Clayton "Clay" Himura
steampunk_swamp
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- 1 year, 9 months ago
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- steampunk_swamp
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Profile
An improv comedian who has definitely never done anything sketchy before in his life. Ever. It's fine, he's fine!
About
"Hey, listen. What they don't know can't hurt 'em, y'know?"Meet Clay Himura, an improv comedian who has definitely never done anything sketchy before in his life. Ever. You can trust him! He specializes in character acting, able to pick up and drop speech patterns and physicalities as easy as trying on different hats. While he waits and wonders if he wants to make it big, he works as a grocery store clerk and at several other odd jobs to make ends meet. While he may not have finished high school, he's still got quicker thinking and more ideas than the average joe. It's just that... well, maybe not all of those ideas are good ones.
...Okay, well, maybe he's not *just* a comedian. But it's okay! Any former gang member can find a way to turn their life around, right? After a near-death experience left him wondering what he was doing with his life, Clay decided to turn things around and get himself back on track. Or at least, as back on track as he's able to be.
With a past he can't quite escape from and a future he doesn't know how to find, Clay is stuck in the uncomfortable present living the day-to-day grind. But laughter is the best medicine, and he'll claw his way out of hell with a grin on his face.
Likes
- Laughter
- Money
- 3 AM adventures
- Game nights
- Orange soda
- Indiana Jones
Dislikes
- Authority
- Boredom
- His own temper
- Spicy food
- Calculus
- Soap operas
Trivia
- His weapon of choice is a baseball bat with nails pounded through it. Or, uh, just the bat nowadays.
- Loyal to a fault. Once he likes someone, he's ride or die, regardless of whether they're the same for him.
- His go-to escape strategy is through a window. No one ever expects it!
- Broke as all hell and willing to do just about anything for some extra cash.
- Has pretty severe ADHD, mood swings, and some other issues, but never deems getting treated worthy enough of the cash it would cost.
Personality
Clay's personality is almost entirely dependent on whether he likes you or not. When around his friends, he's very lighthearted and quick to laugh, ready for a joke or a good story. He'll even find bad situations enjoyable, as proven by regular "Boys' Night Out" trips he'll often go on; getting hunted down by old gang rivals can still be a grand ol' time if your buddy is there to pick you up by the end of it, right? Around someone who pisses him off, though, that good humor evaporates. Already prone to anger and habitual violence, Clay has very little patience for those he dislikes and is quick to jump to aggression. He's capable of participating in some back-and-forth insults or banter, but the instant he's stumped for a response, his opponent had better be ready to lose some teeth.
Other than the aggression, he's pretty in denial about most of his flaws, or at least tries to hide them. He has a tendency to take negative criticism to heart while hiding behind a wall of stubborn, spiteful confidence, and when it gets too much for him he'll periodically disappear to go punch trees until he feels better again. That said, when he's not in a bad mood, he can make just about any room brighter with a flashy grin.
Traits
- Charismatic
- Easygoing
- Bold
- Protective
- Assertive
- Comedic
Flaws
- Aggressive
- Possessive
- Easily Frustrated
- Stubborn
- Careless
- Easily Manipulated
Weaknesses
- Singing
- Sitting still
- Chess
- Planning ahead
- Solving puzzles
- Staying out of trouble
Strengths
- Comedy
- Improvization
- Fighting
- Flirting
- Lying
- Storytelling
- Introvert Extrovert
- Impulsive Calculated
- Lawful Chaotic
- Confident Insecure
- Optimist Pessimist
Appearance
- Hair Color Orange
- Eye Color Gold
- Skin Color Tan
- Height 5'7"
- Clothing Style Casual
- Light Heavy
- Unplanned Coordinated
- Frail Muscular
- Groomed Messy
Clay's sense of style has shifted along with his course in life, and he wears far brighter colors than he used to. He tends to prefer softer, comfier fabrics, but he likes his jeans more than any other kind of pants. Most of his clothes are hand-me-downs or bought as cheaply as possible. It's hard to find him without his beanie or pink flannel nowadays.
Back in his street gang era, his sense of fashion generally reflected his mood. He often wore a barred muzzle-like mask (all members of the gang had some kind of face covering, minus the leader), and black fingerless gloves that did nothing to protect his knuckles in a fight. His clothes were often bloodstained and roughed up, with several holes in his jeans and bruises on his face.
Design Notes
- Often winds up beat-up and bloody despite his best intentions.
- Primary colors are purpleish-pinks and yellows, or black and yellow in his past. Or, uh, whatever looks good.
