FULL NAME: Braeden James Banks OCCUPATION: Cook @ Barton's Events AGE & DOB: 29; July 23, 1982 HOMETOWN: Fairview Beach, VA RESIDENCE: Farmington, ME SEXUALITY: Heterosexual MARITAL STATUS: Complicated. For all intents and purposes, single and not looking.

Biography Just two years after the rise of the disco movement on a drizzly afternoon, June 23rd, to be specific, the shouts of Lila Banks (nee James) could be heard echoing the floor of the maternity ward. After a grueling 24 hour labor and many pep talks from her husband, Christopher, the screams finally mounted to an exhausted staff of nurses sighing in relief as the obstetrician on call, Dr. Lewis, announced that it was a boy. 12 pounds, 5 ounces and 23 inches of boy, that was the largest baby born on record that day in the neighboring town of Fredericksburg, Virginia. As cameras flashed, the blue bundle in a tired-looking Lila's arms slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of his company. Braeden James, as he was named, was a relatively normal baby. He cried only when he was hungry, tired, wanting attention or dirty. More often than not, the sound of the child’s laugh as he grew could be heard echoing throughout their home. The older he got, it seemed, the more he laughed. For an infant that had slept full nights when permitted who steadily grew into a child, this didn't seem to be much of a problem. A problem it was not… until the young boy reached kindergarten. It was there that the first of many report cards that stated he was overly talkative, it was there that he also developed the reputation of 'class clown.' After a year and many letters home, it became obvious that the amount of complaints filed by teachers could no longer be ignored and Braden was taken to a neurologist, where he was diagnosed with A.D.D. at the tender age of six, something Christopher Banks vehemently disagreed with, leading to a series of mounting arguments between the young couple. At wit's end with the marriage that was slowly falling apart before her very eyes and the young boy whose excitement only seemed to grow daily lacking medication for his disorder, Lila contacted her mother who still lived in their hometown of Farmington, Maine who suggested that she send the young boy there. It would give her time to discuss things with her husband. Lila agreed and just after Braeden finished out his first year of the first grade, he was sent to stay with his grandmother. At the house of Rosemary James, he was greeted with a big hug and shown his room with the promise of buying toys to fill it. Living with his grandmother was different than living with his parents, something Braeden easily noted. She didn't seem to grow impatient when he became excitable, nor did she scold him when he proverbially talked her ear off, though she did insist that he leave his cowboy hat behind when she introduced him to the granddaughter of her neighbor and longtime friend. Leslie Barton was someone Brae took to easily and in no time, his afternoons were a lot more exciting than watching Matlock reruns with Rosemary. but that was not the end of it, not in the least. And if that was not enough, Rosemary invited another of her grandsons to stay with her, Patrick. Braeden, who'd never had a brother, was slightly skeptical upon meeting his cousin for the first time. He'd heard horror stories of older siblings and cousins at school, but it was nothing like that at all. In fact, it was just the opposite; Patrick was more than happily to introduce him to the stack of comic books he kept, something Braeden had been unfamiliar with before that point. The two quickly bonded and before long, formed a terrorizing little group with Leslie. Though, it broke his heart when the summer came to an end and he had to return to Fairview Beach, Rosemary pinky swore with her grandson that he could return the next summer, and so he did - as well as every summer after that. As the years passed, not much changed between between the friends aside from the games they played and before long, a tree house was erected in the backyard of his grandmother's house where the four of them spent nearly all of their time. Good times did not come without struggle, however - shortly after returning home from his grandmother's at the age of thirteen, Braeden discovered his father had moved out. Distraught and confused, Braeden did the only thing he could and called Patrick, who helped him through the situation. Though it took years of questions and caused much conflict between he and his mother, Braeden was able to work out visitation with his father and stayed with him every weekend, barring weekends in the summer. Upon graduating high school, it was an easy decision for Braeden to move back to Farmington - the town that had felt more like home than Fairview Beach ever had. Another easy decision was moving in with his cousin and best friend, Patrick while he attended the University of Maine at Farmington. The pair often spent nights much like they had when they were younger, watching movies, eating junk food and staying up all hours of the night playing video games rather than being responsible adults. Much of his college life, in fact, went like that, and just a year after he began school, he dropped out without ever declaring his major, taking up Leslie Barton's offer to work for her family's wedding business as a chef under her training and supervision. In 2008, Braeden's life took a fateful change again upon meeting Hope Davis at a local bar. Though, his cousin deeply advised against it knowing of Hope's reputation, Braeden soon began a relationship with the younger blonde, finding himself absolutely smitten by her. After a year of dating, Braeden enlisted the help of his grandmother Rosemary in buying a ring for Hope, proposing to her by way of dropping the ring into a glass of champagne she'd been drinking over dinner and pointing out that there was something in her glass. After shouting so excitedly that his neighbor came by and knocked on his door to make sure everything was alright, Hope accepted and in a gesture of responsibility on his part, Braeden took all of the money he'd been saving and rented an apartment on his own. Despite this, nothing really changed for him - he still spent most nights at Patrick's and most of his waking moments Leslie and, of course, his cousin and this was how things remained, even after the disturbing revelation that ended his relationship on December 20, 2011, just 5 days before Christmas that led him to avoid further exchanges with Hope, leaving the ring and her behind. These days, things are still very much the same for Braeden, who once again lives with his cousin, and who, though he'd be the last to admit it, is still nursing the wounds of a bad breakup.

