Adrien

Adrien has a much different perspective on life compared to anyone else. They don’t believe that work is essential to a society, or at least they don’t believe that most work is all that important. This is reflected in their work ethic, seeing that they work a low-wage job at the city’s dollar store. They don’t try that much, figuring that if they aren’t getting paid, and the work isn’t that essential to society, that it shouldn’t matter how much effort they put into their job. Due to this, they’re not liked by their boss. Perhaps this comes from a lack of understanding of how the rest of the world operates, or it’s possibly just youthful naivety, seeing that they’re only 19. Either way, they’re not the best at understanding economics on a grander scale. This might make them sound dim-witted, but they prove themselves to be better at understanding more artistic concepts, such as music theory. They like to make instrumentals for songs with their friends, typically focusing on experimental rap and vaporwave. 

They also like to smoke marijuana, as most teens in their group do. This tends to be a common argument against them, that their work ethic is negatively affected by their consumption of drugs. They refute this by stating that drugs don’t have much of an effect on them, and that their work ethic is fine. They also state that drugs help them be more creative when it comes to making their art/music. Whether this is true or not is unknown.

Adrien lives in a mostly urban area. They live in an apartment that they can barely afford the rent for, and are almost always on the verge of eviction. Their apartment is very reflective of them as a person. It’s cluttered, dirty and could definitely be worked on. Their character is also reflected in their clothes. They don the t-shirt of the day, with a muddy green plaid overcoat, a black beanie to cover up their messy hair, and pants that sag in a way that’s just as depressing as the environment Adrien lives in.

Initially, Adrien might appear to be a slacker, and whereas that’s partially reflected in their work ethic and lifestyle, the system’s also to blame. If they were stimulated more at a young age, or given the opportunities that most others had, they could have been very successful in the music or business industry. However, due to the conditions they were raised in, they remain a lost cause.

Seth Hampton

Seth Hampton is a very uptight man. He works hard, so hard in fact that he nearly kills himself every day, getting lost in his work to the point of pure isolation from any outside force. He works for Blackrock Co., a company that manages people’s investments, and in his time working there, he has worked his way up the corporate ladder, planning to become the next CEO in due time. He wears a jet black suit, white undershirt and a black tie, just to let people know how seriously he takes his work and how important he is as a company asset.

He’s a very stern 37 year old, but he aims to inspire others through improving his public image. Despite this, he’s received backlash from others over various things, most notably being his lack of empathy, especially for those who are a part of the lower economic class. He lives in the same city as Adrien, but he lives on the wealthier side, seeing that the city is economically divided. Due to this, he has a much more limited worldview than Adrien. He hasn’t gone through many struggles in his life, so he feels the need to push himself as much as he can in every situation possible. Whereas this is definitely a good way for him to be motivated, he still lacks nearly the amount of real world experiences and street smarts when compared to Adrien.

As stated before, Seth is a very busy man. He doesn’t like to waste time, and spends almost every waking moment working or completing menial tasks. This can make him snap at others sometimes, seeing that he makes himself very anal through all his efforts. For example, when he’s ordering coffee, he tends to interrogate the baristas if they’re taking a little longer than usual. He doesn’t take into account the fact that some of the baristas might be new, or tired, or perhaps they have other orders they need to work on first. He just assumes they all have the same work ethic that he does. 

This lack of empathy for others’ economic struggles is due to how he was raised. Growing up, his father made enough money to the point where they didn’t ever have to worry about financial struggles. Although Seth wasn’t outright spoiled, he definitely started off much better than others. His father, manager of the city’s largest supplier of lumber, gave him a sizable loan of 41,000 dollars to pay for college and temporary housing afterwards. In the world of today, that’s a pretty hefty loan, so it’s easy to see why Seth is so wealthy. With all that said, he’s a very hard worker, albeit somewhat childish when it comes to his views on others’ work ethics.

Character one: Adrien

Character two: Seth Hampton

Scenario: Adrien has just bumped into Seth. Seth was on his way to work, and now he has coffee all over his suit.

“Dammit, watch where you’re going,” said Seth, in a demanding tone. “You got coffee all over my suit!”

“Ay sorry man,” replied Adrien, “Lemme get you some napkins.”

“I don’t have time for that,” exclaimed Seth. “I have a meeting in 10 minutes!”

Adrien attempted to respond. “Alright well do you want me to-”

“No, just forget it,” Seth said, cutting him off. “I can’t waste any time.”

“Ok, I’m really sorry about that,” Adrien said. “If I catch you later I’ll buy you a new coffee.”

“With what money?” Seth replied, flaunting his classism.

“Well, I work down at the dollar store, so I don’t make much,” Adrien added. “I can give you some money for a coffee though.”

“I don’t need your money, plus, you look like you need it more,” Seth responded in a still classist, but somewhat more sympathetic manner.

“Alright, well good luck sir,” Adrien said, hoping to keep up the facade of politeness. “What a dick,” they muttered, as Seth walked away.