- Puts less effort into his clothing choices than he does into his eyeliner. Which is saying something, because it's usually smudged.
- Never ever takes off his binder. Thoughts and prayers for his ribcage.
- Rarely (if ever) attends fancy events, and owns no expensive or highly detailed clothing.
Relationships
Olvia Sabado: Old Friend
One of Clay's closest friends, she's the only remaining connection he actually wanted to keep from his gang era. Unfortunately for the two, communication broke off for a while and both assumed the other was likely dead, until a chance meeting years later finally put them in contact again. Clay's more than thrilled at the chance for a fresh start with Olvia back in his life again.
Rebecca Vanstrom: Ex-Girlfriend
Clay's abusive ex-girlfriend who messed with his head so bad that he still doesn't know which way is up, even now long after her death. It was Rebecca who took advantage of Clay's position and pulled him into her gang, with manipulation so brutal that he still can't unravel what exactly happened. If you asked how he'd describe her, he'd say she's "pretty shitty" and change the subject.
Quinn Astley: Improv Teammate
The guy Clay technically owes his life to, but neither of them really think about that. Quinn was the one who first got Clay into improv comedy, and Clay can't figure out how to express how grateful he is for the opportunity. He and Quinn became fast friends, already having a little bit of background as middle school classmates, and the two (along with their third teammate, Jules Waterson) spend a great deal of time together.
Story
As most kids with severe undiagnosed ADHD tend to do, Clay Himura found his niche as class clown from a young age. He was always putting smiles on peoples faces: distracting his younger brother with a funny voice to keep him from hearing their parents argue down the hall, making up wild stories to pull his older brother out of the dumps after a breakup, and performing little one-man shows for classmates at the playground for an admission price of a few cents, just to name a few. But the older he got, the less he could keep afloat with just being the funny kid.
Towards the end of middle school, Clay's school burnout hit hard and fast. With his grades plummeting, the criticism began; if only he would stop being so lazy, if only he would apply himself, if only he could be more like his brothers and just stop goofing around. Between the summer of 9th and 10th grade, everything Clay had going for him before seemed to shatter in his hands. With his family trapped in a cycle of poverty, education had been drilled into his head as the only way to make it anywhere in the world - and clearly, that wasn't going to work out for him.
Desperate for the attention he could no longer get, Clay began to act out more and more as he got older, and eventually caught the eye of Rebecca Vanstrom. She was the perfect girl: pretty, popular, and manipulative enough to give him just the right amount of attention to string him along but always leave him wanting more. Rebecca saw Clay as a new little plaything rather than a partner, and play with him she did: she spread falsified rumors of Clay's nonexisting cheating playboy behavior, making him always desperate to prove his loyalty. He would do *anything* for her, up to- and including- joining her gang as her personal attack dog.
With Rebecca's affections and some side income from gang activity, Clay saw no reason to want anything better in life. He dropped out of school before finishing senior year to do Rebecca's dirty work full-time, chasing after the dwindling romance and nights with her that he had to do more and more to earn. She was getting bored with him, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Eventually, Clay's violence caught back up to him: a rival gang managed to corner him in the hopes of getting to Rebecca, and she left him to die. Left bleeding out in an alleyway, Clay was lucky to make it home, and even luckier to finally realize that she had never cared for him in the first place. After that, Clay broke contact with her. It was only a few months later that the rival gang caught up with her, though, and the news of her death still shocked Clay to his core.
Present Day
With nothing else he knew how to live for, Clay was left struggling to stay afloat on a day to day basis. Desperate to fill his time enough to avoid his own thoughts, he took a job at a grocery store, unable to get work anywhere else with no high school diploma. It wasn't enough to fill the day; the only position they had open was part-time, and few coworkers would give him enough of their shifts to make up for it.
Then, as luck would have it, another outlet presented itself to him. A young man by the name of Quinn Astley asked to hang a poster on the store's bulletin board: a poster for an improv comedy show, no charge for admission. Clay barely recognized the guy, but Quinn caught onto their connection quicker, and revealed that he and Clay had shared a few classes in middle school. He invited Clay to the show, and Clay found himself agreeing before he could think about it, if only to get out of his head for a few hours.
It seemed stupid at the time - an ex-gang member, going to a community improv show and abruptly finding what he needed. But while watching the show, Clay couldn't help but think back on what he'd had before, when he was younger and could still get laughs from those around him. Surrounded by a packed audience, all caught up in joy and hysterics, all Clay would think about was being the source of that applause. As soon as the show was over, he approached Quinn to ask about auditions.
