Jonah Bridges

"I'm gonna land a big one this time - I can feel it. No, wait, that's just my anxiety, never mind, aaaah..."

BASICS

Name: Jonah Bridges
Age: 19 (DOB: Sept. 4th | Virgo)
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)    Weight: 150 lbs. (68 kg)
Hair Color: Light Brown    Eye Color: Brown     Skin Color: White (Tanned in summer)
Nationality: American (Seaside)
Gender: He/him     Sexuality: Pansexual
Species: Human
Education: High school graduate | College drop-out
Profession: Part-time waiter at "Buoy's Big Dipper" | Part-time ice cream shop attendant
Family:
Tara Bridges (Mother; Deceased)   Usop Bridges (Father; Deceased)  Hilda Bridges (Grandmother)   Terrence Bridges (Grandfather)

Bonus Note(s):
-Jonah is absolutely average in every single way: average grades, average performance, average appearance, average life.
-Jonah presently suffers from depression (from eighteen onward) and anxiety (possibly his whole life).

PHYSICAL

Appearance: Average in size, Jonah's one notable feature is his very long bangs covering his eyes. People find it strange that he can see just fine, but he does. His eyes, when visible, are sunken and weary, their color comparable to dropping vanilla ice cream into a mud puddle. He sports freckles splashes across his cheeks and nose. Has buckteeth (and is very, very self-conscious about it). His ears stick out a little. His hands and fingers are stubby. Bears a scar on his hand from nicking it with a fishing hook one time. In the wintertime, he gets rather pale from his lack of sunlight, preferring to hole himself up in his room. Come spring and summer, he's always outside, and constantly getting tanned/sunburned. 

Style: Preferring the flowy and breezy outfits, Jonah likes loose-fitting clothes. In warmer months, he wears large tank tops and basketball shorts, often sporting bright (light blue) colors. He likes sandals (and abhors socks) as well. Tends to not wear any jewelry at all. Has a big white boater hat that shields his eyes. In the cooler months, he prefers baggy sweatshirts and jeans. Puts on scarves when chilly and gloves as well. Dislikes boots.

PERSONALITY

Overview: Unassuming and considered boring, Jonah has long accepted his spot of mediocrity since a young age. He doesn't excel at anything, nor is he terrible at anything: a true middle-of-the-road average person. Because of this, Jonah has a lackluster opinion about himself, often calling himself "plain" and "unimaginative," as well as lacking drive to change these parts about himself. This perpetual loop of "Oh well" has made him stuck in a self-deprecation cycle. No one expects much of him, and therefore, he expects little of himself as well. He lacks confidence, and doesn't talk unless spoken to - which doesn't happen often. Keeps his opinions to himself unless directly asked. That said, he has many, many thoughts about anything and everything, especially when it comes to people. He's quite intuitive when it comes to a person's likes and dislikes, and is able to pin-point their most endearing features. All in all, compared to himself, Jonah absolutely adores people, and can prattle off reasons why when prompted. He sees the good in everyone but himself. A great listener and incredibly empathetic. While he tends to get lost in his own little worlds while daydreaming and fishing, he takes care in minding others and remembering dates, times, etc. of important things to other people (like birthdays). Overall, a simplistic soul with kind tendencies.

Likes:

• Fishing, and fish in general; can prattle off fish facts and puns like the best of them.
• Video games, usually life simulator games (ie Animal Crossing)
• Napping
• Junk foods
• Daydreaming
• Attractive people (the prettier the better)

Dislikes:

• Responsibilities
• Thinking too much about real life
• His teeth
• Most vegetables
• Dense textbooks
• Browsing social media (feels incredible envy about other people's lives)

Strengths:

• Good listener and understanding
• Remembers details most people consider unimportant in day-to-day lives
• Fish intellectual
• Dotes on pets of all sorts
• Able to find the good in people, no matter how "bad" they may be

Weaknesses:

• Dull
• Lazy
• Lack of drive and goals
• Doesn't speak up for himself
• Sleeps his problems away

HISTORY

Growing up in a small town, Jonah Bridges is the one and only son of his hardworking parents. His father worked in a fabric mill while his mother taught second grade. As such, much of his early development was spent in daycare, and then with his mother after school. Among his peers, he found himself to be the butt of the joke and a pushover, often being made to do things others wouldn't or didn't want to do themselves. As not to disrupt his parents' busy lives, he would answer inquiries of "how was your day today?" with a simple, "it was fine" ad nauseam. Because of his simplistic character, a "friend" he once looked up to - a cool leader of some pack of kids - called him "boring" and "lame." These words carried with Jonah for a long time, and prevented him from developing any sort of backbone regarding himself. He even obtained the nickname "Doormat," but this didn't bother him as much as it should have. Instead, he took some pride that someone as "lame" as him could be useful in some way to others.

In middle school, Jonah, being slightly overweight and having buckteeth, often found himself picked on, but such insults would roll off of him eventually as he took refuge in daydreams. Because of this, his academics suffered to C-levels. He didn't have any close friends, which extended into high school all the way up to graduation. He preferred the company of video games and his mother, who took him fishing after school at a nearby river. The closeness he had to his mother made him feel safe, even if the rest of the world looked at him with disdain for his plainness. 

While attempting to do the college thing without any real goals, Jonah received a phone call informing him his parents - who were traveling to surprise him for spring break - had a horrible car accident. Jonah tried to make it to the hospital in time, but both parents died to their injuries before he ever arrived. This event made Jonah withdraw from school, and his grandparents out by the sea took him under his wing. He developed depression and could hardly get out of bed for about six months after the accident, time slowing to an impenetrable crawl. His grandfather, wanting to help his grandson, purchased a second-hand fishing rod set with hooks and gifted it to him on his 19th birthday. This action gradually got him to open up more to his grandparents, of whom he hardly knew before, and enabled him to get a job here and there. His grandmother also got him a pet cat named Patches, which boosted his mood considerably. At work, he made a few friends who were nice enough to give him a chance. Still, his love for fishing is unmatched, and does so to this day with this weird fishing rod...

CURRENT STORY

During a catch session in the sweltering summer heat, Jonah pauses to get a fruity popsicle at an ice cream stand before noticing a small building he never saw before. Fishing gear in tow, he approaches the building to see it's a boarding platform for a train... that sits in the middle in the ocean with tracks leading toward the horizon. A strange man calling himself The Conductor asks for Jonah's ticket before noticing the engraving in Jonah's fishing rod. Calling Jonah an "honored guest," the Conductor stands aside and allows Jonah passage onto the train, taking him to a place he never imagined in any of his daydream sessions to have ever existed: the Fairy Realm.