cian-cadwalader

[cian-cadwalader]

Cian hadn’t been looking for Lucinda.

He’d debated not coming to prom — he’d spent this long avoiding his old school, not wanting to dredge back up the memories and feelings he thought he’d left long in the past — but after many internal debates, his lack of common sense won out, and he’d found digging out an old, white suit of his, pairing it with one of his many Hawaiian shirts, and turning up a few hours after prom had started. Fashionably late, he likes to call it. No use turning up before the fun had started, after all.

His roommate had gotten ready elsewhere, and most of the friends he would have come with were already here with someone else. So Cian had decided to fly solo. Anyway, it was easier to meet interesting people that way.

So he hadn’t been looking for Luce — but that wasn’t to say he didn’t find himself strangely pleased when she came up to him.

“Yeah, well, couldn’t let you have all the fun,” he replied, an easy smile on his face. Things always were easy with her — since they’d met and moved in together, there had always been an easy chemistry. But these days, it felt like there was something lingering beneath it. Their playful touches seemed to have a little more weight to them, their jokes seemed to have an underlying truth.

Cian shoves those thoughts to the side, and tried not to read too much into Luce coming over. “Where’s Violet?” He asked.

closed - @cian-cadwalader

where - prom

Having gotten ready at Vi's place, Luce didn't see her roommate until now--and she wasn't quite sure if that had been a good thing or not. Things with Cian were....different. At least to her they were; they'd always been casually flirty with each other in the months that they'd known each other and lived together. It'd all been playful and fun and easy. But lately touches have felt more heated and glances lingered a bit too long. Or maybe it was all in her head and she just really needed to get laid. Deciding not to think on all that any longer though--and forcing herself to just accept that it was all stupidly in her head anyways, Lucinda wormed her way through the crowd and to where he was, catching his eye as she walked up to him.

"Look who decided to show up after all."

[cian-cadwalader]

Instinctively, he clapped Samir on the back with the kind of boundless enthusiasm that seemed to leak from Cian in bucketloads, fake or otherwise. This seemed to be some kind of leaky personality faucet he couldn’t quite turn off.

“My kinda man!” He cheered, leading the way to the bar and immediately asking the bartender what the ‘fruitiest, gaudiest drink’ they had was, making sure to highlight how fancy they were being and that the drinks should reflect that.

“Cian,” he eventually said, realising he’d never quite introduced himself. “You go to school here? Because I’m going to be brutally honest and say that I don’t recognise you at all — and we don’t look like we’d be that far apart in age.”

“Always alright, dude,” said Cian, downing the remainder of his drink and resting the glass back down upon the table before him. He forced his voice to remain bright and cheerful, and full of the energy people expected from him at events like this. “Just came back to order another drink.”

(And to try to get a momentary breather from the crushing waves of nostalgia, or the relentless reminders of the youth he’d wasted — but he was hardly going to share that with the total stranger in front of him)

He offered him a grin. “Want another drink while I’m up?”

[cian-cadwalader]

“Proms are overrated anyway,” said Cian, glad to be able to fall back into that easy rapport. “I mean, I’ve heard. Never really went to mine either. Surprised there weren’t posters out banning me, to be honest.”

He chuckled at the mention of a date. “Not tonight,” he said. “Flying solo, actually. Figured it might be a good chance to catch up with some people I’ve not seen in a while.”

“What about you? Here with anyone tonight?”

Cian had spent his life running from the serious things, the real things. Ever since he was a kid, the moment things looked like there was something serious heading across the horizon, he would bolt. He didn’t know why. Self-preservation, perhaps. Couldn’t get hurt if you never stuck around long enough, after all.

Pregnancy was serious. When Linnea had told him that she was pregnant, Cian had done exactly what he’d always done — he’d run. Politer than he ran from others — at least this time, he’d said goodbye — but he’d still run. A part of him still felt guilty for that. Sure, he hadn’t been her boyfriend — they’d been casual, still getting a feel for each other — but a part of him still felt… wrong. Felt as though she deserved better.

But then there was that other part of him, that nagging feeling in his gut and his mind — her son deserved better than him. He’d have been a terrible influence. The last thing Linnea needed was little Nico being influenced by him.

They hadn’t seen much of each other since things ended. Still, Cian couldn’t help but think of Linnea fondly.

“Don’t look so bad yourself,” he joked, before smiling a little more sincerely. “How’s tonight been? It’s nice to see you, Lin.”

[cian-cadwalader]

Pumpkin 🌸:What is a scent you want people to associate you with?

