heliocentrist | PROFILE

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me around
I feel numb, born with a weak heart
I guess I must be having fun

GENERAL

NAME: Neal Amr Elsharkawy Valentine

Neal's name is in flux. Legally (and on school records) he's Neal Valentine. His mother would have liked him to change it to Neal Chambers after she was remarried, but in a rare instance of rebellion, Neal resisted. He started insisting he'd like to change it back to his father's surname, Elsharkawy, and will sign his name as Neal Elsharkawy-Valentine if he thinks there's a chance his mother might see it.

NICKNAME(S): President Valentine or Mr. President, if you're feeling like teasing him.
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male | he/him/his
BIRTHDATE/AGE/ZODIAC: March 31 (Aries) / 16
GRADE: Junior
SEXUALITY: Neal is a serial dater and flirt who rarely develops any real feelings for the people he briefly becomes interested in. Most of his exes are boys, but not all.

MAJOR ARCANA: XIX - The Sun (Abundance, achievement, joy, productivity, success, harmony, good fortune. This card represents the universe coming together and agreeing with your path and aiding forward movement into something greater.)
MINOR ARCANA: Wands

CONCEPT: Ambitious optimist with an unerring smile and no feelings to hurt.

APPEARANCE

HEIGHT:	5'5"	HAIR COLOR:	Dark brown
BUILD:	Narrow and wiry	EYE COLOR:	Gray-green

Short and slight but with a big presence, Neal fills up the room with his energy. He has a distinctive square jawline, and huge deep-set eyes that are a striking gray-green. His fashion sense isn't nearly as remarkable, but he always looks tidy and neat, with his dark curly hair kept short. He gravitates towards fitted shirts that show off his (skinny but) fit frame.

He takes pride in representing the school, especially now that he's Student Council president, and doesn't fight the uniform. He shows up every morning with pressed slacks and an impeccably tied tie.

PB: Rami Malek

PERSONALITY

LIKES: The simple things in life, pop music (don't judge him), burning things (which you can judge him lightly for), silly jokes, creativity, being delighted, having a good time, parties, party planning, success, winning, being better than people he dislikes, scented candles.

DISLIKES: Judgmental people, the bottomless void that he thinks resides in his heart, being asked how he feels, being called fake, coming up short, boredom, negativity, pessimists, rudeness, rigidity, laziness.

Neal Valentine hasn't cried in seven years. No one would be especially surprised to know this, because Neal seems to always be in a good mood. He's friendly and warm, and sincerely interested in hearing all about your problems. Although he's not particularly cool, Neal is social and confident enough to command a wide social circle. That's not to say Neal's a friend to everyone, though. In fact, very few people seem to know Neal very well at all, even those he's fond of.

The confidence that floats him through his interactions can be abrasive. Neal is not humble, and doesn't even bother to fake humility. He's clever and he knows it, and he has a sense of superiority that he feels he's earned. Neal works hard and that's brought him a lot of success, and those accolades are important to him. He's proud of his accomplishments to the point of being a bit of a braggart. He's not going to let anyone forget that he's Student Council President. He's arrogant and self-assured, but not too self-absorbed. He'll happily let that positivity spill out onto all his friends and is just as excited about their accomplishments. Being friends with Neal means you're part of the elite. Everyone else is at least one tier below, but probably several. He will feed your ego and force compliments on you. He's a little overly invested in the happiness of his friends, and can either be a source of warmth and light, or the too-bright sun getting in your eyes and giving you a sunburn.

Assuming you can handle Neal's ego, he's a playful, easy to please person always ready to make jokes and tease. He laughs often and easily, and looks for things to delight him. Neal doesn't like wallowing, and more morose friends can always rely on him to be a source of entertainment and joy if they're looking for it. Neal knows where the fun is, and if he can't find it he'll make it. He doesn't take things too seriously, which makes him a soft touch as Student Council President and a squad leader. He cares more about the spirit of the rules than the exact details, and will give points for trying. However, Neal's not all sunshine and rainbows to work for.

He's motivated and decisive, which allowed him to climb to his positions of prestige, but more than that Neal is unrelenting and ambitious. He's always moving, always working, always doing, and if you can't keep up with him he's not waiting for you. His teammates can look forward to a fast paced, energetic training regimen and a leader with an unstoppable smile. Productivity is important to him, and he's disdainful of laziness in any form. However, Neal's ambitions are a bit directionless. He's ambitious like a Disney princess singing a ballad about wanting more in life. What does he want? He's not sure. This means that Neal's regularly picking up new hobbies and trying new things, searching for something he finds fulfilling. Neal's constantly juggling five things at once, does twice as much as is asked of him, and always over-performs.

