PLAYER INFORMATION
Name: EJ


CHARACTER INFORMATION
Full Name: Brian Thomas Redd
Nickname(s): Bri, Mini-Redd, BriBri
Hometown: Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Age and birthday: 15: May 8th, 1996
House and Year: 10th, LaLaurie Freshman.
Electives & Schedule: Schedule.
Wand: 12” Ebony with a fwooper feather core. Inflexible.
Boggart: Perhaps predictably, his father is his boggart. It takes the shape of the man right before he was arrested, at a time Brian thought he was going to so something to him and his mother.
Patronus: A Black Bear -- Bears are symbolic of solitude, Introspection, Death and Rebirth, Defense and Revenge, Wisdom, Thoughtfulness, Need for Retreat, Rest, Natural Strength, Primal Power. All of which represent Brian in some way, even if he isn't even aware of it yet.
Animagus Form: N/A
Religious Affiliation: None
Extracurricular activities: Dueling Club, Debate Team, School Newspaper, Drama Club.

Family/Relationships
Parents: Michael and Barbie Redd
Siblings: Ben and Erica Redd, both older and attending CCI
Extended Family: His grandparents on both sides have passed away. He has aunts and cousins on his father’s side, but he’s not spoken to them in several years.
Familiar: Horatio, the Hedgehog.
Sexuality: Heterosexual (though he’s expressed no interest in anyone yet)
Significant Others: Nope, none.

Appearance
PB: Reece Thompson [Icons] [Picture 1]
Detailed Description:
Brian currently stands at about 5’3 and ¾’s in height, weighing about hundred and ten pounds. His hair is a lighter shade of brown than his siblings, usually brushed neatly. He doesn’t precisely frown a lot, either, but his smiles are not always the brightest thing about him. The brightest thing is probably his blue eyes, which he shares with Ben; though Ben’s are more intense.

As for his clothing, Brian usually is in neat clothing. He has a number of button-down shirts, and bow ties that he pairs up with blazers. He also has some tee shirts and polos, though he doesn’t wear them as often. He has a few hoodies, but he tries to save those for the later winter, if he wears them. Pale, he tends to avoid sun unless covered from head to toe in sunscreen.
Personality

Likes: The number three, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Dark Comedy, Video games (his favorite are: Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II and eagerly awaiting Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood), attack dogs, hedgehogs, weasels, George Carlin, Slapstick, crispy cookies, sunsets, being among friends, being alone, Wiley Coyote, Old black and white cartoons, comic books (DC all the way), and lastly….jelly beans.

Dislikes: Pumpkin anything (bread, pudding, pie, seeds, heads, etc), public speaking, loose women, his siblings, his mother, talking about his father, pseudo-concern, being over looked (even though he doesn’t help himself), feeling insecure, paranoid people.

Quirks:
+ He doesn’t like to speak a whole lot, and sometimes when he finally does speak it is to quote a book or play. As strange as that is.

+He eats his food in a clockwise fashion, starting at six o’clock and moving around the plate. He doesn’t like his food to touch, so he portions it out carefully. He then eats each portion one at a time, never mixing them up.

+He color codes his dresser drawers. Everything is in stakes of like colors. As such he doesn’t really like odd colors, which cause his patterns to be disrupted. He also likes to stack his articles of clothing in threes. With the lighter shades on top, then progressively darker. He also only wants three stakes of three, and no more than nine articles per drawer. This gets complicated when it comes to socks, which his mother likes to send him a lot of.

+He likes the number three. He likes it so much that he tries to line everything up, or group them in threes (or sets that can be divided by Three). If something cannot be properly grouped, he actively fidgets until he can find a way to make it work. To this end, he only carries three pens, three books, and three notebooks (etc…) in his backpack.

+He shuts a door three times when he enters a room with a closed door, checks locks three times, and washes his hands three times. (Sense a pattern here?)

Secrets:
+He has a collection of ‘Make Your Own’ Adventure books. You know, the ones that say “If you choose left go to page 167, if you want to go right 188.” He hides them in a box under his bed with three flashlights.

+He has OCD, something he’s not particularly proud of admitting. Even if people are likely aware of the condition, he considers it a ‘secret’ for whatever reason. Probably because most people think it is a joke. Most of his actions are irrational, make no sense, and frustrate him. He’s had it since his childhood, a way to stem some of the anxiety caused by his childhood environment…

+He doesn’t like to talk to people, not because he doesn’t want to be their friend, but because he’s afraid that they’ll make fun of him for his weird habits. In truth he really envies the fact that Alex makes friends so easily, and wishes he could be a bit more like him.

+Sometimes he misses his father. Not that he’ll ever tell anyone, nor does it even make sense to him. He hates his dad, but still wishes he was there. Sometimes. If only to say ‘everything is going to be okay.’

