Post by Shepherd Luis Raymonde on Dec 15, 2009 4:01:50 GMT -5
SHEPHERD LOUIE RAYMONDE
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&&--You, who shall pull the strings
[/size][/center]Name: Leslie
Age: 19...OH WAIT. 20 now. BAHAHAH
Roleplaying Experience: six years
How you found the site: Andrea
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&&--The character cheat sheet
[/size][/center]Name: Shepherd Louie Raymonde (But he goes by a number of nicknames: Shep, Sheppie, Shepherd-pie, Ray, Ray-boy, Lou, Louie...the list goes on.) And that last name is pronounced Ray-mow-nd. Or ray-moaned, if you prefer.
Gender: Male
Age: Seventeen, I reckon!
Hair Color: Umber brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Skin Tone: Tanned/bronzed
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 161 lbs.
Wealth: Poor, but content
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Why they are in La Campana: Shepherd flew in here on a cloud of shattered dreams--or a plane, if you want to be literal. After a slip-up at a local bar, Shepherd's father accidently found out about his son's sexuality. Over the next week, he quite literaly disowned Shep, and told him that the only way to get back into the family was to cast off his sinful ways, find God, and become normal again.[/size]
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&&--What makes the clock tick
[/size][/center]Likes:
Dislikes:
Turn Ons:
Turn Offs:
Nervous Habits:
Fears:
Goals/Aspirations:
Appearance:
To put quite simply, Shepherd is a paradoxically pretty redneck--though that doesn't quite cover him its entirety.
5'11", and with a considerable amount of weight (most muscle) that he can throw around, Shepherd is a powerful boy in appearance. He isn't your run-of the mill androgynous gay-boy--no sir! At seventeen years old, he looks every bit his age if not older. With lean muscle-mass and a toned body, it's not hard to tell that Shepherd is quite used to gruelling labor.
But as tough as he looks physically...well, one look at his face and you may just melt. Not because he's devilishly handsome, but because he's just so damned cute. Round, "puppy-dog" hazel eyes sit over rounded cheeks--always alight with a pleasant smile or a laugh. Short, brown hair sits atop his head, always covered with a blue-and white baseball cap depicting the name of his father's auto-repair shop. His toned body, coupled with his almost child-like, innocent face, often give Shepherd a sort of "big teddy bear" appearance.
His manner of dress is as simple as it can get. Tee-shits, jeans, boots or tennis shoes, and his hat--he's out the door.
Did I mention he has a tattoo on his right arm? It's a blue tribal design, extending from the top of his shoulder to about mid-bicep.
Personality:
The one thing you must truly grasp before trying to understand any other part of his personality is that Shepherd thinks with a familial, communal mind--that is, he rarely focuses on individualistic needs, but always things of what he can do to do the most good for those around him. It's simply how he was raised--his family was large, but it was what was important--even beyond his direct blood relatives, his neighborhood was his family as well. It's different in the bayou than it is other places; it's never about who has the most possessions, who's happiest, or who is the most important--down in Reol, everyone watched out for everyone else. If someone had leftover food, there were never leftovers--they would go to the house of whomsoever was down on their luck and give them a meal. This is completely how Shepherd functions. He's always looking out for those around them; always willing to lend a helping hand, and always looking to extend a warm gesture to anyone who needs it.
He isn't exactly selfless...he just cares. He honestly can't understand people who are selfish--they always seem so miserable and isolated to him. So no matter his own mood or circumstance, he will be nice, and he will be pleasant. He doesn't consider himslef 'fake'. He doesn't merely pretend to deceive, but only when it will be better. He won't mope around and bring other people down--the quicker he can solve a problem, the better...even if the best way to solve it is to forgive and forget.
He knows when he needs help--he doesn't merely pretend it doesn't exist and hope it will go away. Just as he hopes his friends will rely on him when they are in trouble, he has always trusted them to rely on them. Again, it is a matter of growing up in his famillial neighborhood--you just didn't hide big secrets. People wanted to help you, people wanted each other to be happy.
Shepherd is a guy you want at your side in case of an emergency. He's one of the few people who can supress his instinct to flee and self-preserve--he places such a high importance on protecting people who need it, he'd instantly take the lead and do everything in his power to protect anyone depending on him.
