Niles McGregor

Early Life

Niles was born on December 30, 1998 in Chelsea, Massachusetts to a fairly poor family. He had grown up supported by one barely above minimum wage earning mother and a father who was unemployed for the most time. His home had relied heavily on government funded aid. He grew up in a street overcrowded by homes that nearly touched and was frequent with crime, mainly just physical altercations. He has one five years younger brother that he maintained minimal contact with.

Niles had a tendency to lock himself away in his room and keep contact only when he had to. He isn't close to any of his family members and didn't get a chance to build a relationship with either of his parents the same way that his little brother did. He had grown up with parents that constantly fought over the topic of money. Eventually his father moved out when he was 16 and he has lost contact with that side of the family since. He had a neutral stance on his family and none of the circumstances affected him. His mindset sees things as they happen and learn to adapt to the changes instead of getting caught up in it.

Niles spent most of his time outside of his house. He didn't hang out with anyone in particular as all his friends were ones that he only talked to online or in school. He always got money by saving his lunch money and skipping lunch. He used his pocket money to occasionally buy from the shady convenience store that was located on the end of his street and cheap weed. A lot of his money was saved by stealing from the local stores instead of properly paying. He traveled on a skateboard he had found on the sidewalk and stolen as well.

Niles had started selling drugs to his classmates in order to scrape up money for college and figured a degree could help him find a job in the future, even if he had never had the desire to work. He was currently majoring in behavior analysis at Salem State University, dropping out during October in 2018.

Personality

The word "apathetic" covers a majority of Niles' personality. He is very prone to boredom and this is the root for reliance on drugs and occasional drinking to keep him moving. Boredom is also to blame for his sporadic destructive tendencies, mainly toward himself. He lacks proper motivation to pursue anything and continues to go through life hoping anything he does can change how he feels, but he has remained the same since childhood. He's exhausted by life's daily activities including necessities like restroom use and drinking water, so he tends to avoid both unless someone directly provides him with the resources he needs. He doesn't take this as a problem and has yet to seek help for it because it's what he's used to.

Niles sometimes falls into unexpected and unexplained bouts of severe depression. He deals with suicidal ideation for a majority of his day. His life revolves around nothing and he doesn't have many reasons to keep living, but he does anyway.

Having Niles as a friend is very unsatisfying at times. He never puts in the same amount of effort, even if it's a basic friendship. He sees himself as unreliable because of his habits of dropping contact for days unless he's forced to interact. The only people he seems to be comfortable around are his currently band mates and his partner.

He relies heavily on music to get through a day. He often identifies with certain songs and he uses it to put into words how he feels. He could never explicitly describe his emotions, even the simple ones.

Band

Music is the only healthy coping mechanisms he has. Niles wanted to learn an instrument because it seemed like an efficient way to spend all his free time. He picked to learn the bass instead of the guitar because it had less strings, so he figured it was less work. Like, seriously. He had found a secondhand off-brand Gibson bass and a headphone amplifier nearby with the help of online listings. He decided he didn't want to tell his mother or brother about his interest in music. He planned to ditch them once he settled into a band.

He had discovered Mint•Con, a not so popular band, after watching recordings of their concerts. They matched his taste perfectly and they were one of the few electro-rock bands in the Greater Boston area. Niles had noticed with every performance, they had a new bassist. He figured it was small enough to hunt down the members after a show. He quickly found the next show and decided to see them live.

The band had a small crowd afterward, but nothing Niles couldn't wait for. Eventually, he had talked to Griffin and asked if they needed a permanent bassist. Within the next few weeks, Niles had been introduced into the band after auditioning for the other three members.

In 2018, Niles moved from his dorm in Salem to Woburn with the rest of the Mint•Con members. They all decided to move together into Griffin's previous house, as it'd all fit them and it'll be cheaper to buy from Griffin's parents.

Trivia

♡ Niles' favorite desserts are carrot cake and whoopie pies

♡ Niles doesn't do any other drugs beside marijuana

♡ He doesn't smoke cigarettes at all, but has a daily joint at 7 PM

♡ Even with low self esteem, Niles takes at least 2 selfies a day

♡ Niles had a weird obsession with crosses despite not being religious

♡ His favorite member of the band is Griffin, but says it's Cayden to preserve Cade's feelings and not inflate Griffin's ego

♡ On days where he can, he spends all day in bed

♡ Niles drinks an average of 2 cups of water a week

♡ He eats at least 2 bags of BBQ Fritos a week

♡ He has a very fast metabolism, which only encourages his unhealthy eating habits