facts [Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<font [...] ›>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] <html> <link href="http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Just+Me+Again+Down+Here" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://aux.iconpedia.net/uploads/15925731081277670762.png"> <head> <style> } body, td { font-family: arial; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 9pt; text-align: justify; } a, a:active, a:visited { font-family: courier new; font-size: 7.5pt; text-transform: uppercase; color: #000000; line-height: pt; text-shadow: #666666 1px 0px 2px; } .writing { font-family: 'Just Me Again Down Here'; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 8pt; border-bottom:1px solid #c0c0c0; color: #000040; } .sub { font-size: 8pt; line-height: 10pt; font-family: trebuchet ms; color: #000000; text-align: justify; letter-spacing: 0px;} .shad { box-shadow: 0px 0px 3px #808080; } .subtitle { font-family: lucida console; font-size: 7pt; text-transform: uppercase; } .blah { font-family: 'Just Me Again Down Here'; font-size: 25pt; line-height: 8pt; color: #E8E8E8; text-shadow: #666666 1px 0px 2px; } .primary { font-family: courier new; font-size: 7.5pt; text-transform: uppercase; color: #000000; line-height: pt; text-shadow: #666666 1px 0px 2px; } #scroll { width: 715px; height: 200px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; overflow: auto; background-color:#ffffff; } #boxes { width: 350px; height: 200px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; overflow: auto; background-color:#ffffff; } #smallbox { width: 350px; height: 130px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; background-color:#ffffff; } #sidescroll { width: 350px; height: 130px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 3px; overflow-x: scroll; overflow-y: hidden; white-space:nowrap; background-color:#ffffff; } </style> <title>i think i'm dumb... or maybe just happy.</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#E8E8E8"> <center><table width="750" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" background="http://i.imgur.com/6CfB2.png" class="shad"> <tr><td> <table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><tr><td><img src="http://i.imgur.com/QQGP3.gif" width="350"></td></tr></table> <td> <table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr><td class="primary">FULL NAME:</td> <td class="writing">Braeden James Banks</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">OCCUPATION:</td> <td class="writing">Cook @ Barton's Events</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">AGE & DOB:</td> <td class="writing">29; July 23, 1982</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">HOMETOWN:</td> <td class="writing">Fairview Beach, VA</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">RESIDENCE:</td> <td class="writing">Farmington, ME</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">SEXUALITY:</td> <td class="writing">Heterosexual</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">MARITAL STATUS:</td> <td class="writing">Complicated. For all intents and purposes, single and not looking.</td></tr> <tr><td class="primary">&nbsp;</td></tr> </td></tr> </table></table> <p> <table width="750" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" background="http://i.imgur.com/lT8Q5.png" class="shad"> <tr><td> <table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" width="100%"> <tr><td> <div id="scroll"><font class="blah">Biography</font><br><br> <font class="sub"><div align="justify">Just two years after the rise of the disco movement on a drizzly afternoon, June 23rd, to be specific, the shouts of Lila Banks (nee James) could be heard echoing the floor of the maternity ward. After a grueling 24 hour labor and many pep talks from her husband, Christopher, the screams finally mounted to an exhausted staff of nurses sighing in relief as the obstetrician on call, Dr. Lewis, announced that it was a boy. 12 pounds, 5 ounces and 23 inches of boy, that was the largest baby born on record that day in the neighboring town of Fredericksburg, Virginia. As cameras flashed, the blue bundle in a tired-looking Lila's arms slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of his company.<br><Br> Braeden James, as he was named, was a relatively normal baby. He cried only when he was hungry, tired, wanting attention or dirty. More often than not, the sound of the child’s laugh as he grew could be heard echoing throughout their home. The older he got, it seemed, the more he laughed. For an infant that had slept full nights when permitted who steadily grew into a child, this didn't seem to be much of a problem. A problem it was not… until the young boy reached kindergarten. It was there that the first of many report cards that stated he was overly talkative, it was there that he also developed the reputation of 'class clown.' After a year and many letters home, it became obvious that the amount of complaints filed by teachers could no longer be ignored and Braden was taken to a neurologist, where he was diagnosed with A.D.D. at the tender age of six, something Christopher Banks vehemently disagreed with, leading to a series of mounting arguments between the young couple.