Clarence

> "I thought we were meant to save people"
>
> - Clarence, "Sick Day"

Clarence is a Detective for META and boyfriend to Victor. He once strived to uphold justice no matter the cost, but after a fatal incident with an alternate version of Victor, Clarence dedicates his life to making his partner happy and that he'll be safe no matter what.

## Background

### **PRE-META**

Clarence grew up as the middle child to a well off typical midwestern family, however he felt he had much to prove due to the lack of attention he received. He joined the police force shortly after finishing school but was thrown into months of riots. The events traumatized him, both from what he saw in the streets and how his family distanced from him for being involved.

He left the force after a few months and got a job in Subway in Washington, trying to get his mind off the violence. It was there he met Victor, a regular customer who seemed interested in 24 inch meatball subs. Not much of an opinion was formed at the time, but an event occurred where Victor accidentally got Clarence fired and it seemed they would never see each other again... that was until Victor accidentally got Clarence fired from his brand new security job.

Clarence was certain his life was a disgrace and he'd never get anything right, that was until he passed by Victor once more who told him he landed a job as a detective at META, or the equivalent before it was fully established. He suggest Clarence join up, Clarence had resolve, if Victor could do it, he could too. So he joined up and the two were quickly put together as partners.

### **META**

Victor and Clarence worked together as detectives and patrol officers, Clarence's obsession over the rules landing them unique assignments. Clarence achieved a near perfect case record and wouldn't stop until a case was solved, quickly taking a dark turn as he would do anything to solve a case. He was fed up with cases going cold over technicalities, when he knew he had the right suspect, he didn't let them go, going as far as to tamper with evidence to make sure the suspect was caught.

Clarence started to ease up a little as his friendship with Victor continued, taking up games together and soon they found themselves spending time outside of work together. Eventually it reached a point where Clarence realized he had feelings for Victor, something he never thought he'd find until making the move on Victor. They became a couple and at first they kept their relationship a secret due to the interspecies nature, but it reached a point where the two couldn't hide it for long, so came out as boyfriends.

From then on Clarence became inseparable from Victor, his focus on work dwindled week by week, his obsession faded from upholding the law and more on Victor's happiness. They moved in together to a cheap apartment in a warehouse, Clarence wanting to try and manage Victor's debt so he wouldn't have that weighing over him. This is where they met Ian, their landlord, who often mentally tortures them by breaking into their home to record videos and subject them to skits.

### **ALTERNATE VICTOR**

Clarence eventually had a case in another universe where he was met with an alternate version of Victor. While he knew this wasn't his Victor, he still cared as much about him. Eventually the alternate Victor would be cornered by META agents for participating in a crime, resulting in Clarence trying to negotiate before an agent executed alternate Victor.

This traumatized Clarence, feeling deep-seated hatred for the agent, but also a whole new sense of fear and protectiveness for Victor. Victor was never told about what happened, Clarence never wanted to burden him with the scene, all he could do was make sure nothing ever happened to Victor and they'd lead a wonderful together.

Clarence's work was getting sloppy, he struggles to care about his career, focussing all his energy on making sure Victor is safe. He takes regular breaks with Victor and go on small adventures during their work. Anything just so Victor could be safe.

## Additional Information

### POSSESSIONS

* *Riot Shotgun*
* *Baton*
* *Magnum*
* *Riot Gear*
* *Riot Shield*

### SKILLS

* ***Observant** -* As part of being a detective, Clarence has taken great pride in being observant and ensuring he solves his cases with a
* ***Ambitious** -* Being the middle child, Clarence has always had something to prove, wanting to go above and beyond to prove himself as important. This has resulted in him taking his cases too seriously, wanting a perfect case record, this became an obsession to make sure justice was served and that a case was solved, even if it meant tampering with evidence to ensure a case closed.

### THEMES

#### TOGETHERNESS

Clarence figured he didn't need a significant other and was perfectly happy being married to the job... until he met Victor. The two started their relationship and once Clarence witnessed an alternate version of Victor die, it shattered him.

He became obsessed over keeping Victor safe, the job was no longer a priority, just making sure he was always with Victor to ensure nothing ever happens to him. It's reached a point Clarence is slack on the job, and he gets nervous when Victor isn't around.

Will he come to terms with Victor being his own person, or will his obsession on keeping him safe make him do something drastic...

#### TRAUMA

His first day as a cop was during a riot where he saw the worst in both his fellow officers and the rioters, some he even knew. Being thrown in the deep end of a riot as a city was falling apart, as well as his family cutting communication for being involved, sent Clarence down a dark path. He was reclusive, paranoid, afraid.

This trauma still follows him into present day, he can't bear to return to that city, to meet his old team, or what was left of them. He'll awake in nightmares, refuses to be without a weapon in any location, become anxious when surrounded by large groups of people.

### APPEARANCES

#### META CONTENT

* *"Recruitment Video"*
* *"Prison Break"*
* *Victor and Clarence "Christmas Duty"*

## Trivia

### PRODUCTION

* Clarence was originally based off the APAngryPiggy song "Let Me Out" and was going to be obsessed with escaping the multiverse, however he has become a lot more grounded to fit in with the "slice of life" type story.