Welcome to Gaia! ::

Character Profile

Name: Professor Joshua Rivers

Gender: Male

Age: 45

Birthday: March 18th, 1961

Hair: Black with a few flecks of gray; short with bangs

Eyes: Blue-green

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 158 lbs

Build: He has a medium and healthy build; he doesn't work out in gyms but he eats very healthy and enjoys walking

Occupation: Collage English Professor

Birthplace: Colorado, USA

Family: Richard Rivers (father), Amy Rivers (mother; deceased), Daughter (name unknown)

Likes: Old books, books in general, poetry, organization, teaching, writing, classical music, coffee, Edgar Allen Poe, and he has a secret guilty pleasure for sappy romance novels (he'd never admit it)

Dislikes: Junk food, disorder, messes, rap, drugs, stress

Clothing: Half-moon reading glasses (only worn when he's teaching and/or reading), nice plain brown suit with a slate-blue tie and white blouse.

Personality: He's kind to a fault, and easy to take advantage of. He means well even if his decisions aren't always the best ones. He can get very passionate when talking about things he enjoys.

History: Joshua was a "coffee shop kid" when he was young, always hanging out in the local coffee shops with the other social outcasts and very much into the arts. His tastes run toward the written word more than visual arts, although he appreciates both. He had a fairly decent social life with his friends, although he preferred to spend most of his time reading.

Josh's family life was normal enough, growing up at home was a fairly happy experience. He was a good son and a good student, rarely bringing home bad grades (although he did struggle with science). His mother and father (Richard and Amy Rivers) was very proud of him, although from time to time they would encourage him to stop being so absorbed in books and go play outside.

By the time Josh entered collage, he was pursuing a career in teaching his favorite subject; English - or more specifically, American literature. He studied hard but still made time to see his friends and date a few women. As luck would have it, when Josh graduated a position for the subject Josh wished to teach opened up at the same school he went to, and so he applied to the University of Colorado and was accepted in to teach.

Settled down in a decent paying job, Josh couldn't complain about his life. Although it wasn't perfect, he was content with the way things were, and he enjoyed teaching very much.

And then he met her.

It was a chance meeting in a bar. It wasn't often that Josh drank, but every now and then he liked to indulge in one or two. He was sitting alone at the bar when she approached him, all beautiful blue eyes and long golden hair - how could he refuse when she asked him to buy her a drink? She introduced herself as Ashley Dumont, and Josh was quickly drawn in by her charms. When they parted ways after their meeting at the bar, she gave him her phone number.

He didn't call her right away. In fact, he nearly forgot about the encounter - until he was cleaning out his desk in his apartment and discovered her number in one of the drawers. It had only been a few days since the meeting at the bar, so he decided to try and give her a call. They arranged to meet, and he treated her to dinner that night. She was just as beautiful, charming, and outgoing as he remembered. This was only the first of many dates to follow... every one his treat, and not once did Ashley ever offer to help pay for a single thing. Josh was too blinded by his quickly growing feelings for her to notice her glaring flaws of greed and selfishness, and he had no idea what he was getting himself into with this relationship.

They continued to date for nearly two years and had a few intimate encounters - but apparently enough for Ashley to become pregnant. When she told Josh the news, he was shocked and had mixed feelings about the situation. On one hand, he wanted to have a family - a wife and children, maybe a dog too - just a normal happy life like everyone else. On the other hand, he wasn't positive that he was quite ready. Josh knew that he had to take responsibility, however, even if he was not ready. It wasn't like he didn't love Ashley, or didn't want to have children with her. So with this in mind, he gladly proposed to Ashley, offering to support her and their child for the rest of their lives.

But her response wasn't something he expected, for there was just one problem.

She was already married.

Josh was so taken aback by the news he didn't even know how to react at first. He didn't understand how this could be - after all, hadn't they been seeing each other for two years now? It hadn't all been for nothing, had it? The entire past two years were full of lies (in fact, her real name wasn't even Ashley - it was Rebecca Quinn, although Josh would not learn this). He wanted desperately to fight for custody of the unborn child, but he knew that he didn't stand a chance against the case in court, nor could he afford the expenses. Ashley had a husband who could support her and her child, and courts usually rule in favor of the mothers anyway.

It wasn't long after this that Ashley moved away without notice, leaving no way for Josh to track her down so he could at least visit his child. He never even got to know the child's name.

It has been five years since Ashley moved away and out of Josh's life, during which his mother died of old age, and his father moved away to live closer to his family. Josh had been on a tenure contract with the school which had expired - and he just gotten word that they decided not to renew the contract. Desperate for another job so he could get by, Josh searched everywhere for a new teaching position at a nearby school without much luck. That is, until a friend of his from the University - a part-time teacher who also worked for a company called Feral Labs - told him he had heard about a side project of Feral Labs that needed a Professor. Curious, Josh went to the company to ask about the job. It was a teaching job at a private school located on a remote island. Not exactly Josh's idea of nearby, but they would provide living space, food, and everything needed to live on the island - it was a chance of a lifetime. He could get the job and start saving money since he wouldn't need to spend any on rent, food, or transportation. It was a long shot since all of his other applications had been turned down thus far, but Josh applied for the job anyway since he had nothing to lose.

However, to his surprise, Josh's application was accepted to teach at the private school and he was to leave for the island immediately. Room and board was being offered free of charge, as well as transportation to the island. Josh knew he was going to have to deal with a bunch of spoiled rich kids (they just had to be, if they were going to school on an island of all places), but he was sure he could deal with it. A job was a job, and he loved to teach.

He packed up most of his belongings and prepared for the long flight to the island. He moved everything he didn't bring with him into storage space, and left his apartment for good. He planned to cut off all ties from his life in Colorado, wanting to start over and forget his past. He would have a new life on the island.

Of course, he was right about one thing... he'd definitely be starting a new life. Just not the one he had in mind.

When I asked for suggestions for taur animals in the main thread, one of Kamiki's suggestions was the giraffe. I was drawn to this idea the most and decided to do a bit of research on the animal. That is when I discovered that giraffes are, more or less, mute. Giraffes communicate by making moans or low notes that the human ear cannot hear. I was worried at first, because I didn't think I'd be able to role-play a mute character. I expressed my concerns and was told that it would probably be my choice for my character to lose his voice or not.

But the more we talked about it and the more I thought about it, I decided that it would actually be interesting to role-play! I set up a poll in my quest thread (and most people voted that Josh should lose his voice!), and in the end I decided that yes, I do want him to lose his voice.

Ideally, though, I wouldn't want him to lose his voice until sometime after 25%. I'd also want him to lose his voice all at once, instead of slowly. I think it would be more dramatic that way.

Edit: Upon further research I can find nothing but conflicting information! I even asked two people I know online who both work in zoos, and one of them said the information was correct, while the other said that giraffes are not mute.

But the shop staff were yet again very helpful and gave great ideas so my character would still lose his voice! :3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenure