__________
___（ SOME PEOPLE ARE MEANT TO FALL IN LOVE ） but not meant to be together.
████████████████████❝T i m e r l e s s ❞
↺ I Am The 》
Bartender ↴
「 the↘↘ ＢＡＳＩＣＳ 》 ↴
☇ Full Name; Colin Isaac Kinsley
☇ Age; Twenty-four
☇ Origin; Brooklyn, NYC
☇ Height; 5' 7"
☇ Weight: 140 lb.
☇ Sexuality; Pansexual
☇ Hair Color; Dull Black
☇ Eye Color; Gray-Blue
「 more↘↘ ＰＥＲＳＯＮＡＬ 》 ↴
☇ My Life;
Colin was born the fourth child of his family in Brooklyn, New York. The Kinsley home kept expanding after him, eventually leaving him the middle child of seven. He grew up accustomed to shared spaces and a lot of housework. He was never as disciplined or rough as his two older brothers, the more aggressive of which bullied him relentlessly. Nor was he pushy like his youngest baby sister, who learned from an early age that she could get anything she wanted if she threw a loud enough fit. His closest siblings were his older sister, who split much of his sibling babysitting with him, and the younger brother and sister he kept entertained with physical humor and terrible jokes. He picked up interest in juggling, balancing, dancing, and similar hobbies quite young, much to their delight and his father's dismay. His parents themselves were strict and never seemed quite satisfied with him, and he always dreaded the sound of grownup feet stomping over to give him a new lecture on something.
Both his parents were very traditional and showed wariness at their son's inability to be more 'manly.' Attempts to steer him towards more typical hobbies like sports failed. He proved a decent player, but he lacked the competitive nature to care about winning and withered too easily if an opponent invaded his space. The only hobby he loved that they approved of was piano-playing. Like with sports, he showed no interest in the competitive end, but he enjoyed playing and became quite proficient. He fared moderately well at school but often locked up at the prospect of upcoming tests or essays. More than once, he landed in trouble for goofing or slacking off, or becoming a distraction to his classmates with his antics.
As for the slow discovery of his pansexuality, he was too afraid to ever discuss it with his parents. While he could be more honest when he was involved with a girl, he never had the guts to tell them some of his male 'friends' were more than that. His secrecy created a romantic rift more than once, and he couldn't blame a boyfriend if it caused a breakup.
As he grew older, his lack of assertive behavior became an increasingly deep thorn in his father's side. Talk began of his future after school. His father was convinced he needed discipline and began pushing him towards the military. His oldest brother and youngest sister joined the bandwagon. It would be structured. It would be controlled. It would toughen him up.
Colin had nightmares just thinking of being under a drill instructor.
As soon as he hit legal age, he found someone desperate enough to split a shoddy studio apartment and moved out. The roaches and mold of a low-rent place were better than being hounded into boot camp. He also almost completely cut ties with both parents and several of his siblings. The next few years found Colin bouncing between jobs, relationships, and apartments. His friendly and easily bent nature attracted more than one control freak, lovers who strung him along for months at a time, or ones who blatantly proved unfaithful because he wouldn't be willing to fight it. His romantic life became a messy web of complications. He was never single for too long, or at least he was able to find physical attention if he played his cards right, but the strength required for lasting relationships proved more difficult.
For employment, Colin was usually stuck doing menial jobs in questionable parts of the city, made worse when he wasn't assertive enough to push for better options. One of the nightclubs, though, exposed him to bartending. That became his favorite. He was not quite nineteen yet: old enough to serve alcohol, but not old enough to legally admit he was trying the wares himself. But trying them he was, and he was quick to develop a keen personal taste and the ability to make cocktails the way a repeat customer liked. His juggling and balancing skills paid off to make service more flashy in the hope of extra tips. He was the bartender willing to crack bad jokes, unbothered when you ranted your entire life's story on him, and willing to loan a cigarette if you looked in need. Over the next few years, he gained a slight reputation as a good bartender among some of the New York nightlife. Did some patrons take advantage of him? Almost absolutely. He'd grown up trying to appease six siblings at once; special drink requests were easy in comparison. He never acted flustered until a patron grew angry drunk. Deflecting them was not so easy; he preferred to let bouncers handle that, if he could.
Working bars and clubs had its disadvantages, though. He was stalked or assaulted by customers more than once. He learned to hide his tips after being mugged multiple times on his way home. Worst, though, could be his employers themselves. Some of them were benevolent: low pressure, easy-to-follow rules, even free food if he was willing to admit he hadn't eaten that day. Others, the businesses turned out to be fronts for illegal operations. He was an unwilling witness to money laundering, illicit good trades, and worse things he preferred not to think about. He received verbal assurances that he would end up murdered in a gutter if he blabbed, but some weren't satisfied that was enough. The scars from the strikes and cigarette burns those ones doled out didn't always fade. Colin was already bad at sticking up for himself, but his compliant nature worsened as his treatment did. Maybe, if he scraped and smiled and made himself as nonthreatening as possible, they wouldn't feel the need to treat him with such a heavy hand. It was easier to roll over and let them do what they wanted, rather than risk worse repercussions.
