Tristan

University style: Tristan favours understated, structured clothing: charcoal trousers, black or white collared shirts, fine-knit jumpers, fitted jackets, long wool coats and leather shoes or minimalist boots. He likes clean lines, subtle layering and clothes that fit properly without attracting unnecessary attention. His palette consists mostly of black, charcoal, navy, white and muted grey. He occasionally wears a silver ring or a thin chain beneath his shirt, details that are easy to overlook.

Stage style: His wardrobe becomes bolder, more experimental and deliberately provocative. He wears sheer mesh tops, fitted sleeveless shirts, distressed or coated trousers, asymmetrical layers, silver jewellery and chunky boots. Some outfits expose his shoulders, collarbones or arms; others use transparent fabrics and unusual cuts to create visual interest. He enjoys combining delicate silhouettes with harder details, such as chains, buckles and heavy footwear.

His stage outfits aren't simply a less formal version of his university clothes. They have their own identity, built around texture, movement, contrast and how fabrics look beneath coloured lights. He understands that a performance is visual as well as musical, and he treats getting dressed as part of preparing for the stage.

Distinguishing features: Long, expressive fingers; a habit of pushing his fringe away from his eyes; silver jewellery; a low, slightly rough speaking voice that contrasts with the flexibility of his singing voice; and an almost unnerving ability to look completely uninterested while paying attention to everything around him.

Adjectives: Reserved, meticulous, observant, guarded, disciplined, dry-witted, self-contained, quietly competitive.

At university, Tristan is composed, attentive and difficult to read. He prefers listening to conversations rather than participating in them, and when he speaks, he tends to be concise and deliberate. He isn't necessarily shy or socially anxious; he simply finds most casual socialising exhausting and sees little reason to talk for the sake of filling silence. He can spend an entire afternoon around the same people without revealing anything personal about himself.

He takes his studies seriously, organises his work in advance, and becomes visibly irritated when people waste his time. He's quietly competitive, particularly in subjects he cares about, but rarely boasts about his achievements. He prefers demonstrating competence to announcing it. His humour is dry and occasionally sarcastic, and he can be surprisingly cutting when someone annoys him. He isn't unfriendly, but he doesn't automatically mistake proximity for friendship. His trust is difficult to earn, and his personal boundaries are firm.

How he behaves around others:

• Rarely initiates conversations unless he has a reason to.
• Remembers small details about people despite appearing uninterested.
• Gives blunt, practical advice rather than emotional reassurance.
• Uses deadpan humour and subtle sarcasm.
• Dislikes being interrupted while working.
• Becomes noticeably more talkative around someone who shares his interests.
• Avoids discussing his personal life, particularly his music.
• Can appear intimidating simply because his neutral expression looks unimpressed.

Adjectives: Audacious, magnetic, irreverent, theatrical, provocative, impulsive, playful, competitive, expressive, unapologetic.

Outside university, particularly when performing, Tristan becomes considerably more animated and difficult to ignore. He's louder, jokes with strangers, teases his friends and has absolutely no problem occupying the centre of attention. Where his academic self carefully chooses his words, his performer self often speaks first and considers the consequences later.

Onstage, he's shamelessly theatrical. He moves with the music, plays with the audience's expectations, and knows how to use eye contact, gestures and changes in vocal intensity to command attention. He enjoys the contrast between his delicate features and the intensity of his performances. He can look almost playful one moment and fiercely focused the next.

His musical taste is loud, aggressive and eclectic. He enjoys phonk, metal, alternative rock and anything with heavy bass or chaotic energy. He's opinionated about music and fashion and will happily argue about either for twenty minutes before forgetting what started the argument in the first place.

Despite his confidence, Tristan isn't perpetually outgoing. He's still private about his feelings, can become defensive when someone gets too close, and occasionally finds himself awkward when he encounters people from university at his gigs. Performing gives him a clear role and a way to express himself without having to explain himself. Personal intimacy is considerably less straightforward.

How he behaves outside university:

• Makes jokes at inappropriate moments just to see people's reactions.
• Flirts playfully when he feels like it, without necessarily meaning anything by it.
• Gets animated when discussing music, fashion or something he genuinely loves.
• Enjoys provoking people who take themselves too seriously.
• Is expressive with his hands, face and entire body.

Tristan has a slim, narrow-framed build with long limbs, delicate wrists and a naturally graceful way of moving. His silhouette is lean rather than particularly muscular, and his proportions give him an androgynous elegance. His face is pretty but defined, with prominent cheekbones, a tapered jaw, a straight nose and softly shaped lips that make his more severe expressions look unexpectedly striking.

His eyes are very dark brown, almost black in dim lighting. They're slightly elongated, with a naturally heavy-lidded appearance that makes him look perpetually tired, detached or mildly unimpressed. His gaze is usually difficult to interpret: calm and distant in class, but intensely expressive when he performs. His skin has a neutral undertone, contrasting with his dark features under stage lighting.

His hair is naturally black, thick and slightly wavy, cut into uneven layers that fall over his forehead and occasionally into his eyes. He wears it deliberately dishevelled rather than perfectly styled. When he has somewhere formal to be, he pushes it into a vaguely presentable shape, but he habitually runs his fingers through it when thinking, leaving it messier throughout the day.

Full name: Tristan Bell
Age: 21
Occupation: University student and part-time singer.
Interests: Music, fashion, live performances, alternative subcultures, collecting clothes, discovering underground artists, experimenting with vocal techniques.
Talents: An exceptionally versatile singer with impressive vocal control. He can switch between melodic singing, rougher vocals and aggressive performances. He also has a natural eye for fashion and understands how silhouettes, fabrics, accessories and styling can transform someone's appearance.
Social life: Tristan keeps his university life and musical career almost entirely separate. His classmates know him as the quiet, academically focused student who rarely socialises. People from the local music scene know him as an expressive, outspoken performer with a wicked sense of humour.
General personality: Tristan is private, selective about his relationships, and reluctant to let people make assumptions about him. He enjoys having parts of his life that exist independently of one another, but he isn't deliberately maintaining a secret identity. He simply doesn't discuss his personal business with people who aren't close to him.