Name: Onni-Akseli Silveira (but goes by just "Akseli")
Age: 24
Birthdate: 1 December
School/Occupation: Master's student at New York University
Major NPCs
History (TW: allusion to sexual harassment/assault)
Akseli grew up in suburban Minneapolis as an only child with his father, Adão Silveira, and his mother, Johanna Lehtonen. Each parent spoke their respective languages (Portuguese and Finnish) with Akseli individually, only using English when all three were conversing or when guests were over. This tri-lingual environment gave Akseli a good ability to listen for meanings beyond just words, but it also gave him the feeling that there were some dividing lines in his family's relations with each other. To a certain degree, this was true–communication between both sides of his family was difficult sometimes, though cordial, and there were always things that he could only easily talk with one parent about but not the other one. However, he would come to realize later on that the lines weren't as sharp or rigid as he'd imagined early on.
Akseli, although a naturally quiet child, never had trouble at school, where he earned good grades and got along well with his peers. (Having a teacher for a mother definitely helped him here as well.) His transition into middle school wasn't so smooth; his reserved nature combined with his generally pleasant, confident attitude made other kids at school wrongly think that he thought he was better than everyone else. This was very frustrating to Akseli, who began to respond to his tormentors with unbridled snark. Despite this, though, he had a few friends who were all very close to him. There was one other boy in particular who spent a lot of time with him; Akseli realized that he had ended up developing a large crush on him. Others might have seen and wondered about it, but he never said anything about it.
He never could, because around the time he came to this epiphany, Adão received a job offer from another grocery company in Boise, Idaho which he accepted, and the family picked up and moved.
Akseli was never really able to recover from the move. The other 8th graders in his new middle school didn't pay mind to his personality or nature. It took a while, of course, but what became his new problem was his rather obvious disinterest in girls. He wasn't against the idea of having female friends, of course, but there were a few girls who liked him and would try to get him to notice them, but he was totally oblivious because he was much more interested in the boys around him. This pattern continued into his freshman year of high school, and at that point there were already a lot of whispers that he might be gay.
He never discussed a lot of his social troubles at school with his parents. Although both Johanna and Adão are rather liberal-minded, he really wasn't sure what they would say if he talked about his problems getting along with most of his peers because it would lead back to the root cause that he was pretty sure he was gay, and so were a lot of other people. Partially from mixed attitudes in Edina (the Minneapolis suburb he lived in) and from the overall social conservatism in Boise, he just assumed that his parents wouldn't be so accomodating to that fact, even though he would find out years later that he was wrong about that.
It all came to a head when one of his more arrogant female peers tried vying for his attention, but to no avail. Frustrated and with wounded pride, she found a reason for both of them to enter a supply closet while working after school together on a project. While Akseli was looking for an item they needed, she tried to force herself onto him, but he repelled her. When she tried once more and was repelled once more, she became very angry and shouted ”What the hell? Are you gay or something?”. Before he could stop himself, he shouted right back ”Yes, I am, so leave me the hell alone!!!”.
She reported the incident, changing her story so that their roles were reversed (but leaving out the specific words that were shouted, of course). The investigation didn't come up with any substantial evidence that this was true, but Akseli was suspended anyway. This forced him to explain to his parents what had been happening. While their acceptance was a very big relief to him, he was still traumatized by what had happened to him. Johanna transferred him to the school where she taught; it was in one of the neighboring cities' school districts, so rumors circulating after the incident would be much less likely to follow him.
The rumors didn't come along, but the lasting effects of the incident did. He was not misogynistic, outwardly or otherwise, but he found that he could not trust his new female peers because he had no idea if they would try to do what the other girl did to him. Even unexpected friendly touch from his male friends gave him some pause. Overall his new school environment was quite welcoming, compared to where he came from, but he was just unable to cope with the new stresses he had been dealt.