“Okay, so bear with me, but anything but fish. It sounds weird, but I have a reason — I work on a boat, and the last thing I would want is to be wandering around town stinking like a barrel of fish. Nobody’s pulled me aside and said I do stink yet, so either I’m clear or the people here are way to nice.”

“My aftershave is a kinda sandalwood scent, and I’d far rather smell of that.”

[cian-cadwalader]

S. What's their relationship like with their parents?

“Somewhat non existent. My dad died when I was seventeen and my mum kicked me out at nineteen, and I’ve not really looked back since. I look back and her reasoning was… I can understand it. I can. But I was so angry at the time, and words were exchanged that I can’t take back. She can’t, either. I send Christmas cards to the last address I had for her — more for my siblings than anything, but they always have her name on them too — but I don’t know if they even get them. Never get anything back. Maybe they moved again, I don’t know. Short of turning up at that house, wouldn’t even know how to get back in contact with her. Don’t have her number, haven’t spoken since I left, not sure I even know where she lives.”

[cian-cadwalader]

F. How do they handle conflict?

“Historically, not well. That’s why I left Aurora Bay. Kept getting into fights and causing problems where they didn’t need to be caused. I like to think I’ve mellowed. Calmed down, or whatever. Learned to keep my mouth shut and my fist unclenched. Not sure it’s true, but it’s a nice thought. Haven’t been in trouble for a while, so… must be doing something right. These days I just try to walk away. Ain’t worth the stress. Ain’t worth the drama. ‘Course, it don’t always work…”

[cian-cadwalader]

It had been a long time since Cian had stepped foot in Aurora Bay High School. Things hadn’t changed much.

He couldn’t decide if that was a good thing.

Part of him missed it — or missed the freedom of it, at least. Missed the lack of responsibility, or expectations, or… whatever. He knew, deep down, that the reason people had no expectations for him was because he always managed to flunk any of them, whenever they did — they’d thought he was a nice kid and he’d gotten into brawls in the cafeteria, thought he was a smart kid and he’d stopped turning up to class, thought he was a good kid and he’d spent his teen years in and out of the police station… Maybe that was why things hardly seemed to have changed in the school. He’d never been here to see them in the first place.

He wasn’t sure what it was that drew him from the gym and down the corridors — some strange sense of nostalgia for a life he’d never really had, perhaps? A longing to relieve the youth he’d wasted? A sight seeing trip through all his old memories (there was the corner he’d broken his nose in a fight with a senior… there was the locker he’d hidden all the things he didn’t want his parents to find inside… there was the classroom he’d been effectively banished from after disrupting class one too many times…)?

He didn’t know. It hardly mattered anyway.

A way up ahead, he saw a familiar flock of dark hair in front of a trophy cabinet. For a moment, he hesitated. He almost didn’t approach. He wasn’t sure if Jameson would even want to speak to him, or if seeing him — worse, being stuck in a conversation with him — might ruin his night.

(Privately, there was a part of him that worried the same for himself — a selfish part that still felt wary. He kept that part quiet.)

His eyebrows raised a touch as Jameson spoke.

“D’you really think they’d ever have let me on a sports team?” He replied, forcing an awkward laugh to hide the strange sense of resentment he felt lingering in his chest. High school conversations always did make him feel tetchy. “I was in school so infrequently back then, I had to be directed to the gym tonight.”

He tilted his head at Jameson’s words. “I didn’t know you were good at track,” he said. Then, he forced a laugh. “If you were on a ‘Do Not Enter’ list, at least we’d end up having each other for company. Could be just like old times.”

Status: Open Location: Outside the gym @aurorabaystarter

When Jameson had been in high school, he was essentially banned from attending prom. The last year of school he had tried to better himself. Doing the work that would help him academically and socially but in the end they still just saw a Cassidy which always spelled trouble; Someone to be made an example of. It was why he was somehow still shocked that he wasn’t being immediately thrown out of the dance this time around. He’d arguably been through worse, but it wasn’t high school anymore. Hopefully people changed. Still, he was sitting out in the hallway after a couple drinks and looking at some of the photos and trophies that adorned the cases. “ you ever try out for any sports? “ he asked glancing over. “ I was really good at track but I got put on academic probation so joining a team would have never happened. Honestly I’m shocked the school didn’t put me on a do not enter list out of tradition “

[cian-cadwalader]

Cian had spent his life running from the serious things, the real things. Ever since he was a kid, the moment things looked like there was something serious heading across the horizon, he would bolt. He didn’t know why. Self-preservation, perhaps. Couldn’t get hurt if you never stuck around long enough, after all.

