Link

FULL NAME

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Link "Stripes; Runt" Eric Daines - He'll also go by pretty much any variation of his name or some feline-related pun you wanna call him. All his close friends love to use the nickname Stripe all the time, and he's also the type who definitely enjoys cute lovey-dovey nicknames from his partners, even if they usually result in him ending up a blushing mess. Jamie is the only one who calls him Runt

AGE

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Fifteen; September twenty-second; Virgo

GENDER

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Male; He / Him

SEXUALITY

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Gay

gotta get some of that good old pride art for him 

SPECIES

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Tiger shifter, although there also seems to be some tiny trace of weretiger somewhere

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

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Link can probably be described best as being absolutely tiny. He's the shortest of his friends, only managing 5'1 - although, he does always insist the ears count, which would give him an extra couple of inches. His skin is smooth and soft, a fairly light tone with freckles dotting all over his face, especially his nose and the tops of his shoulders. He tends to bruise quite easily, and it's not too uncommon for him to have a couple bruises and scrapes on him. His build is quite thin and lithe, with some light muscle definition, thin wrists and fingers, a flat stomach, and slightly visible ribs, especially when he's stretching. His face is marked with three stripes on each cheek, mimicking the markings he has in his tiger form. His cheeks are usually slightly pink, although it can be annoying at times, especially when it keeps getting pointed out. He has a long scar across his face, starting a little under his hairline on the right side of his face, crossing over his nose and ending on his left cheek. His canines are a little bigger than normal, giving him some small fangs. His eyes are both cyan, but two different shades, the right one being a much softer, lighter shade closer to an icy blue while the left one is quite a bit darker. His eyes are framed with nice, long eyelashes and neat brows. His hair is ginger and cut short, swept over his forehead and somehow always looking just a little on the effortlessly-messy-but-cute side. He has a pair of tiger ears and a tail, both of which match how they look in his tiger form, orange with black and white markings. He has a single piercing in each of his human ears. Link's closet is mostly full of pastels, bright colours, and incredibly soft t shirts, which are usually paired with jeans - typically shades of blue, or rarely black - or shorts if the weather calls for it. He also has a small collection of tank tops, including one or two black ones he doesn't wear much, and plenty that are colourful and / or have bright or flowery designs, the latter of which he prefers much more. He also probably has the biggest collection of oversized sweaters that you've ever seen, as well as way too many beanies since you'd better believe he gets cold way too easily. Still, he's horrible at planning ahead and as soon as the weather starts getting warmer or fall begins he'll probably start asking for or just straight up stealing your jacket because he forgot his own and got cold. At least a quarter of his jackets probably came from Grey or Kishan, whether with or without their knowledge, and birthdays and Christmases usually mean at least one or two more to add to his collection.

Link's tiger form isn't really anything special. His most defining traits would probably be his size, being quite a bit smaller than you might expect when compared to a regular tiger, as well as his eyes and his scar, which match his human form. He has the same three stripes on his face, and other than all that he pretty much looks like a regular tiger, his build still somewhat thin but with more definition to his muscles, looking visibly strong. His fur is short, matching pretty close to his hair in his human form, with black stripes. He has white markings on his chest, underbelly, and the underside of his tail, as well as a white chin. The backsides of his ears are black, with white markings shaped somewhat like sideways ovals. He has sharp fangs and fairly powerful claws, his paw pads splotched pink and grey-ish brown. He has freckles similar to his human form, but you'd only be able to see them if he was hairless or you shaved him down short enough to see the skin.

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ART NOTES

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• The stripes in his tiger form (and tail in his human form) don't really need to be specific, just natural tiger stripes, just make sure anything specifically mentioned (ears, face markings, etc) is included
• His tiger ears are mostly black, with mostly just the front of them orange and then the white ovals on them
• Feel free to mix and match and play with outfits

