FILE #004: Richard ''Rich'' Jones

Name: Richard Julius Jones ''Rich'' (based on Riku Jokilahti, an old character)
Date of birth: 20 July 1998
Age: 21
Height: 170cm
Nationality: American-Native American
Hometown: Stowe, Vermont, United States
Languages: English
Eye colour: Grey
Hair colour: Dark brown
Skin colour: Tan
Distinctive features: Freckles, stud piercing on left eyebrow
Personality in a few words: A scared and skeptical introvert with self-destructive habits and a dark past.
Family: Robert Jones (father; missing), Michelle Jones (mother; in prison)
Issues: Severe depression, sexual abuse, self-harm, multiple suicide attempts in the past

Detailed information

Favourite music: Blink-182, Green Day, Fall Out Boy
Favourite movies: Schindler's List, The Godfather Part II, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Favourite TV series: The Daily Show, Freaks and Geeks, Game of Thrones
Favourite foods: Key lime pie, chocolate chip cookies, cheeseburger
Hobby: Football, hiking

Character history

COMING SOON

The creative process (TRIGGER WARNING!)

Rich (or Riku, as his original name is) existed very early on as a sort of a never-seen character, because when I was creating Ronnie/Roni, I needed an unique family situation. So I came up with a cousin for him to live with and that's how Rich was born. I can't remember what the initial reason for him to be staying with his cousin was, but it wasn't anything complicated. There was no history of abuse. It might have been just his parents being too busy and thus sending him to live with his cousin. At some point I figured he probably needed a real reason, and that's how the situation came to be. His father being missing for years and his mother in prison for sexually abusing him. It's heavy stuff, but it also kinda worked as a trigger for his depression, self-harm and some of the suicide attempts.
   So Rich and Ronnie have always been cousins, but when I remade them for the first version of Sunset Bay (with superpowers; Rich had telekinesis), they didn't know each other. In the final version, they end up studying at the same school (Crescent Moon Academy, which is the school that all of the characters in Sunset Bay attend) without knowing they're related at first. They become very good friends and at some point they find out that they're cousins, which only brings them closer together. This is where Max comes in, because the way I see this whole situation is like this: firstly, Max has a crush on Ronnie, who eventually enters a relationship with him because he's falling for Jake and he tries to get over him (unsuccessfully). Rich likes Max, but doesn't actually realise it for the longest of times. When Ronnie and Rich start spending more time together (when they find out they're related), Max thinks they're having an affair and becomes jealous. Obviously they then tell him that they're cousins and eventually Ronnie breaks up with Max. Uh, this was not supposed to be a miles long explanation about this. Sorry, back to our scheduled programming now.
   Rich has always been a very quiet, very shy and very withdrawn person. In the original version, he wasn't actually part of the story for years; he really became a part of the squad in the more recent versions. It takes him time to get to know people, which is probably why it took him so long to really become a part of the group. Actually, he doesn't play a major part in Sunset Bay at first either; it's mostly after his suicide attempt that his role is expanded.
   It's weird, but I've never actually had a clear image of what Rich looks like. I mean, he's always been kinda pale, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and freckles, but since I remade him and eventually decided to make him part Native American, I've been seeing him with a tanner skin (maybe just slightly lighter than Ronnie) and generally darker features. I've never thought about it too much, but I feel like it would suit him.
   I feel like I keep talking about different things in these little segments; I wanted to keep them similar for each character, but I guess some characters make me think of different things related to their creation. When it comes to Rich's love interest, Max became it by process of elimination, mostly. I mean, Ronnie and Jake were always going to be together. I also decided on Nathan and Dani very quickly (a fleeting thought I had was that Dani and Max would be together, which would've left Nathan and Rich together; this is not a bad idea at all and I can sort of see it happening). That really only left Rich, Max, Zach, Justin and Ernie; the latter three are a story of their own, so it felt logical to have Rich and Max end up together. Despite them being a fairly random pairing, I've actually grown very fond of them and I have tons of ideas for their development as a couple (and as individual characters, of course).