PARK, Lazarus Christian

[Lazarus Christian Park]

RUS CHRISTIAN PARK

FULL NAME: Lazarus Christian Park
NICKNAMES: Rus
AGE: Thirty-four
GENDER: male
SEXUALITY: Straight
STATUS: Single
GROUP: Citizen
GRADE: N/A
MAJOR: N/A
JOB OCCUPATION: Professor of Religious Studies

HAIR: Shorter on the sides, longer on the top that's a dark brown, a bit of product, sometimes a hat.
EYES: blue.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: none.
TATTOOS: He's absolutely covered in them. The most visible ones are the words "open book" and "last page" across his knuckles, three dots under his right eye along with a pirate's dagger in front of his eye and an anchor, heart and crossbones on the left side of his face. His neck has an open book with the number 12 on it, a crown with flowers. The back of his hands have cannons with the words "good" and "hope" on them and the words "sweet dreams" along the outside of his hands when put together prayer style.
PIERCINGS: His lobes were pierced once upon a time but he rarely wears earrings anymore and left helix.
PLAY-BY: Shane Burnell!

LIKES: Jogging through the park, chocolate cake, aloe plants, swimming, rowing, cooking, exploring the world around him, the outdoors, hiking, snowboarding, travelling, salted caramel brownies, proper Italian espresso, photography, collecting postcards, big headphones, thriller novels, succulents, taking a Sunday road trip and getting lost on the backroads, pitbulls
DISLIKES: talking about his hometown (But not his upbringing), traffic, Sunday drivers, black coffee, being stuck indoors, getting sick, housework, talking about Madeline, missing a flight, vanilla cake, having to run on a treadmill, office hours running over, cancelling a lecture or class, bees and wasps (allergic), fake flowers
FEARS: Finding another love like he'd had young and tragedy striking once again. It doesn't stop him from dating but it does stop him from letting things get too far. He's also intimidated by snakes and isn't too fond of clowns either.
SECRETS: The M tattoo he has is for his girlfriend Madeline who died in a tragic car accident with three of her friends when they'd all been eighteen. He has never explained what it is and just lets people come to their own conclusions, which is usually that he got it for his mother. He didn't.
PERSONALITY: Rus questions everything around him. He's curious by nature and quite skeptical about a lot until he's been given adequate proof. That might make him stubborn but he's not all that bothered by that. He's a sweet guy, takes care of the women in his life while they're in it. He's certainly charming and has a way with words, though he has developed quite the sailor's tongue since he'd said goodbye to his hometown. He has a strong sense of right and wrong though he also understands the grey areas of the world as well. Things are not always as they appear and Rus doesn't think he's any different. Reading his cover would probably lead most to believe he was a religious man but he's been far from it for a very long time and he doesn't see why he should believe in a single man other than himself with such determination and blind faith. He has a strong faith in his own actions but questions the rest. He's a loyal friend to have in your corner and enjoys a good heated arguement because it means your passionate about something and he is definitely passionate about a lot. Rus keeps himself busy so he doesn't really notice just how lonely he's gotten.

MOTHER: Mary Park & Sixty-Three.
FATHER: Alexander Park & Sixty-five.
SIBLINGS: Jacob Park & Forty-Five
Jeramiah Park & Forty-Three
Magda Parsons & Forty-Two
Isaiah Park & Forty-One
Paul Park & Thirty-Nine
Silas Park & Thirty-Seven
Delilah Brake & Thirty-Five.
OTHERS: Madeline Hill & high school sweetheart & deceased
Too many nieces and nephews and significant others to list!
PETS: A fluffy cat named Charles and a Pitbull named Rupert!
HOMETOWN: Falco, Alabama.
HISTORY: Lazarus was the last born into an extremely religious family though Mary and Alexander had hopes of double digit children at least. His birth was a traumatic one and left Mary unable to have more children. Though it was all very medically explained to Mary and Alexander, they heard none of it. To them, their son had died and returned to them at God's will. Their studies of the bible had them at the tale of Lazarus' return to life and they thought it was all divine order so they named their son Lazarus. For their son, it was a nightmare. Kids made fun of him, teased him relentlessly for the name his parents gave him. He hated it and couldn't understand why God would tell his parents to name him so in their day and age, with such cruel people around. Her parents, his priest all told him that God had plans and that he wouldn't allow things to happen unless that person could handle it all. Lazarus didn't like that answer and it was the beginning of his doubts in the religion he was forced into. He started to question everything he'd been raised on, everything he'd ever been told. He had been ten at the time.