He made it through high school and went on to university, though mostly from parental and societal pressure rather than having any real idea what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't plan it this way, but he ended up at his father's alma mater, the Universiy of Minnesota back in Minneapolis, and he decided to try studying journalism, because he noticed he was very adept at–and obsessed with–chronicling what happened in his daily life as accurately as possible. While he was returning to an area he did know and even some people he had known in the past, they knew nothing of what had happened to him while he was away and so he felt free from many of his trappings. He had heard and remembered that Minneapolis proper was a much more accepting place, so he decided to be open with his sexuality and began finally trying dating on for size–but he couldn't seem to last very long with the same person nor get too physically close. His aversion to touch had weakened, but it still often brought on a strong sense of unshakable anxiety.
The other thing from home he was able to leave behind was his parents' supervision with alcohol. Even though he had been drinking for a good portion of his life, he had never gotten drunk before he left home. But once he had, he noticed that his anxieties all melted away for a while when the alcohol's effects were active. He never became dependent on it to escape from his issues, but roughly once a month he would get monstrously drunk to try and gain some respite from his plagues. This got less frequent and less severe as time went on, but it's a habit he still continues to this day.
Despite his initial feelings and his excellent performance in his coursework, Akseli began to feel a mismatch with his chosen major. But as hard as he searched, he couldn't find anything else that really called to him, so he continued in journalism through graduation, and went on to begin a master's program at New York University. Luckily, his good friend and fellow journalism student, Erik Larsson, was also accepted at NYU, and so they both moved to New York. This would be good for him, he thought, since Erik was a very outgoing person, but also recognized and respected boundaries; he was the person he trusted the most out of all his friends.
Sharing a one-bedroom in New York wasn't exactly how he'd imagined their roommatehood going, but the economic advantage was inarguably strong. (Akseli's parents still supported him well, thanks to Adão's family income and his own, but he felt bad about relying on them and did what he could to keep costs down.) It certainly made dating interesting for both parties; Akseli did not make a habit of bringing men home, but Erik would sometimes bring the ”Girl of the Week” (as Akseli put it) home, which prompted Akseli to find somewhere else to spend time for the night. (He had overcome much of his discomfort with women, but he still couldn't handle unknown women in his living space.) Aside from this, though, this living situation still helps him to grow–having his closest friend around all the time gives him someone to talk to rather than keeping his thoughts always bottled up, and the relative lack of privacy has caused him to learn how to be more open, although he continues to hold onto his reserved nature.
Appearance
Akseli is about 5'9” and 180 pounds; part of this is from muscle weight, and part of it is from being naturally stockier rather than slender. His father's side mostly contributes to his skin tone: still undeniably light-skinned, but he tans rather than burns, and summer brings out a lighter olive tone. (He's also still rather prone to zits, but it's not always noticeable since they prefer to trouble his back rather than his face.) He prefers to keep his hair at a medium-short length, long enough to have short bangs, but short enough to not be weighty or unruly. It's normally seen in its natural auburn color, but once in a while he likes to play with blonde highlights, just to change things up once in a while. If one were to look right into his green eyes, one would get a sense that he is lost in thought and uninterested in what others are doing; if he were to return the gaze, the feeling would change entirely and the amount of focus would be rather compelling. Try as he might, he is unable to grow much more than stubble for facial hair, although it does come in rather evenly; he usually stays clean-shaven, but when he skips shaving in the morning for whatever reason, the scruff usually benefits from his appearance rather than detracting from it.
Akseli is always bewildered by how others refer to his general fashion sense as ”punk rock-ish” or ”hipsterish” sometimes; to him, it's just what looks best on him and how he normally chooses to dress. Tighter-fitting jeans (but not skinny jeans), a button-up shirt (often plaid) over a tee or sometimes a V-neck tee, zip-up hoodies in fall and spring months, and occasionally a knit beanie are his usual casual ensemble, and he has many permutations and combinations of elements to create several different outfits. He tolerates the cold rather well (which has always stumped his father), often not bothering with a coat until a few degrees below freezing. Hot weather sometimes brings about shorts and V-neck tees as default because it's too hot to wear anything else. Even in summer though, he will wear proper sandals rather than flip-flops. Stylish casual leather shoes are his usual footwear of choice otherwise; athletic shoes only get worn during athletic activity or when otherwise practical.
