Nigel Ainsworth

**Nigel Ainsworth** is a citizen of Lower Duck Pond.

Dave Miller

Margot O’Hara

Pete Stamper

Sam Woods

Julia Ainsworth (sister)

Winston (pet, dog)

## **Biography**

### **Early life**

> *“All of the memories I have of my father are good ones. He traveled a lot, so he made sure that the time we had together was well spent”*
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Nigel J. Ainsworth was born in England on the 14th of February 1999 to James B. Ainsworth and Anna Ainsworth. He was their second child after Julia Ainsworth born 4th  November 1992. He spent the first 5 years of his life in England before his family moved to Lower Duck Pond, due to his father's position as a journalist.

Nigel was a very active kid who loved to play outside. He had a very close relationship with his father, despite him often traveling for work.

#### **Death of his father and its impact**

On the 13th of February 2007, Nigel’s father died while reporting on the war in Iraq. His mother developed depression after the death of her husband and changed drastically. Due to this her relationship with Nigel deteriorated and he ended up relying a lot on his older sister Julia.

The death of his father and the absence of his mother is something that heavily affected Nigel’s life, still does.

#### **Teenage years**

Nigel’s relationship with his mother only deteriorated when he reached his teens and he did everything he could to avoid her. This resulted in him spending a lot of his time outside with his camera. Nigel enjoyed challenges and would always try to one up himself when photographing. From taking pictures on top of buildings or trees to taking photos inside restricted areas, the only thing stopping him was getting caught.

During his teenage years, Nigel attended Richland High School. Nigel never liked school, as he found it boring. Richland High was no different. Nigel would find his own ways of entertaining himself which usually ended with him getting in quite a bit of trouble. During most of Nigel’s school time, he would be described as a troubled kid and troublemaker.

After graduating from Richland High, Nigel began doing some low-paying photography jobs, before he was contacted by his father's former boss, who offered him a job as a war photographer.

### **Adulthood**

#### **Mali**

Nigel’s first job as a war photographer was in Mali. When he told his sister about the job, they got in a fight as Julia didn't want him to put himself in harm's way. As a result, Nigel cut contact with her and hasn't spoken to her since. Nigel went to Mali for a week in late 2018. He found the entire thing incredibly interesting despite not seeing much direct action. Afterwards he moved back to England.

#### **Ukraine**

His next job was in Ukraine where he spent 2 weeks in mid 2019. Unlike in Mali, he experienced a lot of combat here, and was almost killed multiple times. He did still find it interesting, however, and returned again later that year, this time spending a month there. Here he experienced a rather traumatic event after watching a young child getting killed by a mortar. This left Nigel shaken and the entire experience led to Nigel’s alcohol abuse. His job in Ukraine finished in late November, afterwards he moved back to Lower Duck Pond.

#### **Syria**

In February 2020, Nigel went to Syria for a month, while his close friend Marina watched after his dog, a corgi called Winston. Throughout his time there, he wrote a lot of messages to Marina who published them on the town forum. In Syria he met a fellow photographer, Emily Porter, who worked with him. Nigel decided to stay a week longer, as he didn’t want to leave Emily yet.

Near the end of the trip Nigel was shot in his leg. He was saved by Emily. The accident left him with severe trauma which he is still dealing with.

## **Family**

* Julia Ainsworth
	+ born 4th November 1992
	+ Works at Southwest university as a researcher in archaeology
	+ She and Nigel were very close during their childhood. When their father passed away, Nigel would always go to his sister for help and Julia would look after him. She was the person that Nigel trusted the most and she always took care of her younger brother. It was her who helped him with homework, drove him from and to places. She ended up being his main caretaker and he did not trust their mother, who was suffering from severe depression. When she moved into her own apartment, Nigel would spend a lot of his time there. This close relationship made it even more shocking when Nigel suddenly decided to cut her off.
	+ She has made multiple attempts to regain contact, but Nigel has shown no interest.

* Anna Ainsworth
	+ 3rd October 1969
	+ Nigel’s mother met James in 1989. They got married a few years later and lived happily until James' death in 2007. She developed severe depression; became very distant and spent a lot of time alone.

* James Bailey Ainsworth
	+ 23rd October 1969
	+ Nigel's father worked for a paper located in the UK. He worked as a war reporter and with foreign politics and therefore traveled a lot. He mainly reported on the Yugoslav wars. He also wrote articles about multiple politicians, including Stephen Rawling. When Nigel was born, he made a decision to take a break from traveling and decided to temporarily settle down.
	+ As James had family in LDP, he decided to move there and began covering the local politics. The decision led to an argument with his boss, as LDP is a small town and it would, in his opinion, be a waste for a journalist like him to report there. They ended up coming to an agreement as it was only supposed to be temporary; they would move again when Nigel had gotten a bit older. In 2007 James was offered to report on the war in Iraq, an opportunity he took. On the 13th February 2007, he was killed in Iraq.
	+ James is one of Nigel's biggest inspirations and a lot of his choices are based upon that. Nigel also has developed a lot of opinions based of James’s articles.

* Harry Ainsworth
	+ 20th February 1943
	+ James’ father and Nigel's grandfather. Harry Ainsworth was a journalist and war photographer who spent a lot of time covering the Vietnamese war. Harry is also a big inspiration to Nigel despite having never met him; Harry died while reporting in Vietnam in 1972.

## **Trivia**

> *“No offense, Nigel, but your house smells like alcohol.. from the outside.”*
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* Nigel has a dog, a corgi named Winston.
* Nigel’s closest and longest friendship is with Marina Leonardis.
	+ Nigel often skipped class and sometimes convinced Marina to do the same. One time they went ice skating together.
* He currently shares his house with his friend, Emily Porter.
* His house used to strongly smell like alcohol. The smell was so bad that it could be sensed from the outside.
	+ To prepare for Emily’s arrival, Nigel and Marina deep cleaned his house and went thrifting because the scent was also in his clothes.