Post by Matthew Scott Linford on May 12, 2016 15:40:37 GMT -5
MATT SCOTT LINFORD
FULL NAME: Matthew Scott Linford
NICKNAMES: Matt, Matty.
AGE: Thirty two
GENDER: male
SEXUALITY: Straight
STATUS: Single
GROUP: Citizen
GRADE: N/A
MAJOR: N/A
JOB OCCUPATION: Personal bodyguard
HAIR: Light, dusty brown. He tends to keep it long and messy, too used to the best ways to survive overseas. He also sports a pretty thick beard and he's quite proud of it.
EYES: Blue.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: He's a bullet wound on his right side. It's not visible and he doesn't talk about it.
TATTOOS: He's two half sleeves reaching across his chest consisting of the Madonna and a child, stars, the London skyline and his sister's name, the "fighting Irish" icon, an Italian quote that means quite a bit to him, the Union Jack, a black crow and he's a wolf with a heart on his forearm along with a little quote there on his lower right side that he doesn't ever talk about.
PIERCINGS: None.
PLAY-BY: Tom Hardy!
LIKES: martial arts, Fire Away, strong coffee with heaps of sugar, whiskey, cigars, painting, comedy movies, tattoos, Sherlock Holmes stories, wolves, spearmint gum, nightclubs.
DISLIKES: Shaving, monkey suits, yoga, cats, rodents, the news stations, big headphones, sweets, tea, getting shot at, getting yelled at, having to hold back from hitting someone, slutty girls, musicals, clouds of perfume surrounding people
FEARS: flying, falling out a window, snakes
SECRETS: Matt is petrified of snakes. There's absolutely no basis for the fear. It is genuinely irrational but it's there and hasn't gone away in all the years he's lived.
PERSONALITY: There are many layers to this ex-military man. He can be as sweet as pie but he can also be this terrifying and menacing man. He's built like a tank but with a heart of gold. Matt has seen a lot and lost a lot in his years but he's still a surprisingly optimistic man anyway. Obviously he looks like it but he really is a tough man and isn't opposed to put all that force behind him. He's a fighter to be sure. He can be a delight to be around but once he's on the clock, he's all focused attention, not letting a single thing go unnoticed. He's not a brute in most aspects of his life but he can be a bit pushy and very stubborn, especially with a particularly stubborn client. He's a very sharp man, eagle eyed when it comes to taking care of his client; even if she doesn't want to be watched over. Matt for all his masculinity, is a very good listener and wouldn't bat an eye at settling on the couch with a coffee and an open ear for all the day's problems. It's a mix of parts but they all come together well to bring the world Matt Linford. His current client though, only sees the good in him. He cares very deeply for her but he is well aware that there is too much wrong with falling for a client. Not only would their relationship suffer, he could very well be out a job as well; not to mention she currently has a boyfriend.
MOTHER: Marie & 60.
FATHER: Nolan & 65.
SIBLINGS: Lindy & 29.
OTHERS: Briar Cheynne Ames, 25, current client
Chris Atwood & Deceased, best friend
Maia Blackthorn, 33, Boss.
PETS: Congo & Golden Retriever!
HOMETOWN: Manhattan, New York City, New York.
HISTORY: Matt and Chris met before they'd even been born. Their mothers met at a prenatal class and became close when they found out their due dates were actually the same day. Both families joked that they were meant to be twins but were needed by different parents. The quirks and similarities throughout their childhood were uncanny and too often Marie and Nolan found themselves calling out to Chris thinking it was Matt, as was the same with Samantha and Jordan to Matt. They laughed about it of course and couldn't ever tell them they couldn't hang out. They were inseparable, doing everything together. They joined all the same sports teams, they signed up for all the same classes; they did everything together, even when they were old enough, getting a job at the same clothing store. They were ridiculous but comical.
Matt hadn't started out with the intentions of becoming a bodyguard. In fact, he'd wanted to be a mechanic part time and expand his martial art skills. He had taken part of everything he could get his hands on from the time he was small child but it had never felt like it was enough for him. And then his buddy enlisted and Matt couldn't let him go on his own. Of the pair, Matt was the one fighting the fights while Chris did most of the taunting. And though Matt thought Chris could do well in the service, he just couldn't let him go alone. So they went together, barely eighteen the pair of them and during the training, Matt learned a lot more than he thought he would. And as it turned out, he enjoyed it. He spent eight years in the army, fighting side by side with his best friend, joking and having a laugh as well. He went through four tours completely and was out during his fifth when the worst thing imaginable occurred. They were out for a routine patrol. They'd done the same thing almost every day, apart from a couple days where another team took over while they were on a proper mission. They never took the same route twice, knowing people would watch that and make notes. And this time wasn't any different. The team turned down a side street in their jeep, cracking jokes with each other and missed the small signs that something was wrong. They were ambushed some fifteen feet down the street and though they fought and managed to drive out of there, they hadn't done so unscathed. The passenger side of the jeep took the most damage and with the adrenaline rushing through them, no one noticed immediately that Chris, who'd been sitting in the back, had been overly quiet. He'd said some things, not much but enough that had them all believing he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. And then Matt, who'd been riding shotgun, and had been grazed by at least one stray bullet looked back to crack a joke to lighten the mood and saw to his horror, his friend's ashen face.