+Even though he is 15, Brian still wets the bed sometimes; especially if he’s had a nightmare. This is a particularly distressing secret for him, causing all sorts of anxiety. He’d probably never show his face in public again if it ever got out. As such, he makes sure he goes to the bathroom as much as possible before bed.

What’s in your characters pockets? No, he doesn’t have much in his pockets. Yes, everything is in threes, and there are only three things.

Strengths: Intelligence, caring, witty, making potions, herbology, magical biology.

Weaknesses: OCD, Stubbornness, his quiet nature, magical creatures (small ones that won’t eat him but also his class), his family, his friends, video games.

Strongest subject in school: Magical biology and Herbology

Weakest subject in school: Care for Magical Creatures

One thing he/she can't live without: If you asked him, he’d plainly tell you his organs. In honesty, he’d probably go crazy without his friends.

Detailed personality: The thing most people notice first about Brian is that he is quite. In fact, some might even be convinced that he doesn’t speak at all…at least for the first eight or more times they met him. Most of this is because of his upbringing. Brian was painfully aware that if he didn’t bring attention to himself at home, his father was more likely to ignore him. The more he was ignored, the less likely he was to be the subject of a rant. Unfortunately this habit has carried over to his day to day life even now.

When he’s nervous, he starts stacking things in threes. It helps him calm down, and also gives him something to focus on (as well as eases the feeling of impending doom.) he spends a good portion of his day keeping track of numbers and habits, even entering and leaving a room three times before taking his seat. It isn’t something he likes, much, the whole OCD… In fact, he really wishes he could stop. Only he’s afraid that if he just stops, that if he lets things dissolve into disorder that his father will be released from prison and come back to kill them all. He’s so convinced of this that being prevented from completing task will start him into a full blown anxiety attack.

Outside of his OCD, Brian is a mostly nice kid, if a bit distracted from the day to day life of CCI. He is more of a wall flower than his sister, but more social than his brother. Well, barely. He worries, often, about if his siblings care about him at all, but in the same breath somewhat resents them for their behavior during their father’s trail. He is equally torn between wanting to be accepted by the people around him, and too afraid of being labeled ‘weird’ to really seek out that acceptance. In the end he is still figuring out who he is, something that he isn’t sure he’ll ever figure out. He isn’t very good at making friends because of this, clamming up when thrust into an atmosphere where he must deal with new people.

Finally, Brian is a mostly happy guy. He has the same ups and downs of all teens, but he takes most of it in stride. Well, if you discounted the OCD that kicked in during any vexing situation. He hopes that it’ll be something he grows out of, at least.

Personal History:

As direct decedents of Wilmot Redd, a victim of the Salem witch trials, the Redd family has deep ties to the New England states. Their money is made mostly through the fishing industry, though you would be hard pressed to find them on any ship today. They’ve spread their influence across the country, from Virginia, Florida, and Georgia to some of the more Western states. Some even changed their name to Read.

However, several Redd decedents still call Gloucester home. It is from here that Michael and Barbie Redd raised their small, budding family. The couple met while in school. Being the typical high-school sweethearts it was hard to imagine that their relationship could turn as sour as it had in time. They had married in early 1994, having their first son, Ben, by the end of the year. In the following year, their first and only daughter was born to them, Erica. She was her mother’s pride and joy. Their youngest child, Brain, was born yet a year later.

For Brian life in the Redd household would eventually become more about survival and less about the love of a family. Like many of their ancestors, Michael was often irritable, angry, and abusive toward anyone careless enough to cross his path. For Brain, his other way to deal with the stress had been to fold into himself in what he saw as an increasingly isolated life. He found at a young age that grouping things in threes gave him a sort of ease. And so he let himself surrender to it. It was something that Michael found irritating, and often barked harsh comments about. Indeed, Michael Redd was convinced his youngest child was mentally retarded for much of his life, and treated him as such, going so far as to call him ‘Retard’.

His mother did what she could to help, trying to protect them and show them love where their father had none. She would buy Brian toys, Legos and building logs that he could stack to his heart’s content in his room. She would do everything in her power to make up for everything, but she was hopelessly in love…and her efforts often fell short. Michael’s moods were like riding a rollercoaster, in truth. When he would commit a particularly terrible act against Barbie or the children, he would apologize, make amends, and assure his wife that he would change. And for a few moments things would be good.

It was in those good times that Brian has fond memories of his father, who would help him build log cabins in the living room floor in the evenings. But those times were fleeting, and in the blink of an eye, a dark smile and a harsh ‘that’s pretty good for a Retard’ comment would be Brain’s first clue that his father wasn’t any differently than he had ever been. And as time passed, those moments of reprieve became fewer and more fleeting. It wasn’t long before it was painfully clear that his love for his wife (and his children by her) was gone, though Barbie still loved her husband desperately.

