew and heir to the drug-trade. Needless to say, Atty resigned and left without a trace-- or so he hoped. ◿ ◸ He feels deep, immense guilt regarding his two daughters and ex-partner. While they've maintained a reasonably positive relationship despite all they've been through, Atticus knows he's solely responsible for their substantial move to the far country. The girls seem to have adjusted just fine; however, Shiani's true passion-- performing-- is now a distant memory. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Mental Trauma

◸ Physical, mental, and emotional abuse from stepfather Winston Faulkner; distinct inaction from his mother left him feeling betrayed by both parents. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Intellectual Characteristics

◸ Social savant. While he normally prefers a quiet place where he can get lost in his music, he craves attention from a crowd. ◿ ◸ He has a difficult time with dedication. Unless he shows extreme interest in a subject, he rarely commits to serious study. Throughout his childhood, Atty's shoddy performance in school inflicted immeasurable shame on his parents-- especially Winston. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Morality & Philosophy

◸ "Live and let live". If it's not hurting anyone, he hasn't got a problem with it. ◿ ◸ Since leaving the Faulkner homestead on Cestius Beta, Atty has abandoned all active practice of religion. Because of this, he's essentially branded as a heretic and he avoids any inquisitional figures like the plague. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Taboos

◸ Detests homophobic and racist behaviors. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

◸ He strives for nothing more than to provide for his daughters. Sure, he'd love to be a celebrated pianist, but he'd settle for the freedom to both pay bills and afford his expensive smoking habit. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Savvies & Ineptitudes

▐▒░ ❤ ◸ Musically inclined. ◿ ◸ Able to pilot most basic cruisers without incident. ◿ ◸ Fair knowledge of stimms. ◿ ◸ Pretty good with trajectories-- while his throwing arm is compromised, he's modified his pitching form to a side-arm toss in order to compensate. He's grown used to the adjustment. ◿ ▐▒░ ✘ ◸ Hand to hand combat skill leaves much to be desired. ◿ ◸ Unable to run long distances due to his damaged lungs. ◿ ◸ Poor melee proficiency. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Likes & Dislikes

▐▒░ ❤ ◸ Craves nicotine ◿ ◸ Enjoys a dirty martini now and then ◿ ◸ Adores dogs of all shapes and sizes ◿ ▐▒░ ✘ ◸ Detests religious zealots ◿ ◸ Is terrified of the dark ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Virtues & Personality perks

◸ Fiercely devoted to his children. He calls them nearly every day, if he's not popping in for a visit. ◿ ◸ He physically can't harm a dog. He even struggles to gun down canid-like creatures that threaten his life from time to time. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Vices & Personality flaws

◸ Has a bad habit of disappearing, especially among those that care about him. Some even compare him to apparitions or phantoms because of this behavioral quirk. ◿ ◸ His nicotine addiction is beginning to affect his health. He suffers from coughing fits and overall discomfort in his chest, leading up to difficulty breathing when performing vigorous tasks. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Personality Quirks

◸ He has a mild lisp. ◿ ◸ One hand is almost always in a pocket, if standing idle. ◿ ◸ When seated, his knee bounces up and down out of mild anxiety. Normally, a quick drag of a cigarette clears that right up. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Hygiene

◸ He smells of smoke. While he bathes quite frequently-- likely in case of the occasional hook-up-- he's never been able to get the smell of ash out of his clothes and hair. ◿ ◸ His teeth are yellow from years of smoking. They're clean for the most part, but permanently stained. His breath is usually neutral in scent. ◿ ◸ In all his 39 years of life, he's yet to run a comb through his hair. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Social

Contacts & Relations

☢ Lefteris Psandari | Druglord ☢ Ysrael Moreno | Jazz Lounge Owner ☢ Anoro Santana | Fellow Courier ☢ Victor Staltwel & Tomatsu Katsuki | Space Pirates ____________________________________________________________

Family Ties

☢ Shiani | ex-partner ☢ Tegan | daughter ☢ Victoria | daughter ▐▒░ ◸ Atticus often uses the name Faulkner as leverage if he feels it will hold weight in conversation. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Religious Views

◸ Non-practicing. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Social Aptitude

◸ He's a performer, so he's able to subtly adjust his personality depending on the situation. ◿ ◸ He's also a father to two daughters. His capacity to read emotions has grown sharp over the years, which has been essential in raising twins. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Mannerisms

◸ His jaw tenses when he's feeling anxious, apprehensive, or irritable. ◿ ◸ If left to idle for too long, he absently toys with his pearl earring or combs his tattooed fingers through his disheveled hair. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Hobbies & Pets

▐▒░ ❤ ◸ His parents raised a variety of dogs while he lived with his parents. He favored their purebred English pointer, dubbed Coda; however, he wasn't able to bring her with him when he left home. ◿ ◸ He used to have a dog of his own, Marron, when he lived on Nova Taxus. She died of natural causes a few years back. ◿ ▐▒░ ❤ ☢ Piano ☢ Guitar ☢ Dance [ ballroom ]

____________________________________________________________

Speech

◸ Atty speaks with a Bostonian accent, so it can often times be difficult to discern just what it is he's talking about. ◿ ◸ His lisp draws his mouth to the right when he speaks; however, his accent alone does enough muddling. The lisp nearly goes entirely unnoticed for the most part. ◿ ◸ He's vulgar, but cleans up his language around his children. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Wealth & Financial state

◸ Owns a renovated cruiser that's essentially a money pit. ◿ ____________________________________________________________

◸ Scavver that’s gathered a ragtag group of fellow scrappers throughout his travels. He’s cocky, sociable, and empathetic. He was once a pianist, having played the instrument for most of his life. ◿

View Character Profile

Alignment

◸ Chaotic Neutral ◿

Age

◸ Thirty-Nine ◿

Date of Birth

◸ 081.M42 | 25.10 ◿

Birthplace

◸ Cestius Beta ◿

Current Residence

◸ Aboard his modified Arvus Lighter, "Coda" ◿

Gender

◸ Male ◿

Eyes

◸ Steel Grey ◿

Hair

◸ Primarily Taupe; Streaks of Silver ◿

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

◸ Sun-kissed ◿

Height

◸ 5' 9"◿

Weight

◸ 145 lbs ◿

Quotes & Catchphrases

◸ "Couldduh been worse!" ◿ ◸ "I'll try anythin' once." ◿ ____________________________________________________________

Known Languages

Low Gothic | Proficient | ✪✪✪✪✪ High Gothic | Rudimentary Understanding | ✪✪