Klaus

Name: Klaus
Age: 16
Pronouns: he/him
Species: human
Height: 6'0"

To understand Klaus, one must have context of his upbringing, and most do not. He cannot convey that himself either as discussing his former home situation and the events that led to its collapse causes him too much distress, so he simply goes misunderstood. The only people in his life who are aware of his history are his best friends Liza and Eliot, their parents, his brothers, and his own adoptive father. Klaus is still figuring himself out, having dedicated a lot of his early childhood and teenhood to processing his experience rather than making new ones and exploring who he is as a person, leaving him insecure and listless. He tends to follow along with others and has no strong opinions or goals or hobbies, something he is ashamed of but the pressure to find something that fits him is equally as stressful. Hes sort of coasting by currently but hes not doing it alone at least, he has a very robust support system. He sometimes feels guilty for this in private, wondering if he deserves it, but it does still help despite his hang ups. 

When in his comfort zone, hes extremely earnest and a sincere person who really values the little things in life. He likes walks in the woods and playing in the rain, hes more himself when he doesnt feel like theres eyes on him. He can be very animated and active though he has the grace of a newborn deer and gets playful with people he trusts. Hes very emotionally intelligent and good with his words when he has time to collect thoughts, hes a good friend to vent to and gives good hugs. Unfortunately he exits his comfort zone extremely easily and can quickly become self isolating. When hes under pressure he completely falls apart and any sort of disapproval or frustration even if not directed at him can be enough to make him cry at times, which hes working on but making poor progress. He mutters to himself a lot during high stress moments, which seems to help him calm down even if people give him Looks for doing it. He still tries to be social though, he wants to get better even if he doesnt feel like he deserves to or know exactly how. 

Relationships:
Eliot-  One of his best friends, along with Liza. Eliot and Klaus do most things together finding it much easier than doing it by themselves. Klaus gets more courageous around Eliot, primarily because he knows how much Eliot pushes himself to keep himself safe and Klaus wants to make an effort to be there for him and defend him if necessary. Sometimes Klaus will use his height to his advantage in this regard. Eliot always makes an effort to include Klaus in things and that is something extremely important to Klaus. It means a lot to be part of peoples lives, even though he doesnt have anything going for himself Eliot takes the time to explain or share why hes interested or excited about something which helps Klaus explore his own interests too. The two have a very emotionally close relationship and Klaus is the most "himself" around Eliot. Klaus likes to get into antics with him when either just Liza or no one else is around, teenager zoomies essentially.  

Liza- His other best friend, he loves Liza and feels very safe around her. They both bounce off of eachothers humor really well and she emboldens him to allow himself to take up space in the world, even if its usually for the defense of another person rather than himself. Baby steps. Shes a good influence on him as well as intuitive and compassionate, shes learned how to filter herself as to not upset him but he has kind of noticed and feels guilty for that. She seems to stare at him sometimes but hes chalked that up to her just being Liza, she does things like that sometimes, it doesnt mean anything. They tend to go off into the woods together, even if the urbex makes him a little anxious he LOVES the scenery and quiet so its fine.

Ashley+Reese- Gets along fine with Reese! They arent the judgemental sort and it feels nice to have someone around his height so he doesnt feel like people are staring at him, even if he doesnt always know how to talk to them he never feels like theyre being malicious. He honestly wants to get to know them better, he thinks they could be really good friends and hes interested when they talk about their personal worldview. He sometimes cant tell if theyre joking about some of the things they say though so he just nods and laughs awkwardly. Ashely though..... Klaus really really hopes hes just being sensitive and theyre not actually mad at him all the time. It really feels like they cant stand him which makes his throat feel tight but he is doing his best to not assume things about his friends! Hes done with that! Hes working on it! Right.

Jon+Sawyer- These are more Liza's friends than his, but he likes when they tag along even if he cant fully relax around them yet. They have a good energy to them and try to include him in things which makes him feel more comfortable with them. He likes how liza gets around them because she becomes less monotonous and makes the funniest faces that he has to force himself to not laugh at when he sees them. 

Lukas- His eldest brother, they have not seen eachother since Klaus was 8 and Lukas was 21, they are from different marriages. Klaus is supposed to go live with him but Lukas hasnt contacted him since he got released from jail. Klaus is convinced he ruined Lukas' life and thats why he wont come see him or talk to him, Klaus cant talk about this with anyone because he feels like he doesnt have a right to complain about it. They were very close as children with Lukas taking care of him often, and Lukas protecting Klaus is what landed him in prison. He both wants to see his brother but is terrified of his fears being confirmed. 

Jasper-His middle brother, they have not seen eachother since Klaus was 8 and Jasper was 18, Jasper was an affair child that was brought into the house before Klaus was born. The two werent especially close growing up so its no shock to Klaus that Jasper would hate him for ruining the family and also avoid him. Since the inciting incident where Lukas was imprisoned and their parents lost custody of the siblings, Jasper ran off and cut contact with everyone. Klaus hopes hes okay. 

Kopec- An apparition that attached itself to Klaus as a very small child and decided to come with him when they moved out of the house that used to be the spirits residence. Kopec acts as a father figure to Klaus and has been a comforting figure since childhood, where others assumed he was an imaginary friend for the boy. Others cannot see or hear Kopec generally but Klaus mutters to himself to talk to him. Klaus relies on Kopec for a lot of parental guidance and Kopec keeps him rational the best he can. When Klaus has a problem he doesnt want to burden his friends with, he confides in Kopec as one would a trusted parent. Klaus feels embarassed at times of how doting Kopec is but no one else can see him so it doesnt bother him, and its nice to be loved like that.


Funfacts:
-really likes campfires and camping in general, but doesnt consider this good enough to be a "hobby" or "interest"
-mosquitoes love him. unfortunately.
-he has a very minimal wardrobe, even though Liza and Eliots parents try to buy him things he is the type to wear something until it is destroyed and THEN get something new
-similarly to above, he is the best out of the group with handling budgeting or finances
-he is INCREDIBLY clumsy. sometimes kopec breaks his "no interacting in public" rule to stop this boy from toppling over, which leaves a sooty handprint where he is "grabbed"
-he refuses to tell anyone about kopec because he feels they will not believe him
-as gentle as he is, animals do not like him because his anxiety puts them on edge
-liza, eliot, and klaus are some of my oldest ocs i still use :) (17 years aprox)