Since Neal's always on the search for something engaging, he can be somewhat reckless and untrustworthy. He's very reliable in as much as he'll do something if he says he will and he's responsible about his duties, but his selfishness and curiosity means he's often putting his own happiness above reason and fairness. If he wants something, he's taking it. If he thinks something will work, he's trying it. Polite, passive peers may find themselves steamrolled by Neal's whims. It's easy to get caught up in his orbit when he's so sure of himself, offering a good time in that soothing, reasonable voice. Wiser friends may realize that Neal is someone who often needs to be held back from bad decisions, no matter how smooth he is about presenting the idea. He's not hard to reason with... if you catch him in time.

The other place this gets him in trouble is his flirtatious nature. Neal likes to think he's charming, and tends to try and ply people with pretty words. He enjoys the attention, but honestly rarely feels any sort of romantic pull. This means he runs hot and cold on people, lavishing them with attention one week and forgetting about them the next.

Neal is a positive person, and clings to that positivity even as things aren't going his way. Unfortunately, this can rapidly begin to feel forced. Neal's first response to confrontation is to kill people with kindness, and he's hard to bait into direct fights. However, he is extremely passive aggressive and petty when his buttons are pushed. He might let things roll off him for a while, but the first chance he gets to get back at you he absolutely will, and he'll readily gossip to his inner circle about you. Neal seems almost oblivious to the fact he has a temper, as though as long as he doesn't raise his voice it doesn't count.

The reason Neal is so patient and peppy in the face of bad luck is simple: he's deeply unemotional, bordering on numb. Nothing gets him down because he doesn't feel much of anything about, well, anything. He often under-reacts to crises, and has an incredibly easy time repressing his emotions. On one hand, this means that Neal works well under pressure. When things get hot, Neal can stay perfectly calm. He's a good shoulder to cry on and handles emotional people easily because he can keep a level head and he's got a tender streak. However, Neal's haunted by how numb he feels sometimes. He often questions how much he actually cares about people, and keeps himself as busy as possible so he doesn't have to think too hard about his lack of passion. Sometimes Neal slips up and reacts callously, though. He's all smiles, even when he shouldn't be, and when unhappy or at a loss he's a bit of a Stepford Smiler. He thinks there's nothing to him besides his accomplishments and good attitude.

Because of this, Neal's pretty cutthroat when challenged. He's pleasant even as he's arguing with people (should it come to that). This golden boy can be casually ruthless with those who are in his way, or whom he simply didn't notice were there. He can cut people down or out of his life without a second thought, and carelessly dumps dates as soon as he's bored. He's not actually emotionless or inexpressive, he's just disconnected, unconsciously protecting himself from ever having to be sad again. As an irrational teenager, he's quick to blow this out of proportion, and thinks his heart is an empty void and he's incapable of love. This isn't true, but he's not about to let the mask slip long enough to confide in anyone. After all, he's doing just fine. He's never been better.

+ optimistic
+ fun, easily pleased, friendly
+ ambitious, accomplished
+ energetic

- self-serving
- arrogant
- unfeeling, closed off
- passive aggressive

SKILLS

Egyptian Arabic: It's a stretch to say Neal is fluent, but his father primarily speaks Arabic. When on the phone together, they dip in and out of Arabic and English. However, lack of regular practice or strict conversation partners means Neal's just not that great at it. After spending the summer in Egypt, his grasp of the language is a little stronger.
Art: Neal is skilled with pencils and acrylic painting, and his technical mastery is impressive for his age. However, Neal's often struggled with people saying his art is dull, or cold. He doesn't have a lot of feelings about what he creates, but finds the process soothing. His portfolio is mostly still life of flowers or stiff portraits. He also has basic knowledge of art programs.
Event planning: Neal loves a good celebration, and he's very dedicated to making sure everyone has a good time. This is one of the few things Neal is genuinely passionate about, and he can be a bit of a micromanager in Student Council. He's flexible and can roll with things going awry, but everyone had better be ready to work double time to get it back on track!
Model Building/Mini Painting: Why yes he did put together and paint that model Gundam himself thanks for asking. Neal enjoys the technical, detail-oriented experience of building and painting models. He's got a good eye for detail and color, and it suits him better than trying to do portraits. He lovingly paints the minis of the characters in in his D&D group.
Rocketry... and also just fire in general: Neal is that teenage boy who's really fascinated by rockets, which has become an outlet for his general interest in fires, explosions and his somewhat ill advised love of fireworks. He has a small collection of toy rockets he'll shoot off on weekends. At home, the 4th of July is a real production with Neal in charge.
Misc: If it's not already clear, Neal adopts and disposes of hobbies at a rapid rate. Some things that have stuck around in unimpressive ways are:
- Trumpet: Great technical skill, but no real love for it. Neal was in the school marching band prior to coming to Finchwood.
- Flowers: Not growing them, necessarily. Neal just knows a lot about flowers. There's a good chance he can name them on sight, and finds it baffling when someone doesn't have a favorite flower.
- Fly fishing: I mean... he can do it.
- Dance: Neal isn't an exceptional dancer, but has developed some skill since his weapon requires some rather dance-like movements.
- Solitaire: Impressively, uselessly good at it. He can shuffle a deck in several flashy ways.
- Juggling: Keep your hands busy and impress your friends!
- Fountain of useless information: There's not much Neal hates more than being bored, and he often fills up his time reading random articles, watching Youtube how-to videos about things he'll never actually try, and generally absorbing a vast catalog of information he doesn't need.