From that point on, Michael was often away on business, gone for days at a time. During those times, the family had a quiet semblance of normalcy. Brain eventually found that he didn’t care much that things were silent. He still built things in stacks of threes across the living room floor; shut the door three times and triple checked that the door was locked. Indeed, his habits had started to get worse and more noticeable. Enough so that Barbie was starting to wonder if Michael wasn’t right, that her son was mentally challenged in some way.

It was during this time that Barbie (who was beginning to worry herself a bit ill between both her sons) that she took Brian to a doctor to be examined. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, however, with his mental facilities. His IQ was certainly within normal rages, and suggested to her that maybe the problem was more emotional. Through a course of several appointments and observations, a psychiatrist finally diagnosed Brian with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, explaining to Barbie that the reason Brian would engage in these baffling, obsessive habits was because of anxiety. Concerned, Barbie did everything she could to find a way to ‘fix’ Brian, for his own sake as much as anything. In the back of her mind she even blamed herself for what had happened.

Eventually life settled again, for everyone. Brian’s older siblings had both gone off to school, attending Crescent City Institute in New Orleans. For him they were a world away, and just when things were starting to get horribly real at home. A child is never ready to be faced with the harsh reality of life, or forcibly dragged into it. While his siblings had the luxury of discovering the truth through a paper, Brian had vivid memories from that year. The ways his father would come home with a look on his face that was full of cold satisfaction, suitcase lighter than it had been when he left. The worst memory was the night he was arrested, when in a fit of rage as people invaded the house trying to take him into custody…

They had asked him endless questions, of what he’d seen and heard, but Brian couldn’t bring himself to voice any opinion on the matter. Instead he sat through most of the trail in a sort of daze, staring at the back of his father’s head as if it would somehow change everything that was going on. His mother and sister focused on their own comfort, holding close to each other as his brother pulled away…and not for the first time Brian felt isolated from the rest of the family.

When the news hit the mainstream media, Brian and his Mother were left to deal with the people that wanted to pry into their lives more than they wanted a fix. He was asked how it felt to have a psycho for a father, if he thought his siblings would grow up to be just like him…if he would grow up to be like daddy. Everything went on and on and the end was nowhere in sight it seemed. Indeed, while his siblings had the pressures of school life to deal with, Brain and his mother had their own sets of problems. There was a mixed reception of the wizards and witches around them, in their community. Some of the pure bloods offered their support for Michael and his family, congratulating him for having such a ‘fine’ father. Others avoided them like their where the plague, whispering in not-so-hushed tones as they passed by, ‘Oh, that’s the Redd family’. It was an uncomfortable, lonely time the youngest Redd, that was certain.

When the trail ended, Brian was getting ready to attend CCI like this siblings and parents before him. For a moment he’d considered taking up offers to other schools, thinking that no one wanted him around, and that it was best to just go somewhere else. In fact that idea had come to a head for him just a week before he was supposed to leave for school. Feelings of being unwanted and unaccepted (and indeed a bit of a burden on his family), Brian packed up several changes of clothing, and a few essential items before he ran away from home. He made it all the way to the corner of the block before stopping and looking back at his house, waiting for someone to come charging out after him.

He ended up standing at that corner for the whole night, waiting for someone to come get him until he couldn’t stand anymore. That morning, when Ben finally found him, they walked him back to the house without another thought as to why he was there. After that he went to school, and never spoke of the incident again.

Since he’s joined CCI, Brian has had a bit of a rollercoaster ride as far as emotions go. While in the lower Academy, he was a bit isolated, keeping to himself while making some friends here and there. In fact, when he was sorted into Lalaurie for the Upper Academy, he became roommates with his closest friend, Alexander Van Rensslaer. He’s also trying very hard to adjust a normal life, and just hopes that all their big troubles are done and behind them. Hopefully the future is bright.


Samples:
RP Sample: Brian blinked as he sat back in his chair, frowning carefully at the carefully constructed eraser fort in front of him. He’d been at this for hours, stacking objects in groups of three, then sets of nine, then twelve; three high, three across, three walls. He’d started this the moment he’d read news of his father, something to do with a possible reduced sentence that had done little more than spark the fires of panic.

Three high, three across, three walls…then he could add three for a roof, build a tower…three high, three stacks…

It was crazy, but the more he built the less everything seemed on the brink of falling apart. If he could only get the feeling to go away, he could stop. Heh, it wasn’t even like they’d really let that man out early, was it? After all the horrible things he’d done, there was no way they would ever left Michael Redd out of prison. Brian was certain of that.

And yet he started to work on another fort.

Just one more for good measure. If he could build on more fort the- no, two more. Two more would be the right number, because then he’d have three. After that there would be no way in hell Michael would find any of them. They’d all be safe.

Two more forts- with three walls, three high and three across. They’d have a roof of three, and a tower that was three high, in three stacks. His family would be safe after that.

Other Stuff:
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