<br><bR> At wit's end with the marriage that was slowly falling apart before her very eyes and the young boy whose excitement only seemed to grow daily lacking medication for his disorder, Lila contacted her mother who still lived in their hometown of Farmington, Maine who suggested that she send the young boy there. It would give her time to discuss things with her husband. Lila agreed and just after Braeden finished out his first year of the first grade, he was sent to stay with his grandmother. At the house of Rosemary James, he was greeted with a big hug and shown his room with the promise of buying toys to fill it.<br><br> Living with his grandmother was different than living with his parents, something Braeden easily noted. She didn't seem to grow impatient when he became excitable, nor did she scold him when he proverbially talked her ear off, though she did insist that he leave his cowboy hat behind when she introduced him to the granddaughter of her neighbor and longtime friend. Leslie Barton was someone Brae took to easily and in no time, his afternoons were a lot more exciting than watching Matlock reruns with Rosemary. but that was not the end of it, not in the least. And if that was not enough, Rosemary invited another of her grandsons to stay with her, Patrick.<Br><Br> Braeden, who'd never had a brother, was slightly skeptical upon meeting his cousin for the first time. He'd heard horror stories of older siblings and cousins at school, but it was nothing like that at all. In fact, it was just the opposite; Patrick was more than happily to introduce him to the stack of comic books he kept, something Braeden had been unfamiliar with before that point. The two quickly bonded and before long, formed a terrorizing little group with Leslie. Though, it broke his heart when the summer came to an end and he had to return to Fairview Beach, Rosemary pinky swore with her grandson that he could return the next summer, and so he did - as well as every summer after that. As the years passed, not much changed between between the friends aside from the games they played and before long, a tree house was erected in the backyard of his grandmother's house where the four of them spent nearly all of their time.<Br><br> Good times did not come without struggle, however - shortly after returning home from his grandmother's at the age of thirteen, Braeden discovered his father had moved out. Distraught and confused, Braeden did the only thing he could and called Patrick, who helped him through the situation. Though it took years of questions and caused much conflict between he and his mother, Braeden was able to work out visitation with his father and stayed with him every weekend, barring weekends in the summer.<br><br> Upon graduating high school, it was an easy decision for Braeden to move back to Farmington - the town that had felt more like home than Fairview Beach ever had. Another easy decision was moving in with his cousin and best friend, Patrick while he attended the University of Maine at Farmington. The pair often spent nights much like they had when they were younger, watching movies, eating junk food and staying up all hours of the night playing video games rather than being responsible adults. Much of his college life, in fact, went like that, and just a year after he began school, he dropped out without ever declaring his major, taking up Leslie Barton's offer to work for her family's wedding business as a chef under her training and supervision.<br><br> In 2008, Braeden's life took a fateful change again upon meeting Hope Davis at a local bar. Though, his cousin deeply advised against it knowing of Hope's reputation, Braeden soon began a relationship with the younger blonde, finding himself absolutely smitten by her. After a year of dating, Braeden enlisted the help of his grandmother Rosemary in buying a ring for Hope, proposing to her by way of dropping the ring into a glass of champagne she'd been drinking over dinner and pointing out that there was something in her glass. After shouting so excitedly that his neighbor came by and knocked on his door to make sure everything was alright, Hope accepted and in a gesture of responsibility on his part, Braeden took all of the money he'd been saving and rented an apartment on his own.<Br><Br> Despite this, nothing really changed for him - he still spent most nights at Patrick's and most of his waking moments Leslie and, of course, his cousin and this was how things remained, even after the disturbing revelation that ended his relationship on December 20, 2011, just 5 days before Christmas that led him to avoid further exchanges with Hope, leaving the ring and her behind. These days, things are still very much the same for Braeden, who once again lives with his cousin, and who, though he'd be the last to admit it, is still nursing the wounds of a bad breakup. </div> </td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> <p> <table width="750" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" background="http://i.imgur.com/lT8Q5.png" class="shad"> <tr><td> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10"> <tr><td width="375" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div id="boxes"><font class="sub">facts</font><Br><Br> <div align="justify"><font class="sub"› Hit a major growth spurt at the age of 16 and today stands about a centimeter short of 6'5".