HISTORY

FAMILY:

Farida Chambers, formerly Valentine. Mother. Translates novels to and from Arabic for large publishing companies. Works from home.
Youseff Elsharkawy, father. He and Farida divorced 6 years ago. Former consular for the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C., but currently resides and works in Cairo.
Mary Elsharkawy, twin sister. Deceased. Died at age 9 from bacterial meningitis. Prior to her death, Neal and Mary were inseparable and had few other friends.
Clarice Chambers, formerly Valentine, younger sister. 13. Normal middle school student. She and Briony are best friends. Neal teases her with Silence of the Lambs jokes, but Farida denies she named her daughter for a scary movie. Stop telling your sister that you're going to cannibalize her, Neal!
Mark Valentine, stepfather #1. Came into Farida's life five years ago, but the marriage only lasted three. Neal still legally has his surname and there's some uncertainty about whether he'll change it to Chambers or back to Elsharkawy.
Jackson Chambers, stepfather #2. Manages Monroe's Place, a diner which he bought 15 years ago and turned into a well-loved stop in their small town.
Flint Chambers, older stepbrother. 17. Also unfortunately, his ex. Senior at Finchwood Academy.
Mason Chambers, younger stepbrother. 15. Sophomore at Finchwood Academy.
Briony Chambers, younger stepsister. 13. Normal middle school student. She and Clarice are best friends.

HOMETOWN: Washington, D.C., currently lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Neal was nine when his twin sister, Mary, got sick. They thought it was the flu, and the next thing he knew she was in the hospital. They told him in the morning that she had passed away from bacterial meningitis. It was a freak accident.

The family was currently living in Washington D.C., as his parents both worked at the Egyptian embassy. His father was a consular officer, his mother a translator. Neal remembers them flying back to Cairo with his baby sister to bury Mary there alongside her grandparents. He remembers being upset about leaving her there, and sobbing inconsolably.

Neal changed after that, becoming a distant but hard working child. His parents began fighting more and more often, and it was easier to ignore it and retreat inside himself. Before the year was out, they told him and Clarice that they were getting a divorce, and the kids would be staying in America with their mother. Neal took it well. He'd gone from being a rambunctious, sensitive child into one that was easy, pleasant, and agreeable. Farida thought he was a blessing.

She quit her job at the embassy and took up a job translating novels for publishing companies. This allowed her freedom to move away from D.C., where there were still too many memories. She ended up in Hillsborough, North Carolina, a small town with a relaxed pace. Neal would sometimes go with his mother Monroe's Place, a diner down the street, and buy him and Clarice ice cream while she worked on her laptop. While Farida was striking up a friendship with the diner's owner, Jackson Chambers, Neal began playing outside with his son, Flint, who was only a year older than him. The two boys immediately became best friends.

Neal started to flourish a bit more around Flint, which meant he was back to being a bit of a troublemaker. Neal was always willing to break into abandoned lots, set off bottlerockets, climb trees, or anything else that caught his eye. Flint was there to hold him back, and Farida began to see the older boy as a babysitter when Neal ran off to cause trouble. When Neal was on his own, there was no knowing what he'd get into. But if Flint was with him, she knew it'd be okay.

Farida met Mark Valentine when Neal was about 11, and they were married soon after. Neal finally became Neal Valentine. Mark had an easier time getting along with Clarice than Neal, who was totally disinterested in his stepfather. The marriage ended two years later, and it didn't help the relationship that young Neal would sometimes pretend Mark didn't exist as a game.

Neal grew up into a vivacious teenager, and the took well to the challenges and social drama of high school. He became popular, he brought home good grades, and found that success not only came easily to him, but got him attention. His mother gushed about him, and teachers adored him. He dated popular girls, he kissed a quarterback. And through all of it, Flint was still his best friend, following him on every adventure and keeping them from getting too out of control.

