Carson ‘Film-Reel’ Rivers

Kaleidoscope of All Colours Carson ‘Film-Reel’ Rivers

Overview

Carson ‘Film-Reel’ Rivers, holder of the title ‘Kaleidoscope of All Colours’, is the ancestor of Soren ‘Freeze-Frame’ Rivers and the founder of the Rivers Photo Development Studio that can be found in Montreal, Canada, or Cairo, Egypt, or sometimes New Delhi, India, depending on foot traffic and the unknowable forces of the universe and city zoning laws, but always with the front door facing north and at an address between 1 and 777. He was a founding member of the Chatter & Melody Society and longtime admirer of the Mimic, Songbird, and Duty. He had four children, each of whom would found a branch of the Rivers family; Harrison ‘Teeter-Totter’ of Chicago, Winona ‘Stop-And-Go’ of Paris, Victor ‘Limelight’ of New York (his line would later split and half would move to Los Angeles under patriarch Carla ‘Sing-Song’), and Alexia ‘Stageplay’ of London. They are a devotee of, well, whatever the Speculation was before it hatched properly.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Tall, somewhat slender, with long, shiny black hair that hangs loose around his intensely grey eyes, Carson Rivers rather remarkably resembles most of his descendants, only lacking the performing talent of the Hollywood branch of his family.

Facial Features

Carson Rivers usually has somewhat thin lips, a slightly birdlike nose, ordinary-shaped eyes, one accidentally pierced ear (it was probably that attack in Florence, right? {yep} good, I was right), and a slightly receded hairline.

Identifying Characteristics

Carson’s intensely grey and extremely sensitive eyes would become the identifying trait of the Rivers family. The irises are very variable, appearing anywhere from almost white to nearly black in different parts. They are sensitive enough in Carson specifically to note minute changes in light or position of subject.

Physical quirks

Carson’s hair went prematurely grey in a few discrete stripes that change color the further his hair grows. This happened in 1859, when he was only 32 years old, and most likely resulted from a traumatic experience involving a pack of dogs, several songbirds, and a few rogue metal bits from a train somewhere around New York.

Special abilities

It is belived that Carson is currently functionally immortal; their Altering and their Splicing and their Desyncing from the Layers has effectively made them an INTER-DIMENSIONAL CLASS ENTITY not unlike Utgard-Reverberate, self-proclaimed ruler of the Forest of Echos, who may or may not be a former/part/kind-of human named Jonothan Johnson.

Apparel & Accessories

Usually dresses in mid- to late-19th century middle-class clothes. This means a lot of button-ups, ties, dark coats, plain pants and shiny buttons. Occasionally wears an earring in their accidentally pierced ear, usually a small brass stud with a feather-shaped head.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Work with the C & M Society

Carson was well known to David ‘Foundation’ Rainer¹, and was the first unofficial RECORD-KEEPER of the Chatter & Melody Society. He did not originally host the Teary-Eyed Vulture, but rather the Spinning Wheels of Film², an INTRA-DIMENSIONAL CLASS entity that he originated.
Carson helped found Station London, later London Branch, and served as RECORD-KEEPER until Rainer made the Covenant with the Teary-Eyed Vulture that gave it command over all following record-keepers. He retired in 1890, Altering with the help of Spinning Wheels to become unsynced with the Layers. Now they drift in and out of these closely stitched realities, sometimes temporarily anchoring in interesting places and taking photos for the sake of who-what-ever is the current RECORD-KEEPER and their eternal pursuit of documentation.

The Splicing

Carson Rivers is most well-known for ‘The Splicing’, an experiment voluntarily conducted upon her (she was a she at the time, I think that a typhoon had to do something with it?) by the first ARCHITECT, Felix ‘Flying Buttress’ de Gaul³, that involved several hybrid instruments of music and surgery and an operation plan based upon Dante’s Purgatorio in 1860. When the Splicing was finished, Carson ended up with a multitude of personalities from history, drama, the future, and other such places in a way that was very insightful as to how the Songbird operated {heh, literally} and why you shouldn’t ever mess with it. This only worsened with his Altering, but it does help when making sure the same interesting person you keep on visiting doesn’t think they have a stalker.