He didn't have the courage to report anything, but he also felt increasingly certain that he wasn't going to live long if he stayed. When his sort-of-girlfriend found work hundreds of miles away in Chicago, he tagged along for the move. It didn't matter much if the two of them weren't very serious, or that there was already a 'friend' in Illinois she was spending more and more time talking to.... Colin left without informing some of his bosses, without informing most of his friends, even. He had been too afraid to risk word getting out until he was safely in another state.
Once in the Windy City, Colin found himself in familiar situations soon enough: apartments with various roommates, falling in and out of love (or close enough), and using his bartending skills to make a living. He did invest in the cheapest electronic keyboard he could to pick up his piano skills again. He also discovered a few consistent companions: an aquarium of neon tetra fish, and a red and blue Betta named Slushie. But the biggest self-help step he had taken recently was beginning online college classes. Business and management felt like a far cry from his normal self, but his interest in drinks had sparked one little dream. He knew what tasted good, what made it better. He knew how to distill liquor (and had even done so at home, much to his roommates' frustration). If he could develop a business plan, get a loan, and grow a spine to manage it all, he wanted to open his own distillery.
As for those new Timer items that had burst into pop culture? They caught his curiosity, especially the ones with flashy screens and colors. But his previous romances had not expressed interest in getting one, so he had not, either. Going by himself was too intimidating.
☇ Personality;
Colin makes the first impression of being friendly, non-threatening, and a little eccentric. While he has good coordination skills, he tends to move and stand in very loose and almost clumsy-looking posture. He loves bad jokes that either get a laugh or an eye roll. He tends to speak in an indirect manner, using a lot of metaphors or other roundabout ways to make a point instead of getting right to it. He's always willing to bend an ear to someone needing to vent or get pulled into an idea with people he knows. While his smile can get tight and nervous if someone makes him afraid, it's difficult to tell if someone ever actually gets on his nerves. At first impression, this niceness can make him seem naïve. Really, he isn't.
Colin's appeasing personality is half true, half defense mechanism. He's afraid of sticking up for himself and figures it's easier to bend to what other people want to avoid conflicts. It's better to try and get along with everyone instead of potentially pushing them away or making them angry. He gets pulled into other people's drama because he can't bring himself to say no...still smiling uncomfortably all the way. He's been taken advantage of plenty, and he's aware that people have used and abused him in work and personal life, but he still hasn't learned to draw hard lines. It's kept him from having many long-term relationships, especially when he's not willing to hash out a disagreement. A few of his ex-lovers have been overly controlling and overbearing simply because he didn't stop it.
Naturally curious and open-minded, he's easily pulled into new situations or trying something different, especially if someone else is excited about it. This includes innocuous things and experimenting when it comes to romance. Truth be told, he hasn't actually liked everything he's been involved in, but he hasn't admitted it much. He likes to search up answers to strange facts or questions when they're asked just to satisfy his own inquisitiveness.
He enjoys some odd hobbies like juggling and learning completely out-of-style dances, and he's a whiz when it comes to making cocktails with a little bit of flare. Those and piano-playing are some of the only things he has any real self-confidence in. He goes between being almost a shut-in to spending far too much time out with others, depending on who he's with or the mood his roommates are in. It's hard for him to find a balanced middle ground. Thankfully his fish don't care, as long as he comes home enough to feed them. He also spends too much of his free time in front of a screen. Mobile games and online videos are... not quite an addiction, but certainly a huge time waster. Colin has an active presence on a few social media platforms, too, especially anything photo-heavy. His own posts don't have a public reach: just friends and acquaintances.
☇ Likes;
+ Bad jokes
+ Comfy cardigans and sweaters
+ Liquors: clear ones like gin, vodka, tequila, etc. are his favorites
+ Experimenting with cocktails
+ Piano playing
+ Going on outings with friends/other people
+ Juggling/other skills requiring dexterity
+ Dancing (particularly retro 70s-90s and even a little ballroom)
+ Screen-based tech like smartphones and tablets (he's a bit of a mobile game junkie)
+ The occasional smoke (tobacco or otherwise)
+ His aquarium and pet fish
+ Friendly dogs/cats and quieter pets like fish/reptiles/mice
+ Stars and constellations
+ Hair braiding (comes from having three sisters, he supposes)
+ Indulging his natural curiosity
+ Most social media
☇ Dislikes:
- Conflict conflict CONFLICT
- Acting tough or too serious
- Loud voices or banging noises (he can tune out the thumping bass working at a club, but it's still not his favorite)
- Spicy food
- Scary movies
- Big and/or really loud animals
- His curiosity leading him into something bad
- The interpersonal dramas that can happen on social media
☇ Fears;
x Violence/threats of violence
x Any physical confrontation really
x Taking sides in difficult conflicts
x Big dog breeds, or being bit by an aggressive animal
x Falling into a 'bad crowd' again and being unable to escape
x Homelessness
x Being considered so lame or weird that no one wants to be around him
x Anyone from the illegal work in Brooklyn happening to recognize him
☇ Anything else?;
- Colin has some scars across his chest and shoulders from his time working in NYC
- He has a tacky flaming heart tattoo on his left chest - a previous SO convinced him to get it
- He's trying to teach Slushie the Betta some tricks
- He's very rarely loud, but he does have a particularly high-pitched shriek if you scare him bad enough
Theme Song: Dance Monkey by Tones and I
Small playlist for him: here
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