CHARACTER NAME: Riley Walden
CHARACTER AGE: 29
SPECIES: Witch, but he hasn't confirmed that yet.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY (Warning for mentions of injury, surgery, and death): Riley spent a solid part of his childhood waiting to be adopted and during that time, he met and bonded with a fellow orphan called Ryan Harris. The two became fast friends and while Ryan was in and out of foster homes, Riley was eventually adopted by a wealthy family and it was at his insistence that Mr. and Mrs. Walden invite Ryan into their home as often as he pleased, too, allowing the pair to remain practically attached at the hip.
At 26, Riley was driving home and hit in in an intersection by a drunk driver. He remained in a coma for two weeks until he woke up and after a long road to recovery, walked away with a large, very noticeable scar on the left side of his chest from having his spleen removed and recurring migraines that cause blackouts. At a certain point, his blackouts started to be accompanied by visions of people, mostly those he'd never seen before, and it wasn't until during one in particular that he saw a frequent customer of the Starbucks he went to most often walk out of the coffee shop and get hit in the crosswalk that Riley thought these visions might mean something more. A couple weeks later, he had another blackout, accompanied by a vision of a woman he'd seen jogging in the park a few times, and two days later, she went missing. Another week after that, her body was discovered. That's what made him certain that what he saw during his blackouts wasn't just a coincidence, and he soon admitted what was going on to Ryan.
Already familiar with magic because of Ryan's ability to project his mind (most often into Riley's, for the record), he agreed with his best friend that it might be a good idea to look into finding his birth parents in order to get some answers to confirm the theory that he might be a witch. Though they were surprised that he'd waited so long to ask, Riley's parents were supportive of his sudden interest in his birth parents, and they told him he'd been born in a town called Siren Cove. There'd been no communication with them over the years but as far as the Waldens knew, they still lived there. The decision to move to Siren Cove had initially been regarded by Riley's parents as much too risky, especially considering his blackouts, but when Ryan said he'd go with him, the matter was settled.
Now, in Siren Cove, Riley plans to uncover the truth about his biological family and confirm whether or not these are, indeed, powers... and what he has to do in order to make them stop.
PERSONALITY: Riley has always been very laid back, though he spent his childhood wondering what was so wrong with him that his biological parents would want to abandon him. Once the Waldens adopted him, however, he developed a much more positive attitude, thanks to their influence and Ryan's friendship, so he's considerably easy to become friends with. After his accident, he became a bit more guarded but even then, Riley was the one who kept a smile on his face when the people closest to him couldn't stop worrying over his well-being.
When it comes to relationships, Riley is no stranger to both long-term and one-night stands, though he prefers to be committed to someone. It's more difficult for him to form a connection like that with anyone now, simply because he can't get it out of his head that his condition will always be a deterrent. It's the one part of himself that he hates, these migraines and blackouts, and he isn't usually the type to hold a grudge or let himself feel especially negative about anything but in this particular way, the accident changed him. A part of that is because after he finished his physical therapy, he went on his first date since the accident with a lovely woman he'd been friends with since meeting her at university but when they fell into bed together that night, Riley suffered from his first blackout. The woman wasn't cruel to him because of it, but she'd seen him to the hospital and made sure to contact Ryan, then opted not to see Riley again.
Riley hates feeling like a burden to people, most often feeling like he must be one on Ryan since the accident, but he doesn't often voice that fear because he already knows what kind of reaction he'd get. Even so, he's likely to be found in a good mood on a fairly regular basis, barring any headaches (some of which really are just headaches), and is easy to get along with, in general. He's always happy to make friends and though he's skeptical about what they'll find in Siren Cove, Riley certainly isn't opposed to getting to know the residents of the town.
OPINION OF THE RIVALRY: While researching Siren Cove before his arrival, Riley did read about the existence of a rivalry but seeing as it had nothing to do with what he would be going there for, he didn't bother to form an opinion.
LIFESTYLE: After being adopted by the Waldens, Riley's life took an enormous turn. His parents are extremely wealthy, and they treat Riley like he's their moon and stars. Though he's rarely been left wanting for anything, his time in the orphanage and his friendship with Ryan keeps him grounded so aside from his nice wardrobe, one might not guess upon meeting him that he's very well off financially. The apartment he and Ryan share at Siren Cove's Landing is a two-bedroom, secured before they'd arrived thanks to arrangements via Riley's father, and the first couple month's rent are being paid for while they work on getting their flower shop up and running.
Since his accident, he's stopped driving, preferring to walk everywhere or hitch a ride on the back of Ryan's vespa. He's sometimes flirtatious without realizing it, or at least perceived to be, and he wouldn't necessarily mind going out with men or women here and there, as long as they're aware of his condition, but Riley also probably wouldn't be the one to initiate anything beyond a friendship unless he's had a bit to drink. He doesn't need liquid courage to be bright and warm and friendly but when it comes to getting physical, he'll definitely need the help of alcohol or a more aggressive partner.
POWERS & ABILITIES: Riley's power comes with a price. He suffers from chronic migraines that often lead to blackouts and during these blackouts, he sees visions of people. It doesn't happen every time, but it's happened often enough to become a pattern. In these visions, the people he sees aren't usually doing anything in particular, most often doing mundane things like having coffee; but every once in awhile, he'll wake up to the memory of seeing something more disturbing. These are visions of people in the moments before they die, though at the time of his arrival, Riley isn't fully convinced of that yet.
PLAYED BY: Armie Hammer
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