Characters
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Jessii Tara Janssen
- Gender:
- Female
- Age:
- 26
- Orientation:
- Straight
The notorious rebel child, Jess' family didn't know what to do with her. Creative and charismatic, she's always had an ear for music. At a young age, Jess' mother put her in a local choir, but did not expect her to latch onto it like she did, or to excel so quickly, either. Criticized for having such a fierce passion for something that, as her family claimed 'wouldn't make her a successful or respectable person' Jess developed a deep anger towards their lack of support, and with it, took on an edgier, more reckless attitude. At 15, she met her best friend, Mark Jansen, who really expanded her horizons, musically, and gave her a lot of the support she had been looking for. Mark is also the person who led her to decide that she wanted to become a professional musician, and taught her guitar. When Jess was older, she moved on to college as Mark started to pursue his own musical career. Studying Musicology and Scandinavian studies, it was then that she met the people she would go on to call her band mates and family. Her Sophomore year, she became close friends with River Young, and also met Adriaen 'Oblivion' Jakobson. By the time she graduated, Jess had distanced herself from her family, and Memento Mori had been born. As a master opera singer, a kick ass death metal vocalist, and guitarist, Jess' influences are scattered all across the musical spectrum, but are mainly Tarja Turunen, Roy Khan, Thomas Youngblood, Alexi Laiho, Chuck Schuldiner, Layne Staley, and Michael Schenker.
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Avaalon
- Gender:
- Male
- Age:
- 28
- Orientation:
- Straight
Erik 'Avaalon' Jakobson, the second half of Memento Mori's 'dynamic duo'. The younger twin, it was Oblivion who inspired Avaa to take up playing an instrument. Rather than play bass like his brother, he chose instead to play drums. His mother gladly supported this musical endeavor, despite the head aches it brought. Much like Oblivion does for him, Avaa has always tried to look out for his brother, and always tries to help him, no matter what. When Oblivion decided to move away from Sweden, Avaa gave him as much money as he could spare for his brother to go, despite that making it so Avaa could not join him until later. When they were finally reunited in the Netherlands, Avaalon joined up with his brother and Jess, and hasn't looked back since.
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Oblivion
- Gender:
- Male
- Age:
- 28
- Orientation:
- Straight
Adrien 'Oblivion' Jakobson – One half of the dynamic duo that are the twins, Oblivion is the bass player of Memento Mori. Growing up with a loving, very supportive mother, Oblivion was free to go after nearly anything he set his mind to, but after hearing Metallica one day when he was a kid, all he ever wanted to do was play music, and more specifically, bass, influenced by guys like Cliff Burton, Rob Trujillo, and Steve Harris. As a teenager, though his world wasn't perfect, he tried to pretend it was; he had a wonderful mother, and was nearly inseparable from his twin brother. The fact that he didn't know his father never deterred him. Head strong and full of life, Oblivion never expected the world to come crashing down around him... But it did. At seventeen, after losing his mother to a car wreck, his entire outlook changed. Now on their own, Oblivion took up the mantle of protecting and taking care of his younger brother, who was the only other family he had, aside from an estranged god mother neither of them had ever met. Both working random jobs to make ends meet, Oblivion was lost in a sea of emotions and after several hard years, when he was twenty one, he decided upon two things. One was that it was time for a change in scenery. The other was that it was time he went after that only thing in his life that still made sense: music. Separating from his twin for first time ever, due to lacking the money for them both to travel, Oblivion set out with his bass guitar, clothes, and some money, but not much else. Not caring where he went, he simply went to the airport in his home city of Stockholm, Sweden, and asked for a ticket to anywhere in Europe. He found himself in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. Soon after, he stumbled into a record shop, asking about local musicians, and met a dark haired girl who, to him, sang like an angel. Two years later, he and his brother were permanent resident of the Netherlands, and Memento Mori had been born.
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River Young
- Gender:
- Female
- Age:
- 26
- Orientation:
- Straight
River was born in Gateway, Alaska to a politician and a housewife, both of whom abused and neglected her until she left for college. During her teenage years she developed a dependency on cocaine and an eating disorder. River learned how to play guitar from Mac Rybar, a bartender and former musician. Mac went on to be River's father figure, encouraging her to leave Gateway and "never come back to this shit hole even if you fail out there." River attended University of Amsterdam for Business Administration and a minor in Musicology with her best friend, Veronica. She met Jessii Janssen, the two becoming closer as the years wore on; Jessii and Veronica helped River get off methylphenidates. Her biggest influences started with Kirk Hammett, Randy Rhoads, and Slash before going on to include Thomas Youngblood, Emppu Vuorinen, Chuck Schuldiner, and John Petrucci when she joined Momento Mori. She tends to go on classic rock binges, listening to AC/DC and Guns N Roses for days on end. She has a house in Anchorage, Alaska with her two dogs and two cats. In regards to what she does when not on tour, she said, "I'm not sure why I even own a house because I go hiking and sometimes forget to come back."
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Kristian Stjerne
- Gender:
- Male
- Age:
- 24
- Orientation:
- Straight
Kris was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark by his single mother. He took up piano when he was seven, using that as an escape from his mother's bad choice in men. He's known as being an extremely compassionate and empathetic man, kind to all those he meets. Emilia and he met when they finished secondary school and, after a strenuous few months, Kris saved Emilia from an abusive relationship. The two have been together ever since. Aggression only shows in Kris when it pertains to the safety of his girlfriend or female band mates.
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Emilia Engel
- Gender:
- Female
- Age:
- 23
- Orientation:
- Straight
Emilia also hails from Copenhagen. She came from a musical family, her father a composer and mother a pianist. Like her boyfriend, she has a nuturing disposition. Her fiery temper is just like her loving nature, strong and persistent. Despite being broken down in a past toxic relationship, she remains optimistic about life and stands her ground on issues. One of those issues is her constant support of River due to their similiar pasts. Emilia also plays piano; her mother was Kris' piano teacher hence how they initially met. She considers meeting Kristian to be the best thing that's ever happened to her, and loves him more then anything
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Tygo Ivo
- Gender:
- Male
- Age:
- 35
- Orientation:
- Straight
Long time friend to the band, Tygo Ivo is Memento Mori's manager. Dubbed 'fearless' by River, after so long of working with musicians, there's not much that can shake him. Despite this, the band manages to keep him on his toes with their antics; he never knows what to expect from them, and especially not from the twins. This, of course, is exactly why he loves his job, and his loyalty to the band is unwavering.
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Egon Rygar Janssen
- Gender:
- Male
- Age:
- 24
- Orientation:
- Straight
Egon is Jessii's fraternal twin brother. Opposite to Jess in multiple ways, the two butt heads and don't get along very well. He does not share Jess's overtly rebellious, tenacious nature that drives her to follow her dreams; Egon instead chooses to live a much more practical lifestyle, and works as a gym teacher and football (soccer) coach. Egon is also married, and has two children, a son and a daughter.