It also brought on a curiosity about the world around him and the different religions and tales people believed in so wholeheartedly without any real proof. As he grew older, Lazarus stopped using his full name outside his house and his church, a place he was forced to attended many times throughout the week, oftentimes twice a day. And though he attended a religious academy, he preferred the shortened nickname of Rus from his teachers and classmates. Like any school, he wasn't the only one questioning his faith, though he suspected he was the only one questioning everyone else's as well. It was all curious to him that people had such blind faith in a man that Rus found lacking in more ways than one. It was during his time in the higher grades, when students were encouraged to ask questions, be curious about their feelings on their faith, though never stray from it, that he spent a lot more time with another skeptic; Madeline. They rebelled in curious ways for their upbringing; as in they were normal teenagers and claimed God wouldn't give them the feelings they had if they weren't meant to explore them. They dated from the time they were fifteen, exploring their religion and each other until the summer after graduation. They were planning on making a proper go of life together. They were from a small Southern town and everyone seemed to get married young, no matter their religion. And then Madeline got into a car accident with some of her girlfriends. They had a weekly girl's night of dinner and a movie. She was minding her own business, driving down the road to home, singing and dancing in the seats when a truck barrelling down the road at too high a speed to make the corner properly veered into their lane, effectively crushing their small car.

The town was devastated, there were no survivors. The driver of the transport truck was charged with so many different things. It made Rus's head spin and he couldn't understand such a senseless act. This tragedy was the final nail in the coffin of his faith. He no longer believed God had a plan for them all, God had his reasons, god only gave to each person what they could handle. He stuck around for a couple weeks, moping and being generally pissed off at the world that Madeline was gone, that all their plans for their future were up in smoke. But then he woke up one morning and decided he needed to find himself. He spun a tale to his parents that God's will was that he leave for a little while before university starts and he can't explore his emotions and god's meaning for it all. They believed him of course, because he'd spun it all as God's divine intervention. They would never go against what God told someone. The very next day, Rus loaded up the back of his third-hand pickup truck, waved goodbye to his parents in the drive and flew out of town like a bat out of hell. He deferred a year of school, travelling. His first stop out of town was a tattoo parlour where he'd gotten his first. It was a simple gesture, the letter M in a pretty calligraphy style script. It could be for anything and he didn't have to explain it unless he wanted to, which he didn't for a very long time.

Over time, it became easier and easier to think of Maddie, dream of her and speak of her without feeling that pain and anguish. Rus returned to school the following year and took that first to decide what his major would be. He took different electives and courses to give him an idea but he didn't know. Then one night, it became unbelievably obvious what he should major it and made it happen; religious studies. The irony was not lost on him and could joke that it was divine intervention that he would choose to study something that had controlled his entire life. But this time around, he was the one controlling the narrative. He learned of not just the religion he was raised with but so many more, continuing his education even after his four years. He wanted to be able to argue each religion, teach that each are correct and incorrect in their own rights and faith isn't something to be had in a single deity but in oneself and the facts. A few years went by while he studied, gathering his knowledge. He hadn't believed him marriage before anything else since he'd been young so it wasn't uncommon for him to be out, flirting and enjoying the company of a fascinating woman. In fact, the year after Madeline's death was a bit of a downward spiral where he spent many a night in the company of lovely women, drowning in their bodies as if he were drowning in water. He explored his curiosities there, too.

He was no Saint, nor was he some horrible person though he knew if his parent's ever found out they would believe him some charlatan. Rus was however, a man with curiosities and needs and was handsome enough, charming enough to have women agreeing to a night of exploration with him. He was a clever man with clever words, though he never took advantage. He understood no meant no and sometimes a night of just sleeping next to a woman was more fulfilling than anything else they might have done. Eventually, Rus received his doctorate degree and was offered to be a temporary lecturer at multiple colleges and universities. His angle of study wasn't the same as others, in that he didn't question it all in the same way and he'd been willing to learn everything he could from other religions than his own, something he didn't actually have anymore. He had faith in himself and that was all that he felt he needed. No, his studies questioned every religion equally, tearing it all apart to make his students question what they knew and believed. Though he enjoyed travelling the world to teach, he did want to settle into a school, become tenured and only venture out to guest lecture when the topic intrigued him. He found that school in New York City and never looked back. Now at thirty-four, Rus is enjoying his life, though he is wondering if it's time to make a return trip to his hometown. He left and never looked back, never returned. He called his parents once a week, sent pictures and postcards from all the places he's travelled. They knew he had studied religion in school and got a doctorate degree, became a professor and they were so very proud of him. But they didn't know, nor did anyone from his hometown, what exactly it was that he taught. They all just thought he preached what he'd been raised on and it had never occurred to anyone that he could be tearing apart everything he'd been raised on to make his students think outside the very small box they'd been put in as children.

YOUR ALIAS: Cali.
RULE WORDS: I'll take good care of these
WHERE YOU FOUND US: Just never you mind where I found you
SAMPLE:

No!

[Cali]