<br><BR> › Considers himself an action and comedy movie buff. His favorites include Point Break, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, The Terminator series, The Indiana Jones series, Pulp Fiction, Clerks, Black Sheep, Dogma, Happy Gilmore, Tropic Thunder and The Hangover.<Br><Br> › Spends a great deal of his free time watching old Nicktoon cartoons on Netflix, but tends to split that time with outdoorsy activities such as camping when he can get his friends to accompany him.<Br><br> › Has only had three romantic relationships in his entire life, one of which was serious and led to him being incredibly phobic of commitment.<br><br> › Cooks for a living, but is a junk food junkie and favors living off of pizza, hot wings and sweets rather than cook in his spare time.<Br><br> › An avid barfly, Braeden considers himself accomplished in pool and darts, as well as bad, bad karaoke.<Br><br> › Keeps a small comic collection which is mostly a mix of many different series such as X-Men, Spiderman. The only comics he actively collects are the work of his cousin.<Br><br> › Rarely is seen out of bed before 2pm unless he has to work - mornings are the only time he is not a nice person, generally.<br><br> › Played basketball in both high school and college; today it has become little than another recreation due to a torn ACL that required surgery.<br><br> › Avidly practices drunken stargazing. He can name and tell the stories behind most of the constellations. <br><Br> </div> </td> <td width="375" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div id="boxes"><font class="sub">Storylines</font><br><br><center><A href="http://ptrck.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21300576/254853" title="patrick; roommate, surrogate brother and best friend." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://toscani.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21417507/393498" title="johanna; childhood best friend who recently came back into town." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://larton.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21266957/2832622" title="leslie; best friend, fellow movie buff, roommate and stand-in girlfriend/plus one." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://rcaldwell.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21304835/2660328" title="riley; friend of patrick's that he latched onto, temporary roomie." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://watts.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21366826/588988" title="andy; roommate and longtime friend, pretty much his partner in crime." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://hutton.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21394123/316280" title="lily; longtime friend and mom of the coolest baby he knows. she's beaten him at mortal kombat for years and he can't stand it." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://kren.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21291445/2843391" title="karen; little sister of leslie and basically his surrogate sibling." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://tyl.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21391832/556900" title="tyler; friend who he met at taco bell while waiting on a hellishly long line." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://sallis.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21349213/403579" title="adam; recent friends." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://brynlie.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/21314765/2748977" title="brynlie; first girlfriend, the tragic one that got away thanks to college. they recently ran into one another again and are friends." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <a href="http://alizees.insanejournal.com"><img src="http://www.insanejournal.com/userpic/19527502/1835171" title="alizee; friend who he saved from a creepy guy in their old building." border=0 width=70 height=70 style="opacity:0.5;filter:alpha(opacity=50)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=0.5;this.filters.alpha.opacity=50" /></a> <br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </tr></td> </table> <p> <table width="750" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" background="http://i.imgur.com/lT8Q5.png" class="shad"> <tr><td> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10"> <tr><td width="375" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div id="smallbox"><font class="blah">OOC</font><br> <font class="primary">pb:</font> <font class="sub">Jared Padalecki<br> <font class="primary">contact:</font> <A href="http://braeden.insanejournal.com/1570.html">Here!</a><br> <font class="primary">writing:</font> EST; third person storybook threading, past tense. I will usually match your length and description.<br> <font class="primary">credit:</font> This layout was made by <a href="http://julie.insanejournal.com/">~julie</a>. </div> </td> <td width="375" class="shad" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <div id="sidescroll"><font class="sub">Currents</font><br><br> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </tr></td> </table> </center> </html>