DOMINANT HAND

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Left handed

PERSONALITY

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When it comes to his personality, most people can agree that Link is pretty adorable. He's a very sweet and loving boy, and he probably wouldn't even hurt a fly without good reason. When he's not too busy lazing around and enjoying a nice, sunny spot, his tiny body can hold a surprising amount of energy, and it's incredibly common for him to look restless, like he's about to run off and find just about anything to do to entertain himself and preferably get moving. At times, he seems like he's nearly constantly fidgeting, and if he can, he probably will. He can, however, be a little on the sensitive side, and he's incredibly gullible, likely to follow whatever you say with the right persuasion or enough insistence. He's super caring, cuddly, and gentle, seeming to have a natural sort of motherly instinct in him, especially when it comes to small animals and babies. He always tries to be as sweet as possible, and will likely be the first to try to offer you lunch money or make you share his lunch if he hears even a whisper of you forgetting your own - as if he doesn't already pass around food and money to his friends anyways, because where else should forty percent of his food go, and why should his friends pay for their own things (the latter of which Kishan doesn't seem to agree with, and will instead insist on paying for him instead)? He loves nothing more than to make people happy and see a smile on their face, a sign of success in his book, and he seems to get along with people fairly easily, although he finds it a little hard to start a conversation at times. He kind of sucks at being sassy, but he does have a bit of a sarcastic side at times, especially with his friends or if he's just vibing with the right people. He's absolutely horrible at telling people off, though, and he's way more likely to just freeze up or try to laugh it off and avoid conflict at all costs, although he'll probably struggle to hide the fact that he'll look visibly uncomfortable if the situation is bad enough. He's also bad at saying no, and will usually just try to shrug the question off and let people down as gently as possible without outright denying whatever it is they want to try and make it as easy as possible.

SPEECH

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Link's Canadian, and he speaks mainly English, as well as a little bit of the worst French you've ever heard

POWERS

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Link can switch freely between his tiger form and his human form, and the main is fairly minimal, although occasionally it can be worse. Typically, that'll be if it's just been a while, or if he's particularly stressed or otherwise upset. This can also affect how exhausting it'll be for him, as well as how often he's doing it.

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LIKES

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Swimming, a lot, and dancing around like an idiot in a way his middle school dance teachers would definitely disapprove of, as well as other things like running and playing around in his tiger form that can use lots of energy, although swimming and dancing are probably his favourites; Watching- er, hanging out with Grey while he works out and being a good, supportive friend, of course. Y'know, just giving him a water bottle or a towel, occasionally giggling at how flushed he gets, jokingly squeezing a muscle, normal bro things; Laying in the sun and enjoying all that nice warmth, typically for hours at a time and sometimes in weird positions or places that he shouldn't be, like the windowsill; Warm weather and sunny days; His favourite season is probably summer, while his favourite holiday is surprisingly actually Christmas; Hot chocolate, especially from Starbucks; Actually, most Starbucks drinks for that matter; Big hoodies and sweaters; Beanies, so, so many beanies; Fluffy blankets; Generally being warm and snug and cozy and all that good stuff; Being pet and cuddled; Love and romance; Romantic movies, especially Disney; Most Disney movies, actually, and the few Marvel movies he's seen, he loves Spider-Man but he's only seen a couple of them (and hey, you wouldn't want to spoil anything for a cute lil kitten like him, right?); Being with his friends and seeing them happy; Art related things, especially painting! He loves to paint cute sunshines and rainbows and clouds, and he uses lots and lots of watercolour all the time. He's probably painted the cover to his light switches and at least one of his outlets at least once or twice; Animals, especially tigers, and of course bunnies and other small animals; Caring for small animals or babies; The idea of starting a family; Probably fantasising about his future; He may or may not have a bit of an iced coffee addiction, usually filled with plenty of sugar and flavouring as well, and he terrifies his friends whenever he casually mentions that his chest feels like it's going to fall out (but seriously, don't worry guys, he probably be fine in a minute or two.. right?); Praise; Being seen as helpful; Going in his tiger form and jumping in piles of leaves or snow, casual destruction and all that

DISLIKES

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Death, war, and excessive gore or violence, although he is used to a little bit of blood so it doesn't bother him too much in small amounts; Horror games; Super cold weather, mostly because he's incredibly lucky and will probably have about a 78% chance to catch a cold or something; Rain and hail, although when it comes to snow he'll definitely go and play around in it in exchange for spending the following couple of hours bundled in blankets and probably dragging someone - either his friends or his dearest older cousin - to be his personal heater, plus demanding hot chocolate, of course; Storms, he's not really scared of them but all the lightning and thunder just makes him super nervous and incredibly on edge for some reason; Fireworks, for a similar reason, they're sudden and loud and his sensitive ears don't really enjoy that; When people get upset, he's usually not really prepared or has no idea what to do to help and will probably just end up feeling bad about it; Homophobes; Generally rude people; Boring, bland, or black coffees, he'd rather stick to the 12 sugar vanilla light roast, thanks

BELIEFS

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That's a thing that exists, sure. Does he know where he falls under all those different religions? Absolutely no idea, though he'd really rather not think about it too hard

LIVING SITUATION

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Link lives in small, somewhat messy apartment with his aunt, uncle, and his older cousin Jamie who he shares a room with. However, he tends to spend the majority of his time at his friend's houses, especially Grey's and Kishan's, who seem to be his go-to places to sleep over most of the time.

