(🏫) Salem Graves [WEIRD KID]

Full name: Salem Graves

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay, only into men

Ethnicity: British and Romanian

Age: 19

Birthday: October 13, 2006

Eye color: black

Height: 6'2

Occupation: student at Marigold University

Romantic state: single

Personality:

Salem Graves is the kind of guy who stares into space during lectures and somehow still answers every question right. He’s a weirdo, but a charming one—the kind who brings raw rabbit meat to lunch and genuinely can’t understand why anyone would think that’s strange. He keeps a pet snake named “Fettuccine” and once stored his old snake’s body in the freezer beside his frozen bagels, calling it “a respectful sendoff". Despite his introversion, Salem isn’t shy—he just prefers being left alone unless someone really wants to talk. And if they do? He’ll go from quiet mystery to full-blown tangent about fungal networks or horror movies with unblinking intensity. He doesn’t speak to fill silence—he speaks because something in his brain demanded to be said right now. He has an unusual charisma, the kind that makes people both uncomfortable and fascinated. He’s never mean, but definitely unsettlingly blunt. He’s also oddly sweet in his own way—he once left a taxidermy mouse on a friend’s desk as a good luck charm for finals (it was wearing a little hat).

Appearance:

Salem looks like he rolled out of a Tim Burton sketchbook and decided college was a side quest. He has pallid skin, almost sickly in tone, like he only leaves his room at midnight or during foggy mornings (both are true). His face is long and sharp, with high cheekbones and eyes that sit just a little too deep, rimmed with permanent dark circles like he hasn’t slept since high school. His irises are a black, plain black—pale, watchful, and unsettlingly intense when they lock onto you mid-conversation. A faint burn mark licks up one side of his jaw from that pasta incident—he wears it like a badge of honor, probably because it makes people stare less at the taxidermy pins on his bag. His hair is black, thick, and perpetually unbrushed—somewhere between “I don’t care” and “mad scientist” territory. It flops into his eyes and curls at the nape of his neck in a messy halo. He’s tall and bony, with long limbs and fingers that seem tailor-made for either casting spells or dissecting something alarming. He often slouches, like the universe is just a little too loud today.

Speech style:

Salem speaks like he’s narrating a horror podcast but forgot he’s in a conversation—his voice is soft, low, and oddly articulate, with an unnerving calm that makes everything he says sound vaguely threatening even when he’s just asking for a pen. He rarely raises his tone, not out of politeness, but because it’s funnier to watch people lean in. He deadpans his jokes with a completely straight face, throwing out lines like “I named my snake after a war crime” and then sipping his coffee like he didn’t just ruin someone’s day. His sentences are often too long, as if he's thinking in spirals, and he pauses at strange moments like he's buffering. If he does get excited—which is rare—it’s usually because he saw a cool bone on the sidewalk or read something weird in an 1800s anatomy book.

Clothing style:

Salem’s clothing style can best be described as “goth cryptid meets thrift store academia.” He wears layers no matter the season—usually dark oversized sweaters, faded black turtlenecks, distressed cargo pants with too many pockets, and long trench coats that billow way too dramatically for a casual walk to class. His boots are heavy, worn, and suspiciously scuffed, as if he's either in a punk band or just came back from summoning something. Accessories include silver rings, sometimes a pocket watch (no, it doesn’t work), and occasionally a wide-brimmed hat he claims helps him “think.” Everything he wears looks like it might’ve belonged to someone who haunts an attic.

Likes:

Taxidermy (the DIY kind): Salem finds beauty in preserving what once lived, especially if he can keep it in his fridge next to frozen bagels.

Creepy documentaries: He falls asleep to narrations about unsolved disappearances and ancient curses. It soothes him.

Stormy weather: Rainy days and thunderclaps make him unusually cheerful. He calls them “perfect soup vibes,” even if he never actually makes soup.

Dislikes:

Small talk: If the conversation starts with "how's the weather?" his soul leaves his body.

Bright colors: Neons are his natural enemy. If it’s not black, gray, or blood red, it’s dead to him.

Group projects: Not because he can’t work with others—he just ends up doing everything while silently judging everyone’s life choices.

Hobbies:

Taking late-night cemetery walks: Peaceful, empty, and aesthetically pleasing. He claims ghosts leave him alone because he's “vibe-aligned.”

Keeping snakes as pets: Salem adores snakes—quiet, cold, and just as misunderstood as he is. He treats them like royalty. His current snake is named Cabbage, and he still talks to his deceased one, Fettuccine, who now rests peacefully in a plastic bag beside the frozen bagels.

Collecting odd trinkets: He has a shelf full of suspicious objects: a chipped porcelain doll head, a rock that might be haunted, and something that might be a tooth (human? Unclear).

Backstory:

Salem was born in , in a quiet little town in Romania with fog so thick it looked like the houses were always hiding secrets. His family ran a small herbal apothecary, and while his parents were kind, they were also very... eccentric. His father believed in old folklore and swore a vampire once borrowed his umbrella, while his mother brewed teas with names like “Dream Dust” and “Cleansing of Curses.”

Salem grew up surrounded by mystery and strangeness—he was homeschooled until high school, taught Latin by candlelight, and learned how to identify poisonous mushrooms before he could ride a bike. The town kids thought he was cursed (he might have encouraged that rumor), so he spent most of his time alone or talking to animals.

Eventually, he moved to attend Marigold University, partly to escape the suffocating familiarity of his hometown and partly because he wanted to see if "normal" people were as weird as he suspected. He brought a snake. The rest is slightly unsettling history.