He threw orders around, despite not being in charge though the man in charge listened to the orders with a very quiet "just this once.", understanding why he'd been shouting those orders the second he looked back as well. They made it to the base, barrelling in and braking quickly outside the medical building. From there, the team leader shouted the orders, yelling his explanations so they knew just how serious the situation was. And it wasn't until the adrenaline started to die down that Matt himself started to feel a little lightheaded. He just assumed it was shock at seeing his brother covered in blood and splayed out over a gurney being rushed in to be seen to. And then he woke up after a surgery that saw the doctors taking out a bullet that had managed to hit him just under the arm, in the only tender part of his body visible. Luckily, it had gone in awkwardly, most likely after hitting something else so it wasn't deep but he had lost enough blood to have collapsed. He was given the option of an honourable discharge and Matt took it, finding himself not feeling the life as much as he previously had. It had nothing to do with what they were doing. He liked being in the army. He liked knowing he was doing all that he was so those people he'd left back home could have the freedom they took for granted. But without Chris it wasn't the same. And he hadn't come out the other side of the surgery alive.
So he escorted his best friend, his brother's body home to his family. Sam and Jordan stood there when the plane's hatch was lowered, next to Matt's own parents, all four of them with tears in their eyes. Matt barely held his own in check but knew he had to. It was not the time to show his emotions. After the funeral, Matt took some time to figure out what he was going to do now that he was a civilian once again. He found himself about a month out of active duty at a dojo in midtown. He'd been impressed that the place was even there among all those fancy high rises and financial buildings that Matt had no care for. He went in to inquire about taking up some classes again, doing something he loved to do when they got to chatting and Matt found himself with a job starting the following week. It was a bit surreal but after the owner found out he was a vet who actually knew what he was doing, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to help Matt out. There were little things like that, that proved to Matt that he hadn't gone through all he had in vain. That people did care and supported his decision to go fight overseas, even complete strangers like Jonah. Matt took over enough classes to give Jonah a rest but it wasn't enough for the overly active military man. He was used to being on the move constantly that now that he could stretch out with a cold beer and relax, he found himself on the jittery side.
Once again, he was off, searching for something to occupy his time with when he remembered there had been a shooting range. He had a license to carry a concealed weapon, a thank you so to speak, from the army when they'd said farewell and he still had his service weapon. Some time at the range sounded good to him so he went. And got to chatting with some of the guys there and it was also there that he discovered a familiar face. A young girl who was studying at NYU and teaching Kendo classes at his dojo was focused, face fierce just at the other end of the range with what appeared to be a longbow. It was a small world and he made sure to point that out and have a good laugh with her as well. And apparently knowing Lottie had more benefits than negatives because the manager of the range offered him up yet another opportunity. Matt felt overly blessed since his return home. He'd been thinking he would be out on the streets or stuck in his parents house but he now had two jobs and though he was taking up their basement, it was a separate dwelling altogether. Within a few short years he'd moved out and into a secure apartment building and enjoying his time. He'd been at the range for about six months when he'd been approached by the owner.
She also ran a private security firm that dealt with all sorts of requests. It wasn't all ex-military but there were a few of them. She wanted Matt to join their ranks and after thinking about it, he agreed to it. He didn't want anything that was half assed or down right dirty and Maia promised she ran a clean business. Matt hadn't seen anything to suggest otherwise but he'd still had to voice his concerns and Maia understood that. For the most part, Matt continued to work at the range but when something came up, he would switch over to that instead. It was through this new work that he was introduced to Briar; A bit of a broken woman who turned in on herself instead of pushing through the terror and fear to prove to the world that she could do this. Matt understood that, he’d wanted to do that when Chris died but Chris would have killed him if he’d done so. Their friendship was a slow one to start but eventually Briar did warm to him and started to talk about everything that happened to her, which was a story he hadn’t fully known. He’d been told enough and that had been it. And now five years later, he’s still her live-in bodyguard, seen her through a partial move and trips around.
YOUR ALIAS: Cali
RULE WORDS: I laugh in the face of your rules!
WHERE YOU FOUND US: The ends of the universe.
SAMPLE:No!