RELATIONSHIPS

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Jason Daines {Father - Deceased} A tiger shifter. He died before Link was born, about halfway through the pregnancy. The younger brother of Finnick Daines.

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Diane Daines {Mother} {Formerly Diane Cook} A tiger shifter, their relationship is quite distant and, besides Mother's Day cards, there really isn't much contact anymore. She gave him to Jason's brother, Finnick, and his wife, Samantha, shortly after he was born and slowly stopped seeing him over time.

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Samantha Daines {Aunt; Guardian} {Formerly Samantha Smith} A human, they aren't really that close and he mostly just tries to stay out of her way and avoid adding to her already large pile of stress.

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Finnick Daines {Uncle; Guardian} A tiger shifter, their relationship is definitely more than a little distant and fairly tense, he tends to work a lot and when he's not, he's too tired to be bothered. He doesn't really seem to approve of Link much, especially not his "fruity" fashion sense or his friends. He seems to have a specific hatred for Link's favourite blue hoodie as well, for some reason unknown to Link. Really, he doesn't think the boy needs that many clothes, what he really needs is some more meat and muscle on those bones; however, any mention of getting rid of some of them results in a scolding, and the occasional fight, from Samantha. He's definitely the type to make offhanded homophobic comments, and he definitely does. The older brother of Jason Daines.

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Jamie Daines {Cousin} His cousin who appears to be human, physically at least, although there may be some undiscovered shifter traits in there somewhere. He's just a little over two years older than him (about seventeen, his birthday is in July). He has his own car and will - with fake reluctance, of course - drive Link around when he's not busy working at Burger King (if he's still managed to keep his job, that is, though he does have Chuck E. Cheese lined up next just in case). He's definitely the closest to Link out of the family, and does a perfect job when it comes to fitting the role of the vaguely punk older brother, and he's managed to earn the spot of helping Link pick out his most important outfits and tie the occasional tie ("I've done this a million times, how do you keep forgetting?"). Secretly, very, very, very deep down in that little heart of his, he might not mind it quite as much as he acts like he does. Usually, when things get bad in the house, he'll make some excuse of going to the mall or something and Link will gratefully come along. In most cases, they'll go for a little drive, spending the time listening to music, spilling secrets, or giving advice. Once they've cooled down a little and everything chills out, they'll stop at the mall as promised, maybe go to the food court or stop at a Dairy Queen somewhere, and he'll buy Link something. He'll say it's just so it's not as suspicious as it would be if they came back empty-handed, and definitely not because he just wanted to treat his little cousin. He's the only one in the family to know that Link is gay, and will often remind him to just ignore the idiotic old man, which he much prefers to call his dad as long as he's not gonna hear it. He will, 100%, punch a homophobe as long as it won't get him kicked out or disowned, and he'll beat the shit out of anyone who touches his cousin. He absolutely towers over Link at 6'4, and affectionately calls him Runt. He's a little pale, more-so than Link is, and has far less freckles. His black-brown hair is constantly messy, somewhat neat eyebrows often furrowed with dull blue-green eyes and a chill, sort of 'whatever' kinda attitude. He doesn't outright look super strong, but he is somewhat muscular and stronger than he appears. His shoulders are fairly wide, and his knuckles are bruised more often than not. He plays bass.

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Violet Kendall {Best friend} A wolf shifter and dark angel hybrid, one of his best friends in the world.

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Kishan Amaris {Best friend} Another one of his best friends, a dragon and wolf shifter hybrid. They're pretty close, and love to chill under blankets watching Netflix or rambling to each other for hours. Both of them love attention and cuddling, which works out very well on both sides, and they have so many sleepovers.

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Grey Huntsman {Best friend} A human, they're super close and pretty comfortable with each other, although Grey's a little more stand-offish when it comes to things like being super close, besides maybe some casual things like their knees bumping together or, a little more rarely, their legs pressing together when they're sitting together. This also goes for things like changing in front of each other, though they will occasionally go for a swim in the pond near Grey's house, and Link doesn't seem to notice him looking away, though that might just be because he's doing the same.