Pregnancy was serious. When Linnea had told him that she was pregnant, Cian had done exactly what he’d always done — he’d run. Politer than he ran from others — at least this time, he’d said goodbye — but he’d still run. A part of him still felt guilty for that. Sure, he hadn’t been her boyfriend — they’d been casual, still getting a feel for each other — but a part of him still felt… wrong. Felt as though she deserved better.

But then there was that other part of him, that nagging feeling in his gut and his mind — her son deserved better than him. He’d have been a terrible influence. The last thing Linnea needed was little Nico being influenced by him.

They hadn’t seen much of each other since things ended. Still, Cian couldn’t help but think of Linnea fondly.

“Don’t look so bad yourself,” he joked, before smiling a little more sincerely. “How’s tonight been? It’s nice to see you, Lin.”

Closed for @cian-cadwalader

Linnea hadn’t seen too much of Cian since their ill fated absolute worst time to ever date someone. She had no idea she had been pregnant with Nico before she met him but as soon as she found out she knew she had to tell the guy. It was probably the worst situation to walk into dating wise. It was why despite her whole swearing off men mindset she didn’t hold much negative energy for Cian. She still liked him fine just she sometimes felt a bit awkward about what had happened. She was glad though they were on good terms. It was why she smiled as soon as she saw him at the prom. “ you clean up pretty nice “ she replied looking over to him.

[cian-cadwalader]

Cian gave a small hum of amusement. “I’ve heard people say the same things,” he said. “Especially tonight. Still, kinda wish I’d had the opportunity to hate it, y’know?”

He listened intently to her, eyebrows still furrowed and concerns not quite eased. “Uh-huh,” he replied, leaning back on the locker beside her. “I get that. There’s a lot of people on there. I could do with a break myself.”

Cian had never once needed a break from a party in his life, but it wasn’t entirely a lie to say he might need some respite from this one. Many half-buried memories were being kicked up tonight, and he could do with a moment or two without the watchful eyes of those he’d known long in the past lingering upon him.

“What about you? Are you gonna be the prom expert between us, or are you just as clueless as me? Because I could really do with some guidance. Didn’t even know a corsage was until about ten minutes ago. I thought it was a fancy sausage.”

It had been a long time since Cian had stepped foot inside Aurora Bay High School. Walking back through the halls that he had spent so many days, he couldn’t help but find a strange wave of nostalgia crashing over him. It seemed every turning held a memory. Not all of them were good, but all of them were his, and all of them had helped shape him into this man he had become.

He wasn’t sure why he’d decided to head out of the gym. Perhaps he’d needed a break. Perhaps he’d been curious as to how the rest of the school had changed. Or perhaps old habits died hard — he’d never remained in the gym when he was supposed to the last time he was at Aurora Bay High, why start now?

The hallways were dark now, yet still familiar. It was as though some otherworldly force was guiding him through them, taking him back through his memories and through the school until he came to a stop in front of his own old locker — still dented from years of being kicked shut, with the remnants of the stickers him and so many students before (and presumably after) him had used to decorate.

In front of them, a young woman rested. His brow furrowed somewhat as she turned her attention towards him, listening intently to her question.

“Oh, absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. “I was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t wanted.” Then, “Y’alright? How come you’re all the way out here, not back in the party?”

[cian-cadwalader]

Cian gave a chuckle. “I wasn’t allowed to go to my actual prom. I would say it feels like I missed out, but I snuck into several after parties, and those were always the best parts, right?”

He gave the woman a curious look. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it doesn’t look like it’s been long since your actual prom.“

starter for: open @aurorabaystarter location: under the sea prom

"The only thing this is doing is reminding me how much older I've gotten since my actual prom," Mac admits from her seat at a table, taking a long chug of punch to hydrate herself.

"I thought for sure I'd at least have until my ten-year reunion before I started to feel ancient. How you holdin' up?"

[cian-cadwalader]

“Always alright, dude,” said Cian, downing the remainder of his drink and resting the glass back down upon the table before him. He forced his voice to remain bright and cheerful, and full of the energy people expected from him at events like this. “Just came back to order another drink.”

