Name: Gordon Van Hurst
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Appearance: Gordon has always been tall, but not especially so, leveling out at about 6'1". Once a scrawny young man, he has, in recent years, put on a great deal of muscle. His skin tone, however, has taken a turn for the worse; while he does more exercising, he does it all inside, and as a result, his skin is a gothic, pale white color. He used to have long, brown hair, but that took a turn for the worse as well and he now wears it mostly shaved, with what remains spiked into a mohawk down the center of his cranium and the back of his neck. He has recently died his hair black. His face used to be attractive, with dark, deep-set eyes and a constant, brooding, pouty set to his lips... but that, of course, took a turn for a worse when he began neglecting sleep. Dark rings now constantly line his eyes and what used to be charming aloofness in his expression now looks like the deadness of a zombie. He very rarely smiles, even when he's happy. His body is heavily tattooed and he spends more money, time, and suffering than he ought to modifying and adding tattoos. The subjects of these tattoos vary between baffling, stupid, tasteless, and pointless; almost none of them would ever be found in any standard catalog and one must wonder where he gets them.
He's not the type to give much thought to what he wears and his taste ensure that his choice of wardrobe is as indecipherable as his hair and body art preferences. Much of his wardrobe that he wears outside the house looks like a costume, often based on whatever inspiration he has at the time for his works. Around the house, where he spends most of his time, he tends to dress grungy or barely dress at all.
Personality: Gordon grew up as an introvert and probably should have stayed that way. "Outspoken" would be a nice way of describing his views about the world. His personality can really be summed up with one concept: poor taste. As he's grown, he's become very vocal about what he does and does not like, and one can generally bet that the stupider, more inane, or more senseless something is, the more attracted Gordon finds himself to it. He considers himself an artist and is, in fact, a starving artist... starving largely because his goals and likes are so far distanced from the ordinary human's that he could hardly expect to earn a living with his chosen profession as a writer/director.
He is, above all, persistent in his beliefs. It is very difficult for anyone, from his friends to professionals in his field, to dissuade him from an idea he's convinced is good (despite the fact that it almost never is). At the same time, he is flighty, and will often change up his own stories while they are in progress. He is not a mean person, but he is coldly dismissive of any attempts to help him onto a proper path through storytelling, let alone through life. He is not bitter, but he does feel misunderstood... but just as soon as he struggles to explain an idea he's had, it vanishes like a dream and he continues to another one. He is not easily discouraged.
Gordon's passion growing up was fine literature and cinematography. As he's grown, he has become mostly obsessed with horror, especially gory slasher flicks. Why is hard to say... he's not a violent person, nor is he an angry person or even a judgmental one. It may just be part of his unerring standard of having iffy taste. His stories do often come off as paranoid and skeptical, but they are usually just that: stories, with no basis in real events.
Background: Gordon grew up with a very normal family in Electown's lower income district. It's impossible to say where things went wrong. He wasn't especially bright or popular as a child, but he made it through schooling, went partway through college... then something snapped. What was a period of rebellious self expression turned into a misguided, incomprehensible, yet somehow keenly focused pursuit of self destruction. He traded his long hair and hard rock for his trademark mohawk and bizarre sensibilities with remarkable speed. Few who remain recognize him to say "Hey, that's Gordon from my old Netopian Lit. class!" He barely made it through college then continued onward to his chosen career: fiction author. He's been trying to get his foot into writing screenplays and directing, but he's equally bad at both.
No one knows much about his family. He was estranged from them before and they surrendered to his individuality to allow him self-sufficiency... they know very little of just what sort of person he's become now, especially since his works see very little publication or purchase. His mother and father are alive and well; his younger brother still lives at home, preparing to move from high school to college.
Gordon himself occupies a small apartment with two roommates and a fourth room that always seems to be on rental, unable to keep an occupant. One of the constant roomies is also his agent, who goes to great lengths to try to set him on the right path in terms of writing. To this end, the agent has recently set him up with Slay, a professional actor navi who is doing her best to teach him the ropes and lead him down the path to actually developing a good slasher story.
PET Modifications: Gordon's PET is an older model, black and gray with a lot of cheap rubber parts. He liked it because he felt like it looked old, mysterious, and storied... but it's really just cheap and crappy. Slay pointed this out when she was first transferred into it.