Mateo de Guzman

[Jan de Witt]

Name: Mateo Nicolas Kalaw de Guzman
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Board games, video games, philosophy, reading, watching theater, Model United Nations, Student Council

Appearance: Mateo is a 5’6 male, which combined with being slightly overweight at 172 pounds give him a squat, unassuming figure. He has medium-brown skin, and straight black hair, which is generally neatly combed and slicked back. He has a square face, with thin lips, a short nose, and black eyes. His eyebrows are thick, but the rest of his facial hair is limited to nearly invisible fuzz. His clothing preferences can be described as business casual, combining polo shirts, slacks, and light, square-rimmed glasses, a style he retains out of nostalgia despite being somewhat ill-suited for the northern United States. In the winter, he generally adds a heavy sweater or hooded jacket, though he packs them away as soon as he can once he arrives somewhere well-heated. As a rule, he keeps to a colour scheme of blacks, whites, and greys, with a light top and dark pants or vice-versa. On the day of the abduction, he was wearing a yellow polo and white cargo shorts, covered over by a dark grey hooded jacket.

Biography: Mateo Nicolás Kalaw de Guzman was born on the 29th of May, 2003, to Rodolfo Aguirre de Guzman and Maria Kalaw de Guzman, at a private clinic in Las Piñas. His father, a financial advisor, and his mother, the head of the art department at a private girls’ school, were loving parents, but mostly delegated the duties of raising him to a series of maids. His family was well-known as an artistic one, with his mother painting various landscapes and portraits that his father then recommended to various friends of the family.

An energetic, curious boy, he quickly exhausted his minders long before he tired himself out. Despite this, his early childhood was mostly uneventful, with his main memories of that time being related to various games played with various fellow nursery children and the household staff. Eventually, he was sent off to school in 2008, much to the relief of maids exhausted by his fondness for trailing his dirty shoes over recently cleaned floors.

His enthusiasm served him well as he started schooling, and he generally worked hard in most of his classes. This effort was quickly repaid, and he became accustomed to being amongst the best students in his class, with firm support from his parents playing a key role. He soon found Civics, Religion, and Language classes to be his favourites, interests that were well-regarded at Academia San Ildefonso, a Spanish seminary in Taguig that was later secularised into a Catholic private school. Even today, a cheap certificate celebrating Mateo for being in the top 10% in every exam from Grades 1-3 is given a prominent place in the main reception room of the family house. However, his many successes also brought along high expectations.

These expectations made it very clear that his commitment did not always match his talent, and he had many difficulties in subjects demanding physical coordination, such as music and physical education. Initially, he simply worked much harder at his lessons, but despite approval from his teachers and parents, this did not result in any significant improvement in his grades. Continued disappointment with the lack of obvious result eventually undermined his efforts, and he eventually changed tack. His new tactic of investing the minimal effort to ensure the achievement of low Bs and Cs was poorly received by his parents, but would eventually develop into a strategy of avoidance of the unpleasant that he would apply to nearly all aspects of his life.

A side-effect of his refusal to participate in sports or music that Mateo did not plan for was isolation from the tight-knit sports teams and music groups that dominated social life in San Ildefonso. While he still did build up friendships with his classmates, he generally found himself excluded from most students’ inner circles. Surprisingly, his closest friend, and perhaps the only one whose friendship was more than superficial, was Domingo Tiazon, the captain of the softball team (as well as a moderately skilled flutist). Despite their lack of shared interests, with Domingo’s love of sports overshadowing his academics, and Mateo’s growing disdain for group activities, they became close friends, with Mateo helping Domingo with his academic, and later, social problems, and Domingo helping assure Mateo a place amongst the studentry.

His non-participation in school activities meant that he spent most of his time at home. Most of this time was spent reading. He quickly read through most of the children’s books in the school library, and after rereading most of them twice, he decided to look further afield for his entertainment. Being a religiously focused school, the largest section of the library was that focused on religion and philosophy. While most of the works were either too advanced or arcane for his liking, the librarian helped Mateo find a set of guides distilling the complexities of morality to a level that he could more avidly appreciate. A set of the school textbooks, entitled Philosophy: An Primer for the Catholic Student remains a treasured part of his collection, even though he has long moved past its simplified explanations. Even today, he tries to find time to study and meditate on some point of philosophy as reminder of his moral duties.

As Mateo grew up, he became increasingly aware of the growing rifts between his mother and father. At first, conflict was limited to questions of business, with Rodolfo urging Maria to create works themed around popular themes and Maria firmly insisting on focusing on her preferred themes of religion and history. Later, as their son began to ask for advice on clubs and activities, it became clear that they had very different ideas about what constituted an appropriate upbringing. One particularly controversial incident involved Rodolfo teaching Mateo the fine art of playing bluffing games such as poker, which his wife saw as an un-Christian game of deception. While the storm died down, Mateo did end up with a love of card games, although at his parents’ insistence, all were very specifically chosen to be light games as thematically different from casino games as possible.