(And to try to get a momentary breather from the crushing waves of nostalgia, or the relentless reminders of the youth he’d wasted — but he was hardly going to share that with the total stranger in front of him)

He offered him a grin. “Want another drink while I’m up?”

open for: @aurorabaystarter where: under the sea prom He's flying solo tonight, Samir mostly vibing and just hanging out, generally having a good time. He's managed to dance with a few people already and have some random chats. His attention now, though, goes to the person standing off to one of the sides, seemingly alone and/or preoccupied. Samir offers a smile as he approaches, giving an upnod. "Ayy. You doing alright?"

[cian-cadwalader]

It had been a long time since Cian had stepped foot inside Aurora Bay High School. Walking back through the halls that he had spent so many days, he couldn’t help but find a strange wave of nostalgia crashing over him. It seemed every turning held a memory. Not all of them were good, but all of them were his, and all of them had helped shape him into this man he had become.

He wasn’t sure why he’d decided to head out of the gym. Perhaps he’d needed a break. Perhaps he’d been curious as to how the rest of the school had changed. Or perhaps old habits died hard — he’d never remained in the gym when he was supposed to the last time he was at Aurora Bay High, why start now?

The hallways were dark now, yet still familiar. It was as though some otherworldly force was guiding him through them, taking him back through his memories and through the school until he came to a stop in front of his own old locker — still dented from years of being kicked shut, with the remnants of the stickers him and so many students before (and presumably after) him had used to decorate.

In front of them, a young woman rested. His brow furrowed somewhat as she turned her attention towards him, listening intently to her question.

“Oh, absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. “I was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t wanted.” Then, “Y’alright? How come you’re all the way out here, not back in the party?”

who: open to everyone @aurorabaystarter where: ab prom ;; late into the night

evangeline wasn't sure what had gotten into her tonight: maybe it was the one too many glasses of champagne on a stomach that had forgone lunch to lesson plan, maybe she thought the alcohol would be a good social lubricant. or maybe, just maybe, she was starting to feel somewhat safe to come out of her shell.

whatever it was, the woman was a little more far gone than she had planned on, so she had taken a little walk in the darkened hallways to regain herself. when a figure joined her as she took a rest at a row of lockers, springs of brown curls bounced as she moved her attention towards them. "did you go to your first prom? or is this your first prom?"

[cian-cadwalader]

[male, he/him] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [CIAN CADWALADER]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [JACK O’CONNELL]. You must be the [TWENTY-NINE YEAR OLD] year old [SCUBA BOAT TOUR DRIVER]. Word is you’re [OUTGOING] but can also be a bit [SELF-DESTRUCTIVE] and your favorite song is [MY WAY, SEX PISTOLS]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [OCEAN CREST APARTMENTS]. I’m sure you’ll love it!

A T A G L A N C E

Full name: Cian Cadwalader Date of birth: August 1st, 1995 (29 years old) Gender: Male Location: Ocean Crest Apartments Occupation: Scuba Boat Tour Driver Relationship status: Single Time in Aurora Bay: From birth to age 16, returned around four years ago Faceclaim: Jack O’Connell

(tw: alcohol, parental death, criminal behaviour, drug overdose)

B I O G R A P H Y

Cian had always lived life a little larger than everyone else. For as long as he could remember, he had tried to make every moment worth it. Born into the middle of a large gaggle of siblings, he had always felt that he needed to fight to be heard, to be seen, to have attention offered to him — and so he did exactly that. He learned quickly that the two ways to get attention at home were to do something really good, or to do something bad — and the latter had always come easier to Cian.

Cian had often felt that he was a natural troublemaker — as a child, he had had a knack for pranks and mischief, and he’d relished in the attention it brought him. But slowly, people began to expect that mischief from him, and the attention waned. Each time, he found he had to do more, only to get less attention than he had done before.

When he was eleven, Cian finally found a group of older friends to call his own — a group that provided him that attention, that unconditional love for which he had always longed. Every day, he’d hang around with them — they protected him, both in and out of school. To him, they were effortlessly cool — unafraid to fight, unwilling to follow the rules, unable to simply let life pass them by. Any opportunity to party, to explore, to cause trouble, that group was there. Cian was there.

Throughout his teens, Cian found himself in and out of legal trouble for charges related to alcohol and violence. Still, to him, it was all worth it — because his friends were in that same trouble too. It was the group of them, together. Always together.

Cian became known as somewhat of a runaway — he was constantly going missing for days on end, never thinking to contact his family, ignoring any contact they made with him, and spending his time with his friends.