Jewelry does not play a large role in his style, but he does wear a single ring in each earlobe, each with a stylized cross on the ring, and an inscribed ring on each middle finger. The ring he normally wears on his left hand reads ”até ao lavar dos cestos é vindima.” (”the time to collect grapes only ends with the washing of baskets”), and the other reads ”niin metsä vastaa kuin sinne huudetaan.” (”the forest answers in the same way one shouts at it”). They were gifts from his parents for when he left home for undergrad, and wearing them gives him a sense of continued closeness and connectedness with his family.
Age: 24
Birthdate: 1 December
School/Occupation: Master's student at New York University
Major NPCs
- Adão Silveira (52): Akseli's father, born in Maine into a family of Portuguese winemakers who left Portugal during the fascist era. Although the family continued their trade in their new home, Adão did not follow in their footsteps and went to college in Minneapolis for business, where he met Johanna. With his degrees in business, he worked his way up in a local grocery chain where he worked while he was in school and held a position in the corporate office. When Akseli was in eighth grade, he accepted a job offer for a higher position in a larger grocery company based in Boise, Idaho and moved there with his family. He continues to only speak Portuguese with Akseli when not required to speak English. The two have a good relationship and keep in contact, even though Adão still has trouble sometimes understanding exactly how Akseli sees things sometimes, not being able to completely comprehend his mental space. Akseli is more likely to ask his father for advice than his mother.
- Aino-Johanna Lehtonen (49): Akseli's mother, who came to Minneapolis from Helsinki with her family when her father accepted a job offer. She met Adão at the grocery store where they both worked; he studied business at the university while she studied education. Johanna taught high school in a suburban school district while they lived in Minneapolis, and when the family moved to Idaho, she continued teaching in one of Boise's neighboring cities. Johanna always kept a sharp eye out for Akseli, while still allowing him to suffer some of the consequences of his choices. Like Adão, she continues to speak only Finnish with Akseli unless otherwise required. She continues to emotionally support him however she can; they are still close, but she feels that he has withdrawn from her since the incident in high school. Even knowing and understanding why, the pain from that change puts a slight strain on their relations–but not one she feels she can really talk about.
- Erik Larsson (24): Akseli's friend from undergrad and his current roommate in New York. Extroverted and boisterous, Erik is in many ways Akseli's opposite, yet he is also likely the peer who has understood him the best. Part of this is because of his very respectful nature, but part of this also stems from a secret he is keeping, which is his bisexuality. The only man he has ever been seriously interested in is Akseli, but for reasons Erik doesn't understand, he does not want to act on this and has not, to date. Sometimes the angst this causes him is visible in their relationship and Erik's habits, but Akseli has never noticed, so it continues. Regardless of romantic desires, Akseli is also Erik's best friend and they spend a large amount of time together outside of school and home.
History (TW: allusion to sexual harassment/assault)
Akseli grew up in suburban Minneapolis as an only child with his father, Adão Silveira, and his mother, Johanna Lehtonen. Each parent spoke their respective languages (Portuguese and Finnish) with Akseli individually, only using English when all three were conversing or when guests were over. This tri-lingual environment gave Akseli a good ability to listen for meanings beyond just words, but it also gave him the feeling that there were some dividing lines in his family's relations with each other. To a certain degree, this was true–communication between both sides of his family was difficult sometimes, though cordial, and there were always things that he could only easily talk with one parent about but not the other one. However, he would come to realize later on that the lines weren't as sharp or rigid as he'd imagined early on.