But with Mateo progressing through his education, the differences between their plans for him became irreconcilable. Initially, Maria urged him to focus his extracurricular on religion and literature, which he agreed to do, before his father instead advised him to take up civics and mathematics instead. Mateo’s decision to join the Debating Club, presented a compromise between moral and practical foci, was only reluctantly accepted. Mateo spent much of his time either attempting to find mutually acceptable solutions or ways to present unacceptable ones in an agreeable manner. As they grew increasingly determined to shape his education in their preferred manner, they began to make contradictory requests. He found himself lying to them with ever greater regularity, and quickly learned how to spin deceptions that would be impossible to verify and have the apparent support of witnesses.

These rifts played a key role in his father Rodolfo’s acceptance of an offer from a small wealth management firm specialising in art investments, with all educational expenses paid. The problem lay in the fact that the firm was based in Massachusetts, requiring the family to move, a decision Maria would not accept. Forced to choose between the two options, he followed his father’s lead; this placed a serious strain on his relationship with his mother, which would only fully recover years later. At only twelve years old, this had been the biggest life change Mateo had hitherto experienced, and he finds himself frequently reminiscing about the months shortly before and after the move, constantly scrutinising his decisions for something he could have done better or more carefully.

Moving to America was both a surprisingly smooth process and a dramatic change; the first because of Mateo’s familiarity with American culture from his studies (encouraged by his father even before moving), and the second because of rapidity with which his old social circle distanced themselves from him. Despite his efforts, most of his former associates eventually drifted out of touch. While Domingo would remain a constant friend, Mateo remains extremely bitter about this to this day, and speaks positively of his time at San Ildefonso only begrudgingly, much preferring to lambast it and its antiquated teaching style with a bitter fervour. An attentive observer would notice his dislike does not extend to other church schools, but no one has yet publicly highlighted this inconsistency.

While he had initially planned to split his time between his old classmates and any new friends he might make in America, the aforementioned events prove him to be more enthusiastic in joining school clubs, even if he was still unwilling to fully commit to them. He quickly latched onto the Model United Nations club as the one closest to his interests in philosophy and economics, and grew to enjoy the practice in structured debate and political negotiation, although he works hardest when it comes to competitive conferences. He also decided to found his own boardgames club, using his already sizable collection of card games as the root of an ever-growing collection, funded by a generous allowance. He is also close to many of the younger members of the Overseas Filipino community, even if his mixed feelings towards his former friends complicate matters.

Even so, Mateo still felt insecure about the strength of his social network. He later joined the Student Council, hoping to guarantee himself a central position within the school community that he could later cite in his CVs. While he does work carefully his duties, his main concern is achieving concrete successes he can take personal credit for, although he does try to keep his ambitions from public notice.

Beyond this, Mateo’s life quickly settled into a routine of visiting the Philippines once a year for Christmas, and occasionally again for the summer, and spending the rest of his time focusing on his studies, his games, and frequent weekend trips with his father to Boston to watch plays, visit museums, and enjoy good food. He talks with his mother frequently nowadays, generally discussing his academic progress and recent developments at home. His father makes an effort to introduce him to his colleagues and clients, mainly in an effort to help Mateo build future connections, but also as a general assistant when it comes to remembering political factoids or explaining the historical context behind a work of art.

Most weekends are spent with his father, who happily took advantage of Maria’s absence to invite his son to join in indulgences unrestrained by moral temperance. Mateo was more than happy to oblige, and quickly develop a fondness for high culture, with long, lazy meals being followed by concerts, plays, and other performances. That being said, he still often finds himself plagued with guilt over his excessive self-indulgence, even if he lacks the will to even contemplate actually abandoning his lifestyle. He generally favours light entertainments: small but rich meals, cheery musical comedies, and short but vivid recitals; the main purpose of entertainment, in his view, is a distraction from daily life. As a result, he especially dislikes serious dramas and avant-garde cuisine, which he feels demand too much consideration. On weekdays, he takes advantage of the lack of supervision to play video games long beyond his officially allotted time for recreation. He especially favours management games that allow him replicate the political and theoretical concepts which are the focus of his academic and professional interests, but this time done out of pleasure rather than duty.