He does have some self-esteem issues, though you'd never be able to tell by his cheery, assured demeanor. His whole life, he's had to fight so hard just to be recognized within his family; rarerly does he feel as though he meets up to standards. He has pushed himself beyond his limitations many times, just for a mere sliver of recognition. He wants to be someone people can look up to. He wants to be the person that people always know they can rely on. Simply put, he's happiest when he's working hard to make someone else happy.
He knows he's a simple guy. It still hurts when people make fun of him for it, but he's very content with being simple. He isn't exceptionally bright, he isn't exceptionally strong...but he likes to think that he helps people--and if there's anything he wants to be remembered for, it isn't for how good he was at a particlar skill or how impressive he was, but how many people he could make smile. And if that makes him simple, then he's content to be a simple man for the rest of his life.[/font]
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&&--A glimpse of the past
[/size][/center]Father: Matthew Raymonde, 55 years old
Mother: Catherine Raymonde, 38 years old
Sibling/s:
-Jeremy Raymonde, 20
-James (Jimmy) Raymonde, 19
-Lanna Raymonde, 18
-Tatiana Raymonde, 15
-Lev Raymonde, 12
-Clarabelle Raymonde, 11
-Jellabelle Raymonde, 10
-Louisa Raymonde, deceased
Other important relatives:
-Maud McClevan, grandmother
-Horace McClevan, grandfather
-Denise Raymonde, grandmother
Pets:Jimbo, unknown age, crawdad.
History:
What's there to say about this boy's history. There are no exciting twists and turns--no magical journay into manhood
The truth is that Shepherd has led a damned good life, and he's well aware of it. Not because he was rich, or because he's done much with it, but because he's always been surrounded by happiness and love. He's always been poor--his entire neighborhood was a slection of old, creaking houses in the bayou. He never had the best toys, never went to Disneyworld, and never went to formal parties in suits. He never had any of the things little boys pine for; that never mattered to him. He had love, and that was all he needed.
Not simply love from his family, though that was certainly present, but from all of the people around him. Reol--a small Georgian town with one convenience store, one gas station, one auto-shop, and a plethora of resteraunts--was an open-hearted community. It was one of those rare towns that you don't really see in America anymore unless you go into the deep south. A town where everyone knew everyone, everyone cared for everyone, and everyone helped everyone.
His childhood was spent in the small town, living it up as any boy his age (with lacking finances) would: hardly a moment was spent inside that he could be outside, racing his brothers or having stick-sword fights. With an eventual seven siblings, there was never once a dull moment. His father owned the only auto-shop in town, which raked in a decent enough salary, but it was his mother, however, that brought in the most money--a fact that tended to irk his father though he never showed it. Catherine worked as a governess in the next town over, a luxurious, wealthy community. Shepherd adored going with her--he always loved his community the most, but he liked being able to play with the rich kids' toys and seeing the different way of life.
This was how he met his best friend Kevin. One of the reticent young boys under Catherine's care, Shepherd made quick work of befriending him and breaking him out of his shell. Even after Catherine stopped governing him, the two retained a tight knit bond.
One of the most significant aspects of Shep's life, however, has been his constant struggle to prove himself to his father. Neither the strongest nor brightest of boys, Matthew tended to pay little attention to his youngest son. Shepherd did everything he could--he tried his very hardest to emmulate his father, and be someone he could be proud of.
But, unfortunately for him, Shepherd couldn't make his father take note. He took up hunting to please his father, but he never caught anything as big or impressive as his brothers. He came into the shop to watch his dad work, but his father usually just complained that he was in his way.
Perhaps due to his father's passion for it, or just the mere fact that it was so terribly intruiging, but Shepherd took an interest in automobiles from watching his father. Every single day, he would go into the shop--watching and following his dad around. Though he initially complained, Shepherd slowly began to prove his worth--his young mind was quickly absorbing. Though far from any credible source of information, he could be trusted to simple tasks and bits of information. Slowly but surely, Shepherd was gaining status in his fathers' eyes--and they day Matthew told his son "Heck, maybe I'll give you the shop when I'm too old to bend over anymo!", Shepherd felt his heart jump in his chest. He was going to own his dad's shop one day...the thought gave him more pride than he could ever imagine.