Akseli, although a naturally quiet child, never had trouble at school, where he earned good grades and got along well with his peers. (Having a teacher for a mother definitely helped him here as well.) His transition into middle school wasn't so smooth; his reserved nature combined with his generally pleasant, confident attitude made other kids at school wrongly think that he thought he was better than everyone else. This was very frustrating to Akseli, who began to respond to his tormentors with unbridled snark. Despite this, though, he had a few friends who were all very close to him. There was one other boy in particular who spent a lot of time with him; Akseli realized that he had ended up developing a large crush on him. Others might have seen and wondered about it, but he never said anything about it.
He never could, because around the time he came to this epiphany, Adão received a job offer from another grocery company in Boise, Idaho which he accepted, and the family picked up and moved.
Akseli was never really able to recover from the move. The other 8th graders in his new middle school didn't pay mind to his personality or nature. It took a while, of course, but what became his new problem was his rather obvious disinterest in girls. He wasn't against the idea of having female friends, of course, but there were a few girls who liked him and would try to get him to notice them, but he was totally oblivious because he was much more interested in the boys around him. This pattern continued into his freshman year of high school, and at that point there were already a lot of whispers that he might be gay.
He never discussed a lot of his social troubles at school with his parents. Although both Johanna and Adão are rather liberal-minded, he really wasn't sure what they would say if he talked about his problems getting along with most of his peers because it would lead back to the root cause that he was pretty sure he was gay, and so were a lot of other people. Partially from mixed attitudes in Edina (the Minneapolis suburb he lived in) and from the overall social conservatism in Boise, he just assumed that his parents wouldn't be so accomodating to that fact, even though he would find out years later that he was wrong about that.
It all came to a head when one of his more arrogant female peers tried vying for his attention, but to no avail. Frustrated and with wounded pride, she found a reason for both of them to enter a supply closet while working after school together on a project. While Akseli was looking for an item they needed, she tried to force herself onto him, but he repelled her. When she tried once more and was repelled once more, she became very angry and shouted ”What the hell? Are you gay or something?”. Before he could stop himself, he shouted right back ”Yes, I am, so leave me the hell alone!!!”.
She reported the incident, changing her story so that their roles were reversed (but leaving out the specific words that were shouted, of course). The investigation didn't come up with any substantial evidence that this was true, but Akseli was suspended anyway. This forced him to explain to his parents what had been happening. While their acceptance was a very big relief to him, he was still traumatized by what had happened to him. Johanna transferred him to the school where she taught; it was in one of the neighboring cities' school districts, so rumors circulating after the incident would be much less likely to follow him.
The rumors didn't come along, but the lasting effects of the incident did. He was not misogynistic, outwardly or otherwise, but he found that he could not trust his new female peers because he had no idea if they would try to do what the other girl did to him. Even unexpected friendly touch from his male friends gave him some pause. Overall his new school environment was quite welcoming, compared to where he came from, but he was just unable to cope with the new stresses he had been dealt.
He made it through high school and went on to university, though mostly from parental and societal pressure rather than having any real idea what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't plan it this way, but he ended up at his father's alma mater, the Universiy of Minnesota back in Minneapolis, and he decided to try studying journalism, because he noticed he was very adept at–and obsessed with–chronicling what happened in his daily life as accurately as possible. While he was returning to an area he did know and even some people he had known in the past, they knew nothing of what had happened to him while he was away and so he felt free from many of his trappings. He had heard and remembered that Minneapolis proper was a much more accepting place, so he decided to be open with his sexuality and began finally trying dating on for size–but he couldn't seem to last very long with the same person nor get too physically close. His aversion to touch had weakened, but it still often brought on a strong sense of unshakable anxiety.
The other thing from home he was able to leave behind was his parents' supervision with alcohol. Even though he had been drinking for a good portion of his life, he had never gotten drunk before he left home. But once he had, he noticed that his anxieties all melted away for a while when the alcohol's effects were active. He never became dependent on it to escape from his issues, but roughly once a month he would get monstrously drunk to try and gain some respite from his plagues. This got less frequent and less severe as time went on, but it's a habit he still continues to this day.
