Name: Toby Turner
Age: 18
Appearance:
Standing at 5'8" and weighing around 145lbs. it's not hard to mistake Toby for a young athlete, which is ironic because he isn't really into sports. Constant outside activity as well as some recreational hobbies have kept Toby pretty much in shape. If he were to cut get a haircut he could pass as a 21 year old, however his passion for dressing like a child and messy blonde hair make him look quite a few years younger.
Personality: Toby's personality is as colorful and bright as the clothes he wears. Dancing in public to his favorite song, running through the toy aisles of a store, nothing is beyond him. He purposefully acts like a child because he was never happier than when he was a child. With the attitude and behavior of a little kid it's no surprise he gets excited over the slightest things, a good grade on a homework assignment or a simple compliment is enough to skyrocket his mood. Optimistic to the point where it's almost ridiculous, it's a rare thing to see Toby complain or pout over anything, so one would think he just doesn't care about anything or he bottles up his emotions, but both of those statements are completely untrue. He's beyond appreciative of friends, family, really anybody that's nice to him, and will not hesitate to make his emotions known. He comes off as loud and childish, but he just has endless thoughts and feelings and want's to talk about them all. People aren't afraid to open up or talk to him because he's completely straightforward and honest with everybody, no matter who they are, or think they are. Toby treats everybody equally and isn't afraid to speak his mind, in fact he encourages others to do so. Do what makes you happy, be with those that make you happy, live your life however you want and don't listen to what others have to say about it, this is what he believes in.
His behavior, as childish and naive it may be, should not be mistaken as a lack of common sense. He's well aware of how he acts and how others may perceive him. It's more of an act than anything, he won't admit it but he loves to be the center of attention, so he can be really loud and unpredictable at times with his attitude, but it's all for the purpose of fun and entertaining himself and others. As expected Toby may sometimes act immature when it comes to following instructions or behaving properly. But this is never out of spite or simply to be a nuisance, he just hates boredom and prefers to do some things his own way. In a moments notice an essay on habitat destruction will suddenly turn into a five page short story about a squirrel searching for his home that was torn down by giant robots. Usually if he finds a subject or task boring and pointless he won't give it the time of day, but if something interests Toby he'll give one hundred and ten percent. He is not quick to give up on anything and can be very persistent.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows though for Toby, (but he certainly thinks of both on a daily basis) sadly he has serious trust issues and doesn't like to rely on others. As a result he has a few friends but not really somebody he can call a best friend. There are days Toby is stressed and overwhelmed, but he's forced to keep these feelings to himself. These trust issues were brought up due to abandonment and, who would have thought, heartbreak. When a naive, optimistic teenager with the mind of a five year old has deep feelings for somebody and those feelings are returned, a sort of "What could go wrong" state of mind occurs for Toby. Romance is his weakness, but he's not a fool about it, he's not going to fall in love with every girl that shows interest in him. But when he finds somebody worth pouring his heart out too he will not hold back the slightest. Blinded by his emotions he won't realize until it's too late that things can and usually will go wrong, you can imagine something such as a heartbreak can be very hard for somebody like him to cope with and understand.
Trust issues, heartbreak, and mean people aside, fun! Toby. Loves. Fun. He loves to have fun, with himself, with others, with whatever. It doesn't take a lot for him to have a good time and his hyper childish mindset can make it last for a long time. It's difficult to match his energy, he's like a MacGyver of happiness. Even though he can entertain himself with ease he prefers being around his few friends and family, he dislikes feeling alone and constantly wants to do things or be around others. Having Toby as a friend can be fun but sometimes a little tiring. While some would prefer to sit around and relax he prefers going outside or walking around town, playing fun games like cops and robbers or hide and seek, just being active and doing whatever sounds like fun at the time. His imagination is just as hyper and endless. He loves bright colors, the outdoors, sweets and junk food, cartoons, unicorns, dinosaurs, rainbows... you get the idea. Endless energy and imagination have resulted in many outlets for Toby to flourish. He has notebooks littered with random drawings and loves to read books and solve puzzles, anything that can keep his mind active. Music is a big part of his life, at age ten his grandmother bought him a piano for christmas and he spent weeks and weeks in his room, teaching himself to play. He loves to recall the days he spent in his grandmothers house, dancing around the living room to oldies. At the rare moments Toby is bored or being forced to wait, he loves to sing to himself, sometimes songs by his favorite artist or even just about the environment around him. It really is as if he lives in his own world.
