Ryan Montoya (Art by Little Boy)
Name: Ryan Montoya
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Hobbies and Interests: Acoustic guitar, singing, muay thai, and marijuana
Appearance: Ryan is 4’11” and weighs 105 pounds, all wiry muscle- she is a wisp of a girl, impossible to miss specifically because of her small stature. She is pale considering her heritage- her skin is light brown all year round- and her wide, deep green eyes stick out. Her nose is average-sized and upturned, and her mouth is small and thin. Her eyebrows are naturally quite thick, but she plucks them into submission. Her hair is short, dark brown and very boyish in cut, and that combined with her flat-chestedness gives her an androgynous quality, though her face is clearly feminine.
Ryan does wear makeup, though she generally puts it on in the morning and forgets about it, allowing it to come off naturally. She wears liquid eyeliner on her top lids and mascara, brightly colored (often red) lipstick, and she uses concealer on the very rare occasion she has a zit.
Ryan dresses like what her peers call a hipster. This translates to a lot of tight sweaters, floral dresses, skinny jeans, lensless glasses, flannel, unnecessary scarves, and anything that is or looks vintage. On Announcement Day she was wearing a purple flannel cropped jacket, a grey, close-fitting t-shirt with the logo of local band With Lovers Like These, dark blue skinny jean capris, and black, high heeled ankle boots. She wears silver studs in both ears and a silver ring on the right side of her nose.
Biography: Antonia Vega and Teo Montoya, had a tumultuous relationship from the start. They dated, broke up, dated again in a seemingly endless cycle that lasted for over a year. However, by the end of the year there was a new, pressing circumstance- Antonia was pregnant, and her conservative parents insisted on an immediate wedding despite the growing issues in their relationship. They were married, though no one expected the marriage to last, and they were right. Ryan- who was named after Teo’s deceased younger brother- was only a year old when they divorced, moving to opposite sides of Pittsburgh. For a time, Teo disappeared from Ryan’s life.
Antonia had been supported by Teo in their marriage and, with their divorce, she had to struggle for a time to find work, leaving the family rather poor even with child support and Ryan deprived of anything not necessary for survival. She never cared much- she knew how to make her own fun- until she entered elementary school and saw all the wonderful toys amassed in her preschool class. She became sullen and withdrawn for a time, realizing that she’d been held out on but not old enough to understand why. She became irritated at how privileged her peers seemed, and until around second grade she refused to speak to any of her classmates at all.
As she grew a bit older, Antonia eventually settled into a decent job and Ryan got her own toys, allowing her resentment of her peers to lessen, though an unconscious hint of that feeling lingers to this day. Though she began talking to the other children, her extreme bluntness and brutal honestly left many of them hurt or in tears, and she had few friends. The girls were afraid of her, the boys just thought she was weird- Ryan quickly became an outcast, though she didn’t much care. The only thing she liked about school was guitar class- an unusual thing for a public school, but Ryan was lucky it existed, as she had an obvious natural aptitude for music and was happiest holding a guitar. She began to sing along with her strumming on a whim, and her teacher was shocked to discover that she had a beautiful natural singing voice. On recommendation from that teacher, Antonia saved up money to allow Ryan to take vocal lessons, supplementing her guitar lessons at school and turning her into a talented young musician.
It was at age ten that a life-changing event happened to Ryan- she and her mother were held up at knifepoint on return from a late-night emergency trip to the 24-hour store. Neither was hurt- the mugger escaped with Antonia’s wallet without harming either- but Ryan was never the same after. She became exceptionally jumpy- not nervous, per se, but somehow on edge, constantly tense. She developed sleeping issues as well- Antonia started giving her melatonin, which helped to an extent.
Eventually, realizing that Ryan needed help, Antonia contacted Teo for the first time since their divorce. Teo was surprised, of course, but he was willing to accept Ryan as part of his life, and Ryan started spending every other weekend with Teo, his new wife Celia, and his son Julio, who is two years younger than Ryan. Noticing Ryan’s jumpiness, Teo asked and learned the story of Ryan and Antonia’s mugging and decided that Ryan’s nerves might be eased if she learned to defend herself. He began teaching her muay thai, a martial art that he had trained in for many years and had been teaching Julio. Ryan took to it right away- she was naturally aggressive and loved having an outlet for that, and her lessons became the highlight of her months. Julio, who was naturally much better than her at first, became both her rival and her first real friend. The training caused her tenseness to fade somewhat, at least to the point that she began to sleep again- sometimes, anyway- but she still has not fully recovered.
Entering junior high, and later in high school, Ryan learned that she wasn’t the only misfit in the world. She was an honest, artistic, strong girl, and that stuck out- she had a powerful personality that caused others to gravitate towards her, and once she learned that not everyone was awful, she learned to accept people who would accept her, though she still tends to judge people from afar. Though she could never be called popular, she found a small group of close friends that stuck with her through high school. She began listening to local bands and dressing in her current style, picking up a job at a coffeeshop near home to make the money to buy her own clothes. It was in that group that she discovered marijuana, which she fell in love with instantly. Only when she was high could she truly relax, laugh, and enjoy life. The rest of the time, though, Ryan is tense, quick to judge, brutal in her criticisms and a bit paranoid at times- she absolutely does not trust anyone, even her friends. She’s a difficult person to get along with, and in the end her loyalty is to herself.
Advantages: Ryan is easy to misjudge due to her small size- she does not look like a threat. She is a strong fighter, having been trained in muay thai for the last six years of her life. And her jumpiness and insomnia could actually come in handy in a game where the last thing you want is to be taken by surprise.
Disadvantages: Ryan does not have many friends and would have difficulty making new allies- she is generally considered somewhat abrasive. She is likely to agitate even those threatening her, as she cannot help but be blunt even in a situation where her life depends on diplomacy. And her paranoid streak makes her likely to see danger where it’s not present.
Designated Number: Female Student #8
Designated Weapon: A Cardboard Box
Conclusion: The one who doesn't get a weapon is the one who doesn't need it. For the fact that she both has paranoia and martial arts experience, F08 may end up vying for the top spot if she can be intelligent around guns.
The above biography is as written by Hollyquin. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.
Evaluations[]
Kills: Stephanie Mason
Killed by: Louis Johnson
Collected Weapons: Cardboard box (discarded)
Allies: Luke Mendoza
Enemies:
Mid-Game Evaluation:
Post-Game Evaluation:
Memorable Quotes:
Other/Trivia[]
Coming soon...
Threads[]
Below is a list of threads that contain Ryan, in chronological order.
- Philistine
- Vioectrolysis
- Hell on Bare Feet
- Out of the Darkness, into the Night
- We Are Finally Cowboys
Your Thoughts[]
Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Ryan. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!
Holly's a damn magician when it comes to paranoid text - Slamexo