Listen — his family may not have given him attention, but it wasn’t as though there was never any care there. It wasn’t as though there was never any love. His parents did all they could to try to help him when they were in Aurora Bay, but eventually, they had to take a firmer stance — and they moved the family. They had hoped that if they separated Cian from these friends, then he could have an entirely fresh start somewhere else. He could start again, without his reputation, without any bad influences — just him and them and the open pages of his future.

It didn’t work. Cian caused trouble everywhere he went. If he couldn’t find it, he would create it — and so he did. He found a few group of troublemakers, and everything started all over again.

Things came to a head when his father died of a heart attack, not long after Cian turned seventeen. His desire to live life hard was now coupled with a longing to block out any and all feelings of grief and pain. Looking back, he was fairly sure he didn’t stop partying for around eight years.

When his younger siblings started heading down a similar path to him, it was the final push his mother needed to kick him out the house. Now nineteen and homeless, he surfed from coach to coach of friends until they grew sick of him, and then he’d move onto the next one. He burned a lot of bridges back then. He found himself traveling up and down the country, from state to state, in his hunt for a new coach — or, if he was really lucky, a bed, partying all the way. His life back then is somewhat of a blur. Days seemed to blend together, entire nights missing from his memory.

When Cian was twenty-five, he saw one of his friends — one of the first friends he had made since leaving Aurora Bay — overdose. He tried to save him. He failed. Reeling from the loss, Cian was faced with a choice — react the same way he had when his father had died, and risk the same fate as his friend, or make a change.

He chose to change.

He tried his hardest to earn an honest living, and rebuild his shattered life. He tried to make amends with his family. He learned the important life skills he had skipped out on for years. Eventually, an old friend of his recommended him for a job back in Aurora Bay — a Scuba Tour Boat Driver. So, he moved back to Aurora Bay, back where everything had begun all those years ago, and tried his hardest to start again.

Jury’s still out on whether he’s succeeded.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Positive: sociable, outgoing, charismatic, resourceful

Negative: self-destructive, flighty, unpredictable, careless

O T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N

Cian grew up working on and around boats. When he started causing trouble as a teenager, one of the ways his family had tried to divert him was to get him into sailing and manual labour. Obviously, it didn’t work — but he did have a real skill for it, on the rare occasions he applied himself.

Cian loves the water. Now that he’s slightly calmer than he once was, he loves the tranquillity of the ocean — but he also loves it’s unpredictability and power. If you lose him and he isn’t making a general nuisance of himself in a bar somewhere, he’s probably somewhere by the sea.

Cian struggles a lot with actually getting close to people. He doesn’t really understand the concept of unconditional love — and despite having a deep, innate desire for love, when people start to get close to him, he has a very bad habit of pushing them away. They’re probably going to leave him anyway, so he might as well beat them to it. It’ll hurt less that way.

Despite this, Cian loves being around people and being the centre of attention. He may be tamer now than he once was, but old habits die hard, and when the opportunity calls, he is more than willing to answer.

Cian is totally an animal person — he currently has a black and white domestic shorthair cat called Marmite, and he desperately wants a dog, but doesn’t feel he is living a life that would be fair to bring a dog into right now.

C O N N E C T I O N I D E A S

Anyone from his old group of friends in Aurora Bay! These were a group of troublemakers in every sense of the word. Cian was quite unceremoniously moved states away when he was sixteen and wouldn’t have kept in contact with any of them, but now he’s back, and so it would be great to have some of his old friends around somewhere. Their relationship could either be positive or negative — Cian is genuinely trying to better himself, so it’s up to you whether you think they would still get on or whether there might be some tension there!

Roommates!

Exes — Cian is quite a flirty individual, and does want to be loved, but will also run away the second things start to look real. It’s up to you whether they currently have a positive or negative relationship now.

Party buddies — look, I never said Cian was good at starting a new life, okay? He’s just tamer than he once was — that doesn’t mean he’s calm by a normal person’s standards.

Friends — come give this boy some friends please. He’s very sociable, and he can and will mould himself to fit almost any group. He’s also unshakeably loyal, even if he doesn’t show it (or even allow himself to accept it sometimes)

Drinking buddies

Colleagues

Attendees of the scuba boat tours

Family! He comes from a huge family, so honestly, anything goes here!

People he’s hurt. Between running away from anything that looks real, and his past in Aurora Bay as a juvenile delinquent, Cian will have hurt people.

Honestly, anything can go with Cian — he’s been back in Aurora Bay for around four years now, and he lived there originally for around sixteen years, so he’s had plenty of time to meet muses and have some kinda relationship with them, whether positive or negative.

@aurorabayaesthetic