When it comes to socializing not an ounce of shyness will reside in Toby's mind. If one can manage to calm him down they'll find out that Toby loves to talk about pretty much anything (jf he likes you of course) he's beyond friendly and easily impressed, but at times can be a bit of a dork. Toby loves to persistently poke at others feelings, thoughts and emotions. Not to be annoying or anything he just likes to dissect people that interest him and find out what makes them tick. He dislikes followers and wants everybody to speak up for themselves, he won't hesitate to stand up for somebody no matter the consequence.
Backstory: "Weird" is one word that could describe Toby's life, or at least his childhood. There really wasn't anything wrong but constantly Toby felt like something was missing, which could be a result of growing up without a father. He lived with his mother, grandmother, and younger sister, but living in a house of women didn't stop him from becoming a feisty, hyper kid who spent his days outside riding his bike and playing with his friends or just sitting on the couch drawing and watching cartoons. A lack of attention inevitably lead to Toby becoming a class clown in school, a petty troublemaker that made the other students laugh and stressed out his teachers. Life wasn't particularly normal but it was simple, and looking back those years as a kid were some of his best.
It was his teenager years where things began to take a different, unpleasant direction. Toby absolutely hated middle school, suddenly watching cartoons, playing with toys and wearing shirts of his favorite superhero's were all considered "uncool" and "nerdy", all his friends changed practically overnight and Toby was suddenly alone. He refused to surrender to the ridicule, but the isolation was too much, so he joined the school band merely because being called a band geek felt a little better than being called a loser, plus it was nice to have people to actually talk too. Toby spent three very long years trying to survive.
High school, without a doubt, was much worse. A lot worse, but for different reasons. It wasn't the bullying (which was still pretty bad) or the loneliness which he had pretty much gotten used too, it was the death of his grandmother. It came unexpectedly and relentlessly, sending Toby into a spiraling depression. The saying "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" became terribly relevant. His grandmother always encouraged Toby to be himself and do what makes him happy, whenever school was too much she was always there to cheer him up, but now Toby felt more alone than ever. His freshman year felt like a long, gloomy decade.
The following summer he had somewhat of an epiphany, a realization that life, well, kinda sucked. Toby's constant effort dissolved, and transformed into the person he is today. He was never happier than his time spent as a child, so he decided to remain a child. His confidence soared the following school year, the bullying and ridicule didn't even phase him, he said what he wanted, did what he wanted, Toby took control of his life and this brand new confident attitude caught the attention of a few others, who admired his bravery and felt the same as he did.
With a small group of friends to call his own, closure, and newfound confidence, the next few months went by smoothly and happily for Toby. He was more of a child now than ever and cherished his friends and family greatly. Eventually, this brand new Toby also caught the attention of a girl. He wasn't foreign to girls or relationships (nor was he any good at either) but right away this was different. Toby had found his high school sweetheart, he was in love, and spent two years far beyond cloud nine.
This didn't last, as i'm sure you've pieced together. In fact, one month before graduating and entering the world, things took a sudden turn for the worst, practically overnight. Toby's relationship with the girl of dreams had ended, not in a "this isn't working out" kind of way, but a "i cheated on you multiple times" kind of way. Not even a week later, his mother was hospitalized due to a car crash. Both Toby and his sister were forced to find jobs to support the family, who were now in debt.
Extra: "Do you like swimming? Do you guys swim here? I can hold my breath for like, 3 minutes. I really like swimming haha it's fun, I kind of close my eyes sometimes and pretend i'm floating in space, except like, if space was wet, or something. Heh."
What did you wish for?: "It's really unfair, because nobody warns you. Nobody like, grabs you by the shoulders and says hey, everything is really gonna suck, and you're gonna be really sad, and it doesn't ever really get better you just kinda learn to deal with it y'know. That's not fair. I grew up under the impression I can be whatever I want and everything's gonna be fine but i'm like two weeks away from graduating and I don't know what i'm gonna do with my life, that's stupid! We don't have any money for college, and college sounds dumb anyways. I want to be a kid again. I want to wake up everyday and eat my grandma's breakfast while I watch cartoons and stuff y'know. And ride my bike too, and draw and all that stuff like, I want that. Forever."