The main difficulty he faced was personal. Developing a more active social life led him to realise that he saw the world very differently from others. While he felt his emotions as passionately as anyone else, he realised that he frequently misjudged others’ feelings, or said the wrong thing at the same time. Unfortunately, asking for advice generally led to platitudes relating to the need to work harder to empathise with others, or pay attention to body language, tasks at which he generally failed miserably. Mateo has given up on attempting to improve the situation through mere effort, but he has yet to consult any support groups or staff, feeling that even broaching the possibility of a deeper cause would be just an excuse for his own failings. Falling back on his usual approach, he has simply contented himself with occasional social difficulties. His only real response has been to keep a small etiquette document listing all of the information he has on others and trying to use his knowledge to smooth over any of his errors.

This routine, as with so many others, found itself shattered by the 2020 pandemic and the following lockdown. Although Mateo worked hard on his studies, the effort of focusing on work and study eventually meant a growing exhaustion and inability to make any meaningful effort on anything unrelated to his studies. This was only compounded by having to stay inside, although the large number of windows and balconies in the house helped alleviate the strain somewhat. After a few months, Mateo developed chronic insomnia and a general malaise. But the end of pandemic counter-measures were not the panacea he had hoped for.

Despite the apparent return to normalcy, Mateo has not fully recovered from the lockdown. He continues to suffer from chronic insomnia, spending one to two hours restlessly rolling in bed, together with constant tiredness in the morning. While he has done his best to disguise it, he has also become increasingly apathetic, irritable, and depressed. This has started to have a negative on his grades; sloppy preparation for homework and inattention in class have begun to chip away at his normally polished schoolwork and participation. His father has noticed, but has refrained from acting, hoping that the problem will dissipate with time.

But the pandemic did not bring his academic ambitions to an end. Having applied to Columbia University (another compromise between himself and his parents), Mateo is split between the excitement of moving his studies beyond the limitations of high school and his own worries about moving away from home. The prospect of entering the professional world is even more worrisome. For all his work on his current goal of graduating from university, his career ambitions have yet to take form beyond a desire to work in a well-paid job: when pressed, he refers vaguely to wanting to work in finance in management without clarifying. In truth, his real desire is to continue working within academia, but fear of disappointing his father with such an impractical career means that he has avoided anything that would bring him closer to that goal. As graduation nears, Mateo worries constantly about whether he is truly prepared for college, and life in general.

Today, Mateo is a studious, pleasant young man struggling to tamp down on stress and exhaustion as he tries to maintain high grades, assemble a marketable set of extra-curricular achievements, and maintain a durable social circle. For all his efforts, overwork has begun to take its toll, and his grades have slipped slightly: he continues to receive As in the humanities, but a slight dip in the actual grades can be noted. Subjects he does struggle with, such as mathematics and art, have seen much more notable declines, hovering around low Bs. Moreover, he has also realised that, excluding his parents’ expectations, his only actual desire is to to enjoy a comfortable, relaxed life where he can focus on his intellectual interests and material luxuries, a desire that he cannot feel guilty about as an expression of both un-Christian sloth and simple unproductiveness. Realising this has made the pretence of diligence all the more difficult, and the promises he makes to reach his full potential carry less conviction each time he's asked.

Advantages: Mateo possesses quick wits, and has developed a keen eye for what kinds of deception will work on people and which won’t. Long experience with cards and bluffing have allowed him to perfect a wide variety of expressions to disguise his feelings or imply different ones. Mateo is confident in his abilities and has developed a moral code that allows him to balance between his own self-interest and the needs of anyone who might follow him.
Disadvantages: Mateo’s focus on honing his mental capabilities has come at a cost in physical development, and he moves very slowly and finds it difficult to control his body. His syncretic philosophy provides for ample opportunities for guilt as well as compromise, and he might end up either being overly bossy or excessively compromising as a result. His experiences have also taught him a distrust in others’ intentions that may lead to paranoia or excessive caution.

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Hi Jan de Witt! Before Mateo can be given a full critique, please make sure that his profile exactly matches the template. Specifically, you're missing the "Grade" field between "Age" and "School". Thanks!

[Jan de Witt]

I knew I was missing something. It's fixed.

[Ruggahissy]

Hello,

I'm Ruggahissy and I will be your mod. We've got a few things to clear up or add to Mateo and then he'll be on his way.


- MUN needs to be spelled out as Model United Nations, since I don't think most people know this acronym off-hand.

- I don't think that student council is mentioned in this profile. Reading is also not mentioned in any detail, nor are video games. The only mention of theater is that his father takes him to see plays. Philosophy gets a brief mention. For things to be listed in the hobbies and interests section there needs to be about a paragraph devoted to each one with information on how he got into the hobby/interest, examples of what he likes (like for theater maybe his favorite plays are musicals or he really likes Andrew Lloyd Webber or Shakespeare since those two are very different kinds of theater), and then some reasons why he likes the hobby/interest. There was enough about Model UN and board games that I think those are fine.

