Post by matt on Dec 27, 2008 15:01:05 GMT -5
Matt Ambrose
"The Human Torch"
"The Human Torch"
The Boy
Matt Ambrose is an average 13-year-old boy from Nowheresville, Pennsylvania. He lives an average life, with two loving, adoptive parents, and an adorable younger sister named Macey. He has maybe two or three friends, which he's close with, and an enormous crush on the girl-next-door. Literally.
He's known Sally Hart practically all his life, and liked her for most of it. He moved to Nowheresville at the age of four, and Mrs. Hart and his mother became quick friends. It was only a matter of time before the two began setting play dates up for their children. They were rarely apart.
Until middle school, anyway. Sally fell in with the popular crowd, who for some reason only liked him when they needed help with their science homework. She avoided him in school, afraid that his reputation for being friends with losers would make her a loser.
They hung out after school, sometimes, when no one else would know. Sally tells him it's nothing personal, and he tells her he understands, but he's annoyed and upset deep down.
"I'd tell them to shove off if I was her. Why doesn't she even try?"
With "loser" stamped on his forehead, it was easy for he and his friends to be pushed around by the tougher kids. It never really escalated beyond taunting and the occasional shoving, and he had little problem blocking it out. But when his friends were victimized, he couldn't just shrug it off. Soon enough, he wasn't just sticking up for his friends; he was sticking up for everyone the bullies set their sights on.
It probably didn't help that Sally was dating their ringleader, who mistakenly thought that Matt intended to steal her away. Yeah, he liked her, but he knew better than to touch another guy's girl.
So they decided to put him in his place, once and for all. One day, when he missed his bus after school, they cornered him. He'd never been into a real fight before then, and if you ask him, he'll tell you the details are fuzzy.
"I don't know, I just remember it really hurt. I was down faster than I could remember, and I was trying to block my face, and the next thing I know there was fire everywhere and they were all screaming and rolling around..."
The Looks
He's a pretty average looking boy, as far as he's concerned. "I look just good enough to get by without being called ugly," he says, "But not good enough to get noticed."
But the truth is, he's an adorable boy. He'd probably have to beat the ladies off with a stick if he didn't have reputations as "that guy who plays DS all the time," and "the weird kid who's always getting his butt kicked trying to play knight-in-shining-armor for everyone."
He manages to get by looking boyishly handsome despite the little effort he puts into his appearance; he has fair, clear skin that the other kids his age are jealous of. His hair is a messy brown mop that he doesn't bother brushing most of the time - "It always messes, it's like it has a mind of it's own!" - but it somehow looks good like that. His eyes are brown, with gold ring in the center, which he claims are his "only good quality." Of course, he insists they'd be much cooler "if they were purple, or if they glowed-in-the-dark, or something."
He dresses for comfort, in dark-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Most of his clothes are solid-colored, or horizontally-striped, and he adores hoodies. Ironically, he despises polo shirts, striped or not, but despite his strong dislike of "a lot of the stuff they make us wear these days," he'll wear just about anything if it gets him out of doing laundry. "Yes, even Aunt Milly's atrocious green sweater, but you'll bet I'll do anything to cover that thing up!"
The Personality
[/center]He's a quiet and shy boy, who prefers to keep to himself. Around boys, especially older ones, he's suspicious and uneasy. He's been tricked, back stabbed, and picked on, by boys of all social circles, and is reluctant to trust them. Around women, he's just as uneasy, but for a very different reason.
Pretty girls are his life.
"There's just something about the way they look at you," he says. "And you can't move. Girls are enchantresses!"
He's never had a bad experience with girls, not really. They're always asking him for homework help, but he's glad to have the attention, even if he gets tongue-tied and bashful and blushes right to his ears. The only women he can keep a level head around are his mother and his sister, and sometimes, not even the latter. "She has these cute rays! Her enchantress powers are starting already!"
Around authority figures, he's polite, because that's how he was raised. But if they're very strict and commanding, he may become uncomfortable, and eventually rebel. "Older people shouldn't be like big bullies."
He's quick to defend others, even those he doesn't know, because he knows what it's like to be in trouble, and he like other people feeling that way. Not when he can do anything about it. But he's too reckless, and too brave, at times; he rarely thinks things through before rushing to the rescue, and often gets knocked around for his carelessness. He doesn't make the best hero, being a scrawny, passive little kid, and to his dismay, he has no idea how to control his powers. They've only ever surfaced once, because he was scared and angry...
But he insists that he doesn't mind the hits he takes. "I just want to help. I don't mind being the punching bag. It hurts, but I'll heal eventually..."
