Taua Vainu'upo

Taua is a statue in terms of personality. Not just a brick wall physically, but also emotionally. He does very little emoting, keeping it to a very minimum, but he keeps himself pleasant to talk to regardless. He doesn't want to be a nuisance, he just takes himself very seriously due to his work. He's very caring and puts other people first, in any situation he may end up in. Deep beneath the surface, though, is a kid that had to grow up too fast and longs to act out and be a kid again, in whatever way he can make that happen. His emotions really start to come through when he gets to show off that passion, like when he's fire knife dancing or kissing dudes.

Taua faced a lot of pressure to be a standout leader as a kid, due to everyone in his very massive family competing to be the potential next representative of their village, a title that is elected, but typically stays within the bloodline. Due to that pressure, Taua always wanted to stay far away from that line of work, opting to make something else of his life that wouldn't put a strain on his relationships with his siblings. He opted to take up fire knife dancing, a traditional Samoan dance that involves setting a specific knife on fire and spinning it around to put on a show. After years of experimenting with it growing up, he took his talents globally to mesmerize many stages and Polynesian festivals with his unique way of playing with fire.

As an adult, Taua made many a friend through his travels and overseas schooling. They helped him to let loose, exposing him to the party scene, pride parades, and a wider world that he'd never experienced back in Samoa. Despite the new wave of modern life being hit unto him, he always kept a little part of his culture with him, no matter what, so he'd never forget where he came from and what makes him so special. Regardless, while he'd been dating and dumping the people he's closest to, they all stayed friends through it all. Until recently, when he got a call from his father that his mother was falling ill and he needed to come back to Samoa for the funeral. He went, only to get trapped in when he was suddenly informed he had won the election and was the representative for his small village. His mother was perfectly fine, a bystander to the scheme, all of it was a ploy by his father to keep him hostage in Samoa. Now he has what he wanted to avoid, a strained relationship with most of his family, a position of power he never wanted, and being completely cut off from the people he cares about in America. Through the time he'd spent governing since, he lost his sense of joy and emotion, becoming a bit of a husk just to lead his people.