But Hillsborough was starting to feel too small for Neal. When Finchwood crossed his radar, Neal was eager, and pushed Flint to apply with him. After the pair were accepted, Neal didn't shut up about their shared brilliance for weeks. His mother was reluctant to see him go, which led to a brief, uncomfortable talk about Mary. Neal hadn't spoken about her in years, and this time ended in a mild argument. Regardless, he was allowed to go. And once he arrived and learned the truth, Neal was ecstatic. He felt special and validated, and worked himself to the bone to become a fighter.

Being far from home didn't bother Neal as much as he thought it would, but it did bring him and Flint closer than ever. Late nights spent gossiping and listening to Flint discuss poetry and books never used to be something that made Neal nervous, but now they did. He spent extra minutes in front of the mirror before meeting him, and resented classmates that tried to flirt with his friend. It all led to the inevitable, and one night Neal kissed Flint while he was the middle of reading a poem to him.

Dating was harder than being friends, especially when Flint wanted to keep it quiet and silence wasn't something Neal excelled at. Regardless, Neal played along and found he that liked it. In fact, he liked being with Flint much more than he'd liked any previous fling. Neal made them laugh with jokes about their secret star crossed lovers rendezvous, but nearly blew their cover several times in his excitement. But Neal is always agreeable and positive, of course, so he weathered the charade. Unfortunately for the two boys, their parents had also been keeping secrets about who they were seeing.

Farida and Jackson sent word to their children that they'd been seeing one another for a long time, but hadn't wanted to tell them in case something didn't work out. But it did, and they'd gotten engaged about six months ago and were going to get married that summer. The next night, Neal coldly and abruptly ended his relationship with Flint, shutting off his feelings about the whole thing.

The next year came with a number of challenges, most of which were Neal's fault. As the family tried to blend, Neal refused to cooperate, but never overtly. His attitude was that of passive aggressive politeness, refusing to bond with his new stepfather, but never giving anyone a reason to confront him. Jackson worried over whether or not Neal hated him, and Farida tried her best to explain that Neal's always been hard to get close to. He'll warm up in time, she promised. But he didn't. Nothing changed after the wedding, and merely days later Neal left to spend the rest of the summer with his father in Cairo. It was the perfect excuse to not think about what just happened, or how much he hated it. He even had a brief romance with a girl there, who helped him with his Arabic. That relationship didn't last either.

Returning to Finchwood brought some good news, though, and more affirmations that Neal was doing just fine. If he weren't handling things well, would he have been made one of the only junior squad leaders? Would he have been given the role of Student Council President? Whenever his mother asks how he's doing or if he's really happy about what's going on, he has plenty of accomplishments to point out.

COMBAT

PERSONA NAME: Sitael (Angel of the Construction of The Universe and Worlds)
PERSONA APPEARANCE: A dark shadowed knight backlit by fiery light. Flames lick around Sitael's silhouette like the sun's corona, and the air near him ripples and warps from the heat. Sitael's eyes peer out at you as bright hot points of light from a dark face. His body and limbs are long but he hunches low to the ground with graceful, inhuman movements. If he stood, he might exceed 15'. He leaves wispy arcs of flame in his wake. His armor looks burnt and sooty, but you can see suns, stars, and other celestial bodies alongside Egyptian poetry etched into it under the grime. Example:

The Harper's Song for Inherkhawy (Excerpt, circa 1160 BC)

So seize the day! hold holiday!
Be unwearied, unceasing, alive
you and your own true love;
Let not the heart be troubled during your sojourn on Earth,
but seize the day as it passes!

When Neal uses a special ability, a halo and three pairs of wings, also made of fire, briefly appear, but Sitael still doesn't stand up straight. (Visual references: x, x)

ELEMENT: Fire
PRIMARY WEAPON: Rope dart/chain whip, often set on fire. (x, x, x)

⟹ COMPLETE STATS HERE ⟸

ACADEMICS

Core Classes: English*, Mathematics, Science*, Social Studies*, Training
ELECTIVE CLASSES: Leadership, Computer Science, Music
CLUBS: Student Council (president), Dance, Community Outreach, Gaming, Athletics

GENERAL PERFORMANCE: Neal is a highly accomplished student who prides himself on his perfect grades. He's known as a teacher's pet because of his eagerness to fish for praise and outperform his rivals. Neal's naturally bright and doesn't have trouble keeping up with his classes at Finchwood and takes a lot of pride in how effortless school is for him. It's obnoxious, frankly.

However, Neal doesn't really have a favorite class. He's an uninspired student, and is anxious about seeming shallow and uncreative in classes like English, Social Studies and Music. Teachers often struggle to engage Neal beyond a surface level, and the best motivators for him are praise or competition. But he's a good student and well-behaved, so there's not any need for intervention.

OOC

PLAYER: Meggie
PLAYER CONTACT: what.it.seems at gmail
TIME ZONE: Mountain