Mateo is a 5’6'' male, which combined with being slightly overweight at 78 kilograms give him a squat, unassuming figure.

- Can I get his weight in pounds?

On the day of the abduction, he was wearing a yellow polo and white cargo shorts.

- Pregame takes place at the start of the school year with a track for the abduction to be in winter in New England. So I think Mateo might be cold in a polo and shorts.

Mateo Nicolás Kalaw de Guzmán was born on the 29th of May, 2003

So Mateo's name is spelled differently here and in the topic title/ name field. His name here is Guzmán and in the title and name field it's Guzman. Go ahead and make it consistent so that it's either with or without the accento over the a.

- Where was he born?

. Frequent playdates Despite this, his early childhood was mostly uneventful,

- I think something happened with this sentence, but I'm not sure what.

Academia San Ildefonso

- So a quick Google reveals this is a school in Spain in Seville. Is this the one that Mateo is at?

Even today, a cheap certificate celebrating Mateo for receiving top grades in every exam from Grades 1-3 is given a prominent place in the main reception room of the family house.

- This bit reads a bit odd because it seems improbably that one person would get the highest score on every single exam for three years. But also, in grades 1 through 3 tests are probably kind of simple, I imagine, and not real exams like we know them to be going into middle school and high school.

- How old is Mateo when they move to America?

He is also close to many of the younger members of the Overseas Filipino community, even if his mixed feelings towards his former friends complicate matters.

- He's Filipino? Which parent? Both parents? This is something that should show up a lot earlier in the profile. Was he living in the Philippines? I thought it was a Spanish school in Spain (which is what also came up when I Googled). Is the school made up? The only similarly named school I could find in the Philippines is the Colegio San Ildefonoso which seems to no longer be in operation.

- What are his grades like now?

- What does he want to do after high school?

- What is his general personality like now?

That's it. Let me know when you've made changes and we'll take another look.

[Jan de Witt]

Thanks a lot for your help. Here's a brief changelog.

• Added biographical details to clarify that Mateo is Filipino. Please note that Academia San Ildefonso is a purely fictional school.
• Revised the description of Mateo's academic achievements.
• Removed the unfinished sentence you highlighted, as well as the additional accents.
• Expanded and added several paragraphs to provide further details about his extra-curricular interests.
• Added a summary paragraph at the end as an overview of what he's like today.

[Ruggahissy]

Hello we're back! Thank you so much for all the edits. I have just a couple more questions before we send Mateo out the door.

His clothing preferences can be described as business casual, combining polo shirts, slacks, and light, square-rimmed glasses, a style he retains out of nostalgia, despite being somewhat ill-suited for the northern United States. As a rule, he keeps to greyscale collar scheme, with a light top and dark pants, or vice-versa. On the day of the abduction, he was wearing a yellow polo and white cargo shorts.

- By “collar scheme” I assume you mean “colour scheme.” I also just want to check that you want “grayscale” to describe him since that would mean gray shades ranging from white to black but it's a term mostly when talking about technical computer aspects or art, I found. Maybe neutrals?

- Also, he will need more clothes. If he's sent out in shorts and a polo T-shirt he will become too cold and his school will phone his home. He'll need long pants (they can be slacks as per his preference) whatever kind of shirt, but he will also need some kind of warm jacket.

- There still wasn't a mention of video games in the profile proper. You can take it out or you can add in some information about how he got into it, the games he likes, and why he likes them. For example, I actually really liked to learn that Mateo specifically likes plays and cuisine which are not too complicated because he sees them as escapism. That was good!

“Being a religiously focused school, the largest section of the library was that focused on religion and philosophy. While most of the works were either too advanced or arcane for his liking, the librarian helped Mateo find a set of guides distilling the complexities of morality to a level that he could more avidly appreciate. Even today, he tries to find time to study and meditate on some point of philosophy as reminder of his moral duties.”

- I’m a little confused here. By “guides distilling the complexities of morality to a level that he could more avidly appreciate” do you mean like a philosophy for beginners kind of book? Philosophy for Dummies?

“This has started to have a negative His father has noticed,”

- Looks like something happened with this sentence.

- What age did Mateo move to the United States?


That's it! It's not a lot left and he should be good to go. Thanks so much for the edits so far.

[Jan de Witt]

I've expanded the profile, per your specifications

• Added specific examples of the type of reading material Mateo reads.
• Elaborated on his style of dress.
• Expanded the unfinished sentence you highlighted.
• Expanded the paragraph on his interests to explain that gaming is generally done on weekdays.
• Expanded the summary paragraph at the end to further explain his personal situation.

[Ruggahissy]

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