Beyond the Altering

After Carson altered into what is functionally an INTER-DIMENSIONAL CLASS ENTITY, they desynced with the Layers and became a lone traveler, seeking out new sights to capture in photographs and new people to show them to. Their multiple personalities and newfound somewhat eldritch powers led to their constant physical alteration. People who have encountered one of these many versions of the Kaleidoscope of All Colors describe them as anything from Carson’s original appearance to a black dog with green eyes to a flock of mosquito hawks to a alarmingly pale-skinned woman with long blond hair and a dolphin’s tail.

Education

Born into an upper-middle-class family in either Malta, Tyrsland, or Hellas, moved to the United Kingdom of Norman England and France⁴ at age 7, and was educated at the Paris Academy of Government Service and Expeditionary Employment, before moving to the Unified Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, the Scot-Highlands, the Wales Dragon Protectorate, Protestant Ireland, and Underseas Doggerland⁵ at age 19, where he completed his studies at Oxford College, earning a degree in Clerking and Accounting, with a sub-studies degree in Library Services and Archiving.

Employment

Carson was employed as a government clerk by the Unified Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, the Scot-Highlands, the Wales Dragon Protectorate, Protestant Ireland, and Underseas Doggerland in the Department of Production and Urban Development. He held this job from 1851, when he was dragged from his home Layer to another, where he met David Rainer and helped found the Chatter & Melody Society, where he worked as RECORD-KEEPER until his retirement in 1890.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

When they were a normal human, Carson was driven by their pursuit of knowledge and want to be useful to the world in a novel way that would separate them from the cog-like lives he lived in his original Layer, taking his Crossing as a new start at life.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Carson is generally very observant, with highly sensitive senses just enough beyond the norm to make them stand out.

Likes & Dislikes

They are fond of well-trained dogs, tropical birds, well-made handicrafts, professionalism, and quiet people.
They dislike disorganization, cats, thunderstorms, sudden bright lights, and violence. 
They hate large amounts of water, blood, shoddy workmanship, and writing things down.

Hygiene

Has a predisposition to being slightly grimy at any given time. Will always manage to dirty clean clothes very quickly. Very clean teeth, decently clean hair, slightly unkempt but short nails, which they bite.

Footnotes

David ‘Foundtion’ Rainer¹: The founder of the Chatter & Melody Society, a member of the Secret College of the London Underground, and a devotee of the Legend. For more information, refer to his dedicated article: David ‘Foundation’ Rainer
Spinning Wheels of Film²: It is now believed that the Wheels is an INTER-DIMENSIONAL CLASS entity.
Felix ‘Flying Buttress’ de Gaul³: A founding member of the Chatter & Melody Society, the first ARCHITECT, and a devotee of the Mimic. For more information, refer to his dedicated article: Felix ‘Flying Buttress’ de Gaul
United Kingdom of Norman England and France⁴: See the dedicated article for more information: UK-NEF
Unified Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, the Scot-Highlands, the Wales Dragon Protectorate, Protestant Ireland, and Underseas Doggerland^5: See the dedicated article for more information: UK-ESPIUD

Current Status

Lost in the great glowing coils of the universe, or getting a coffee

Date of Birth

18th of August, 1827

Circumstances of Birth

Somewhere in Europe, maybe in Hellas specifically, or perhaps Malta, or even Tyrsland

Sex

Male

Gender

Man, most of the time, others occasionally

Presentation

Very much depends on the wills of the universe and the weather at the time

Eyes

Grey, highly sensitive pupils (both would become Rivers family traits)

Hair

As black as the dark room where he developed photos, long and shiny

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Relatively tan skin

Height

6’ 4”

Weight

81.2 kg

Belief/Deity

The Speculation

Aligned Organization

Chatter & Melody Society