Ari Quinn

Appearance

Ari is an extremely tall, lanky young man with long legs, standing at 6'4 and a little underweight. He has shoulder-length, fluffy light brown hair which is commonly decorated with clips and bows and/or pulled back into pigtails. He has very large, upturned eyes with long eyelashes, and his eyes are also abnormally wide-set. His left eye is a vivid blue while he is blind in his right eye and it has a milky white appearance. His skin is pale and marked by many scars, most notably burns to about half of his body. The burns cover most of his back, chest and arms, as well as the right side of his face. He also has a few raised, whitish scars scattered around his face and body, as well as small, circular scars on his hands. His right lower leg and foot are slightly deformed and turn inwards, and he wears a brace made of sturdy plastic with velcro straps.

Clothing-wise, Ari adores all things cute and pastel! His favorite color is pink, and he loves anything with lace and frills. He commonly wears skirts and dresses, and he's very fond of sweaters. He likes to dress more modestly and keep his scars covered up as much as possible, but he makes some exceptions. He loves to accessorize and is commonly seen wearing a lot of bracelets and necklaces, as well as bows and hairclips. Sometimes he might go a little overboard or wear clothes that clash, but he doesn't really care- He likes what he likes.

Personality

Ari is very shy at first, and it’s clear that his social skills aren’t the best. He doesn’t hold in his emotions at all, no matter what he’s feeling. He’s very quiet and tends to only speak a few words at a time, often not talking at all unless someone says something to him first. His condition has resulted in some pretty significant speech problems, including a severe stutter, so saying too much at once is difficult. He’s also afraid of people not listening to him or not thinking what he has to say is important, which, in addition to him being self-conscious about his speech in general, has resulted in him trying to get his point across in as few words as possible. In addition to this, he’ll also leave out words and doesn’t always speak with proper grammar- He tends to get tenses mixed up in particular, for example he might say “I have” when he means “I had.”

When first meeting someone new, he’ll typically let them come to him first, rarely initiating contact with new people. If he wants to get to know someone better, he’ll typically observe them from a distance, or downright follow them around. He’s very curious, and will tend to ask a lot of questions once he gets more comfortable talking to someone. Despite his initial shyness, he warms up quickly and really does like making friends… Maybe a little too much. He’s sweet and affectionate, although he lacks boundaries and most of the time isn’t aware of how tall he is. He’s trying his best to work on this, although he tends to rely heavily on physical touch and nonverbal communication to make up for the fact he rarely talks. A lot of his behaviors when interacting with people are due to his genetic condition as well. He has a mild intellectual disability, and due to this he struggles to understand more abstract concepts and doesn’t really pick up on ‘hints’ or jokes- He tends to view things very literally. In addition to this he doesn’t really know what is or isn’t socially acceptable, although he tries to get a better idea by watching other people.

Ari is definitely a people-pleaser, doing whatever he can to make sure others like him. He has a constant need for validation, and he can become overly dependent on the people he’s close with. He’ll do whatever he can to make his friends happy, even if this means he can be easily taken advantage of. He doesn’t react well to criticism or scolding in the slightest, and he’s extremely sensitive to changes in other people’s emotions. Someone raising their voice slightly is enough to send him into a panic, and if he feels someone is upset with him he’ll apologize constantly and ask repeatedly if they’re mad. He’s also startled easily, especially if someone touches him or if there’s a loud noise he wasn’t expecting.

He’s an extremely family-motivated person, which impacts a lot of his goals. Even if he’s lived happily with his adoptive family for years, he still feels the need to prove himself to them. He struggles to accept the fact that his family loves him the way he is, and he wants to make sure that he makes them proud. He idolizes his older brother in particular and tends to bring him up a lot. He also tends to feel guilty about how much support his family gives him, and he’d love to be more independent. That’s easier said than done, but he’s trying his best to improve.