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He's currently single

BACKSTORY

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The whole beginning to Link's life was a pretty bumpy road, to say the least. His mother, Diane, was quite nervous about the whole idea of pregnancy but his father, Jason, reassured her and promised to help her through every single part. They had both dreamed of having a big, wonderful, warm horde of cubs to call their family one day, but the idea of her first pregnancy and all the unpredictability of it all absolutely terrified her. Eventually, with the immense support and encouragement from both her husband and her family, they began trying. It took far longer than they thought, at some point they wondered if they could even have kids, but just when they were thinking of giving up or getting something checked out, she suddenly came up positive. Flash forwards about halfway through the pregnancy, and our metaphorical bumpy road turned into pothole city. Jason had died. Thankfully, the instant they heard the news her family was right by her side to help her as much as they could. It was later on, at Jason's funeral, when she was comforted by his brother, Finnick, and his wife, Samantha. They had never been too close, or even really talked all that much, but she found herself spilling her heart out to them, sharing all the worries she had had, how hard things had been, how scared she was, and just about everything all at once. The bond was instant, and although she didn't have a definite plan yet, they decided to take her in and help keep her on track, help out with some of the money and make sure she was okay. They ended up being the most helpful during the pregnancy. The next big shock came a little later when they realised that oh shit, the baby's coming early, likely due to the intense stress and worrying Diane had been going through, especially with Jason's death and everything after it. With Finnick and Samantha insistent on being on either side of her to hold her hands, Link was born in the earliest hours of the morning, screaming and looking impossibly too tiny, sickly and downright frail. There was no doubt he would have been the runt of the family. It was soon decided Finnick and Samantha would take him, knowing Diane would be unable to care for or afford him. Soon, everything was sorted out and taken care of, and it wasn't too much longer before Link was finally able to be brought home. Diane stayed with them for a while to take care of him and recover enough to be able to take care of herself.

With Finnick and Samantha being quite insistent on being on either side of her to hold her hands, Link was born in the early hours of the morning, screaming and looking impossibly too tiny and sickly. If he had siblings, there would be no doubt he'd have been considered the runt of the litter. It was soon decided that Finnick and Samantha would take him in, Diane being unable to care for him. After it was sorted out and when Link was finally allowed to be able to be brought home, his mother continued to stay with them while she recovered enough to go back to her own home. While he was young, she did her best to give plenty of visits, so he saw him mom quite a lot and she absolutely spoiled her little baby boy rotten whenever she saw him. Eventually, though, she had to work harder and harder to support herself, and was often busy with her job. Still, she made time on the weekends and holidays to visit. After a while, her work only piled up more and more and she's be too busy for the weekend, or just be exhausted and promise to see him the next weekend. Eventually, it became every few weekends, then just the occasional long weekend, or just holidays and special events. Sometimes, it became just video chats, phone calls, then just texts. Still, no matter what, Link always made sure to send her something every Mother's Day. He'd always include a heartfelt card, usually slightly-badly-folded watercolour paper with a sweet message and a painting on it, and he'd send her something he'd saved up for or something cozy, maybe his favourite candy, a blanket, or some nice jewelry or perfume. His aunt and uncle have always been his guardians and practically like parents, so it didn't bother him too much most of the time. It was never a secret, of course. He was especially close with his cousin when they were young, and he was probably his best friend. Their relationship drifted and changed over the years, but they're still close. Jamie moved on to middle school before him, and Link bounced from friend group to friend group, hanging out with whoever, until grade five hit. That's when he met Grey, Kishan, and Violet, who easily roped him into their little group. They all seemed to click quickly, begging to go to the same middle school and being practically joined at the hip since.

EXTRA

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For the stuff that just doesn't fit anywhere else

FANDOM

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Any fandom they might be a part of

WORTH / ORIGIN

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STATUS: are they for sale? forever homed?

OBTAINED FROM: raffle, sale, etc, for how much? include original price if got for a sale or something. maybe include the date you got them

MOODBOARD

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MOODBOARD HERE also feel free to change the links thing to fit your amount of images and format

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LINKS

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A place to put all their links. Maybe you could include their artfight profile, a playlist you've created for them, a pinterest board, anything you'd like to include!