It became his goal in life, to prove to his father that it was he who should own the shop rather than his brothers. Dedicated to this, Shepherd worked as hard as he could. The day he turned 15, he took a part-time job at the shop--also convincing his dad to hire Kevin to work with him. Life was, simply, good. Friends, respect from his father, a family he could depend on--it was all too storybook to remain perfect.
In the summer of his sixteenth year, a tragedy struck the family. Nine year old Louisa disappeared while out with a group of friends. The three bodies turned up one week later some 50 miles down-stream. The deaths left the town in utter-shock...but as the town always had, they came together to support the families going throught the pain.
Surprisingly, Shepherd's solace didn't come from the love of the community he had once cherished. He couldn't stand to be in their company suddenly--horrified to know that all of these people he loved and cared for could so easily be taken from him. For the first time, Shepherd felt true fear; fear that he couldn't cope with Louisa's death, fear that there would be more death, fear that there was nothing he could do to stop him. His solace came to him in the form of a handsome older man--a thirty year old he met in a local bar the night he'd first heard the news. They got to talking...simple things at first. Shepherd asked what he was doing in the tiny town, the man said he was just passin' through. The man asked why Shepherd looked so down-trodden, Shepherd chuckled and said 'serious shit'. Drinks passed with the simple conversation. An hour later, the man asked again why Shepherd was obviously upset. The alchohol within clouded his censor, and Shep burst out into tears, explaining what had happened to the man. A comforting hug, more drinks, and more hours passed. The man offered him comfort where he could find none. He went back to the man's hotel room with him. The rest, of course, I'm sure your imagination can fill in.
Waking the next morning, Shepherd was surprised to find that the man was still there, reading a newspaper. The man (who Shepherd would later decide was a jedi from his strange ability to read his mind), talked to him--said that he had lied, and was actually from the town a few miles away--that he'd come to Reol to pick up some ingredients for a benefit dinner in three days. For once in his life, Shepherd spent the entire day inside. The man he'd assumed would simply leave him after a night of casual sex shared his story with Shep, and Shep did the same. Shepherd had heard all of the stories about fairytale romances--people falling in love after barely even getting to know each other--he didn't know it was true...that it could happen to him.
One problem, of course--the man was...well, a man. Now Shepherd wasn't a terribly religious man, but everyone in his town was. For over a year, Shepherd stayed in contact with the man behind his family's back. That all changed when the bar-tender, a family friend, grew suspicious of Shepherd frequently meeting the man in the bar. Matthew took him up on the warning, and spied on his son. As was typical for the two, Shepherd and the man pecked lips as they parted. That's when everything went downhill.
When Shepherd came home, his father was waiting for him in the living room. Shepherd instantly knew that something was wrong, but stood in silence as his father stood from the couch, muttering that "No son o' mine is gonna' be a fuckin' fairy!'
His father beat him black and blue. Shepherd could do nothing to stop him--certainly he had the power to, but he could never bring himself to hurt his father. So he took it, he took it with tears streaming down his cheeks, with blood dribblings from cuts and bruises. And when his father was done, he passed out on the ground. He woke laying on the couch with a blanket over him to a slew of cursing coming from the kitchen. He listened long enough to hear what was happening.
His father had filled out the legal papers to disown his son, apparently--and apparently the issue had split the family in half. Some in support of their fathers' decision, some vehemently disgusted with the fact that he would cast off his own son without a backward glance. Eventually, they all decided that reform school would be the only acceptable action--all without him having said a word in edgewise.
As he packed, he somberly realized that all of the things in life he had loved were gone. His family...his community, his lover, his best friend, his chance at taking over the shop. All of his dreams crushed--he boarded the plane to Spain without another word to the rest of his family.
Confused, and utterly distraught, Shepherd still refuses to show it--all he knows is that the hopes this school works. It's tearing him apart to know that the family who'd always loved him have stopped; more than anything, he wants that back.
Roleplaying Sample: LAWL ONCE THERE WAS A KITTY. I ATE IT.
