● N A M E ●Colin Kitchener
● A G E ●47
● G E N D E R ●Male
● O C C U P A T I O N ●Author, former High-School teacher
● L O O K S ●In two words? Perpetually scruffy. Colin has the air of a man who'd rather spend extra preparation time in bed than in front of a mirror and seems to pick his clothes on a 'first to hand' basis, though he manages to make this look dishevelled rather than scatty. It's pretty much the same but the former comes with plenty of style. He shaves when he remembers to and therefore sometimes sports roguish stubble for several days before remembering to restore his boyish good looks. For some people, you might assume they were lazy or not in control of their life and while both of those are true, Colin always leave people with the impression he's far too focused on important things to mess around.
His voice has a trace of accent, especially on Rs and CHs, but years of living the American life and the past year's media exposure have repressed his Scottish brogue to a definite background. It's easier to get along if you sound more like the locals and his voice has shifted towards inoffensively neutral overtime. He slips back hard when frustrated or excited, however, and reveals his true nature.
● P E R S O N A L I T Y ●For a long time, Colin had a purpose that defined him, filled him up and gave him strength when he felt he might fall. It was reassuring and supportive but often allowed him to push away other, lesser responsibilities until later. For example, he'd always meant to write a book but looking after his sick partner and bringing up Astrid took precedence by a mile. He was and still is, a very selfless man who put the well being of those he cared about before anything about himself.
But in recent years, circumstances have changed and he is suddenly without an anchor. No partner to watch over, no little girl who needs her hand held, just a memory and a nearly adult daughter. Now Colin is reeling a little as he looks around at his life and tries to find something new to put at its centre. His job, his book, his pets, none of them seem important enough to hold him in the here and the now. To couch it in a metaphor, Colin is a ship that needs a firm anchor, otherwise he just drifts through the days.
● R O M A N T I C I N T E R E S T S ●Last time Colin was in a relationship, it consumed pretty much his entire life and ended with his significant other dying. Since then, he's sought out nothing new and doesn't really intend to. But if there's anything to be learned from RomComs, it's that not looking for love is the surest way to get blindsided by it.
● O R I G I N S T O R Y ●When he was a young man, Colin was concerned with being a good friend and then, when he was lucky enough to find someone who'd put up with him, a good husband. He remembered birthdays better than exam dates, favourite foods better than literary dates and put more effort into planning parties than studying. It made him well liked and won him many friends but teachers tended to label him as lazy or, if they were feeling generous, underachiever. Somewhere along the way, those labels stuck and went on to define how he saw himself, rather than how others saw him.
When he was a husband and a father, Colin thought of his ailing partner and young daughter before he put any thought into his work. Predictably, his professional life went nowhere and his promise took him nowhere other than the literature department at a second rate High-School. Unfortunately, despite all his attention and devotion, his wife (Cecilia) died and he was left to care for their daughter alone. And through her childhood and early teens he did a good job and by the time she was relatively independent, he looked up and realised that life had passed him by.
Simply put, existence was full of meaning for Colin until suddenly it wasn't. Without direction, he went in search of something to do and after moving through a number of hobbies and buying several pets, he found something; writing the novel he'd always meant to get around to. And, to his delight, it was enjoyable enough to stick with for just long enough to finish it. He didn't think it was anything special but decided "Why not?" and sent it to a publisher. Its subsequent publication was a pleasant surprise, while its massive and (in his opinion) undeserved popularity was baffling.
Out of nowhere, the Kitcheners went from living off of Colin's teaching pay to having a tidy and comfortable income from the sale of When Josie Barked and Colin was talked into quitting his job (he offered up little resistance) and working on a sequel. The only change he's sure he meant was the move to Verona, an altogether nicer town and into a much nicer house. He maintains it was for Astrid's good and so he could focus but he mostly wanted away from old friends and new agents.
Since then, his days have been long hours of sitting and staring at the intimidating blankness of the pages in front of him, interspersed with other activities to 'clear his head'. The dogs have never had so many walks and the cat is feeling positively over-played with. Some days Colin volunteers his 'expertise' and pitches in at the local High-School, where his neighbour teachers. Colin never thought he'd miss teaching but somehow anything is better than getting down to business with the novel.
● S U P E R P O W E R ●Beast Whispering. That is to say, whatever Colin said is perfectly understood by animals and vice versa.
● P O W E R C L A S S I F I C A T I O N ●Mystic
● A B I L I T I E S ●Communicate perfectly with animals - Where most people can train a dog to respond to commands by associating sounds with actions and rewards, Colin can tell a dog to jump and here the dog respond "how high?".
Understand animals - Anything animals say comes through to Colin as entirely understandable words, though whether the animals have anything interesting to say is another matter. "Feed me." "Play with me." "Fight me!"
● W E A K N E S S E S ●Communicate, not command - While subservient animals like dogs and most domestic pets need little convincing to obey commands, more wild ones tend to have their own agendas as well and see no reason to obey a human just because they've learned to speak properly. Most can be bargained with or tricked but not outright controlled.
They're just animals - Some Mundanes throw fire or trucks. Colin talks to dogs.
fledermaus
Nightwing95