Despite his initial feelings and his excellent performance in his coursework, Akseli began to feel a mismatch with his chosen major. But as hard as he searched, he couldn't find anything else that really called to him, so he continued in journalism through graduation, and went on to begin a master's program at New York University. Luckily, his good friend and fellow journalism student, Erik Larsson, was also accepted at NYU, and so they both moved to New York. This would be good for him, he thought, since Erik was a very outgoing person, but also recognized and respected boundaries; he was the person he trusted the most out of all his friends.
Sharing a one-bedroom in New York wasn't exactly how he'd imagined their roommatehood going, but the economic advantage was inarguably strong. (Akseli's parents still supported him well, thanks to Adão's family income and his own, but he felt bad about relying on them and did what he could to keep costs down.) It certainly made dating interesting for both parties; Akseli did not make a habit of bringing men home, but Erik would sometimes bring the ”Girl of the Week” (as Akseli put it) home, which prompted Akseli to find somewhere else to spend time for the night. (He had overcome much of his discomfort with women, but he still couldn't handle unknown women in his living space.) Aside from this, though, this living situation still helps him to grow–having his closest friend around all the time gives him someone to talk to rather than keeping his thoughts always bottled up, and the relative lack of privacy has caused him to learn how to be more open, although he continues to hold onto his reserved nature.
Appearance
Akseli is about 5'9” and 180 pounds; part of this is from muscle weight, and part of it is from being naturally stockier rather than slender. His father's side mostly contributes to his skin tone: still undeniably light-skinned, but he tans rather than burns, and summer brings out a lighter olive tone. (He's also still rather prone to zits, but it's not always noticeable since they prefer to trouble his back rather than his face.) He prefers to keep his hair at a medium-short length, long enough to have short bangs, but short enough to not be weighty or unruly. It's normally seen in its natural auburn color, but once in a while he likes to play with blonde highlights, just to change things up once in a while. If one were to look right into his green eyes, one would get a sense that he is lost in thought and uninterested in what others are doing; if he were to return the gaze, the feeling would change entirely and the amount of focus would be rather compelling. Try as he might, he is unable to grow much more than stubble for facial hair, although it does come in rather evenly; he usually stays clean-shaven, but when he skips shaving in the morning for whatever reason, the scruff usually benefits from his appearance rather than detracting from it.
Akseli is always bewildered by how others refer to his general fashion sense as ”punk rock-ish” or ”hipsterish” sometimes; to him, it's just what looks best on him and how he normally chooses to dress. Tighter-fitting jeans (but not skinny jeans), a button-up shirt (often plaid) over a tee or sometimes a V-neck tee, zip-up hoodies in fall and spring months, and occasionally a knit beanie are his usual casual ensemble, and he has many permutations and combinations of elements to create several different outfits. He tolerates the cold rather well (which has always stumped his father), often not bothering with a coat until a few degrees below freezing. Hot weather sometimes brings about shorts and V-neck tees as default because it's too hot to wear anything else. Even in summer though, he will wear proper sandals rather than flip-flops. Stylish casual leather shoes are his usual footwear of choice otherwise; athletic shoes only get worn during athletic activity or when otherwise practical.
Jewelry does not play a large role in his style, but he does wear a single ring in each earlobe, each with a stylized cross on the ring, and an inscribed ring on each middle finger. The ring he normally wears on his left hand reads ”até ao lavar dos cestos é vindima.” (”the time to collect grapes only ends with the washing of baskets”), and the other reads ”niin metsä vastaa kuin sinne huudetaan.” (”the forest answers in the same way one shouts at it”). They were gifts from his parents for when he left home for undergrad, and wearing them gives him a sense of continued closeness and connectedness with his family.