Forrest
Summary
Forrest is definitely the odd one out in his group of friends. Ximena’s got her psychic powers, Junko’s got her spirit medium stuff, and Mortimer’s got his well… everything. But what does Forrest have? Umm… a garden in his backyard? He’s actually quite relieved that his life is devoid of any weird quirks or supernatural elements. As much as he loves his friends, their shenanigans get pretty tiring to deal with.
If you were to ask Forrest to describe himself he would actually say a lot of different things. He’d go on about how much he loves his cat Claude. He’d talk about playing the violin, or all the 80’s and 90’s music he likes, or musical theater, and his biggest passion botany, the study of plants. As a self-proclaimed “man of passion” there are very few things Forrest dislikes.
Personality
Forrest may be lacking in confidence but he certainly is not lacking in affability. He’s the easiest of all his friends to get along with and the easiest to have a nice conversation with.
Forrest is fully aware that there are people out there who will hate him regardless of what he does, but that doesn't stop him from doing his very best to be likable to everyone. Having grown up being bullied for being gay, he wants everyone to be nice to him. He has a history of tweaking his personality and behavior to be more likable and avoid conflict. Despite what his insecurities tell him, most people don’t actually have a negative opinion of him.
He doesn’t really bother doing this with his closest friends, he doesn’t mind if his friends know about his more “unpleasant” traits and he’s more honest with them.
Story
Forrest’s home life has always been fairly easy and uncomplicated. He is an only child, and even though his mother was often out of town because of her job as a lawyer, he could always rely on his father, who works from home as a graphic designer.
His love for nature comes from his grandmother. Since he was young, he would often visit her home where she lived and studied the environment of the area. Despite being a standoffish person, she always enjoyed sharing things with Forrest.
His life growing up at school was a different story. Forrest was never an athletic kid. When his parents tried putting him into sports he would sit in the fields, searching for flowers out of boredom. He did way better in his studies than in sports. Even before he knew he was gay, a lot of his “girly” behaviors earned him a great deal of homophobic harassment that peaked in middle school. Luckily for him, the strange girl Ximena he befriended in middle school served as a bodyguard of her own volition. Forrest is glad that someone is willing to defend him, but he can’t help but feel insecure and coddled by this treatment.
Trivia
- Forrest is a huge fan of Beyoncé, but not like those weird people on the internet. He is normal and enjoys things normally. He keeps a poster of her in his room.
- He often has very strange and silly dreams. Some of which involve him losing his hair and going bald.
- He has been a vegetarian since the age of five. It horrified a very young Forrest to learn that meat comes from animals that were once alive. He continues out of habit, mostly.
- A self proclaimed "man of science," Forrest doesn’t believe much in superstition. For a long time he doesn’t believe Junko when she tells him about her ability to commune with the dead. It was quicker for him to believe Ximena because it’s easier to prove you have psychic powers when you can read minds and memories and levitate things.
Likes
- His cat Claude
- Acting and musical theater
- Playing his violin
- Nature and botany
- 80's music
Dislikes
- Anything physically strenuous
- Cold weather
- Violence and conflict
Relationships
Ximena
Forrest and Ximena have been friends for many years and are extremely close, the term "best friends" is not quite enough to describe their relationship. She has always been very protective of him, constantly defending him from bullying and harassment. He appreciates it but the protection makes him feel weak and he hates the feeling of being coddled. He can't do anything to stop her though. Forrest is more than familiar with her harsh way of being, but genuinely believes she is a good person deep down.
Junko
Junko and Forrest are best friends and hang out together all the time, often singing along to guilty pleasure songs in the car. They never stay mad at each other despite all of their stupid, petty arguments. Forrest finds her childish and easy-going attitude irritating; he believes she should grow up already and start acting like an adult now that she is one. It annoys him when Junko says he takes life too seriously, because in his mind he definitely does not.
Mortimer
Mortimer and Forrest get along very well: they are good friends and share several interests. This is very fortunate as Forrest took him in as a roommate after their silly little "camping trip." Eventually he develops a crush, turns out Mortimer is exactly his type, and he's super nice. How could he not fall in love? Forrest was really deep in denial of this before he could deny no longer. But his denial was so deep he was unable to notice his feelings were reciprocated.
