Height: 5'8"
Age: 22
Rank: Full tattoo by 20 for service
Power: passively telepathic, can catch strong "stray" thoughts, and connect minds so that two minds can communicate (with much training), cannot project his thoughts to others and cannot control the thoughts of others
Words to describe him: Playful, laid back, friendly, caring, strong, smart, cute
Most people underestimate Brandon for a couple of reasons. The main one is that he's so friendly and laid back it's hard to take him seriously. But that's one of his greatest strengths. He has a natural ability to draw people together and to draw people to him. There are plenty of people he counts as friends who would do anything for him and he'd do the same for them.
He was raised by his older brother, Jimmy, from age seven to about 13 when he earned his own rank and an apartment with it. (Random fact: It was shared with Mike.) Jimmy also trained Brandon. The two brothers share a strong bond although Brandon has never connected to Jimmy in the same way he does his other friends. He never catches a stray thought from Jimmy which they assume has to do with Jimmy's power, whatever it is. (Brandon's always had a little
fun with that.)
Jimmy's always been protective of his brother, and now that Brandon has some rank, some power, and some friends, he is also protective of Jimmy.
Best friends: Mike & Pat. Both are very important people in his life he wouldn't be able to do without, though his friendship with Pat is more complicated than his friendship with Mike.
Sex
Brandon needs his own little section on this. Seriously.
Give a 13/14 year old some power and an apartment, and what do you really think is going to happen? Of course these aren't generally normal boys and girls, they're usually highly disciplined. So when they let loose, they really let loose.
Brandon was like any normal boy with the exception that he can hear those strong stray thoughts girls would prefer to keep hidden. While normally he wrestles with his ability, trying to tune it out or block some thoughts, surprisingly when it comes to sex it's one of those times he's actually grateful for it. With the right partner (someone who isn't self conscious or judgmental) his ability to mentally bond can heighten sex.Plus, it's tactile. Catching people's thoughts constantly makes touch extra important to him. It's one of the best ways to get his attention.
Generally, Brandon has go to partners. These are people he can trust who are also good partner matches for him and view sex in a similar fashion to him. They're also ladies he can trust to know what to do or how to handle their own bodies to minimize the chance of or deal with pregnancies. Still, sex is a weakness of his. A girl with the right thoughts who touches him the right way would be hard to resist.
Children- It is possible. There are plenty of young parents in the tribe although generally you aren't supposed to have children until you're of a high enough rank you can provide and protect them. It's supposed to be a status type thing.
If he has children, he would not be the sort of person to abandon them. Even if he wasn't a part of their lives, he would still know about them and still watch over them.
Ultimately, his view on sex is that it's fun and it hurts no one.
10 facts about Brandon
1. He lost his virginity at 14. It was completely by choice.
2. He actually gained rank when he was 18, but didn't fill his tattoo right away.
3. He always has at least a knife on him. Never goes anywhere without it.
4. His vices are sex and drinking. I don't see him being a smoker of any sort.
5. Many (like Angel) keep their weapons on a rack in full view, but Brandon actually has his own personal little arsenal that he keeps in one of the cabinets in the kitchen. No guns though.
6. In his youth he wasn't very discriminating with partners and I'm sure he paid for it. After Pat, though he moved on, he became much more choosy and only has a few trusted partners that he sleeps with, never settling on just one.
7. His only real relationship was also one without sex for a large part of it. (Gee, who could that be?)
8. He loves to read, but doesn't get a chance to do it very often. His most precious possessions are of course the books Mary gave him when he was learning though they're children's books. You can guess who has those now.
9. Ironically, one of his favorite places is also Rita's garden behind the bar, but in his case it's because of all those times he'd sneak up on Pat.
10. Brandon does view Aaron as another older brother. He had as much say there as he had in any of his family relations.
Posts
Ha! This is amazing, of course. That's a perfect explanation of his promiscuity (and the promiscuity of so many others in the tribe)--the successful and powerful ones usually get that power at a ridiculous time in their life when their hormones are raging. I wonder what it was like for Mike to have such a roommate, and I wonder if Mike was always so honorable?
ReplyDeleteSo children are related to status--a privilege of sorts? Pretty strange for a world in which contraceptive options seem pretty limited, and there's a group of powerful people on the loose. Henri's children with several women make sense in that context, if he's trying to show that he has a lot of power and resources--though Paula completely took him by surprise. His relationship with her mother is something I'm looking forward to hearing more about, especially since he couldn't have been aiming for the same things that would lead him to give into his urges to procreate with other women.
Your mind went to some of the thoughts mine went to. Was Mike always so honorable? And if he was, what in the world was it like to have Brandon as a roommate? Well, they're still best friends, so I wonder. But every time I try to take a peek, Mike stands in front crossing his arms and refusing to let me see. It's the equivalent of one of my own characters rapping me on the nose with a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteI will say that Henri is the one who started that idea. You wouldn't want 13 and 14 year olds out there running around with babies everywhere. It would quickly be distracting and probably weaken the tribe. But for a group to continue grow and develop, you need to have offspring.
Does Henri buy into that? He's the one who started it. I think his view on children is actually kinda fascinating in its simplicity.
Ahh..that makes a lot of sense, that Henri would establish that rule even if he doesn't believe it--but now I'm wondering what his view could be! If it really is very simple...it's probably something like, "Hey, it's the woman's problem, not mine." Maybe. We've only heard things that paint Henri in kinda a bad light at this point, and that's probably coloring my perception of his views...
ReplyDeleteBrandon is fascinating. I'm glad you've put up this profile for him this week.
ReplyDeleteand connect minds so that two minds can communicate (with much training)
Does this mean he could train Paula, or someone else, to communicate with him telepathically or did I interpret it wrong?
With the right partner (someone who isn't self conscious or judgmental) his ability to mentally bond can heighten sex.
Hmm, I hadn't thought of that but it really would! He'd know exactly what buttons to push.
About the children/ranking thing - would that have applied to Pat as well? Or seeing she's not in the tribe, she lives by different laws?
I think that Brandon, having spent time with Paula, will know her thoughts better. So if she were in need, and she were close to him, he'd be able to hear her thoughts the same way as a friend shouting your name in a crowded room will probably call your attention. If that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteIf he could train her, he'd probably be able to connect her mind to someone else who was already trained so they could communicate. Of course, I think it also depends on the mind. Even if someone doesn't have mind reading capabilities, their minds are still different so some will take to connecting minds easier than others.
And his partners would know also what buttons to push, lol. There's one (the one in that last picture) that knows exactly what to do. We'll meet her eventually.
The child and rank thing doesn't apply to Pat. She definitely lives by different laws. It can get complicated. The village strives to stay balanced. A child with someone high ranking in the tribe generally means that they can be claimed. The village would have less to worry and take care of technically. They'd prefer that to adding in more people through birth from those who mess around with tribals.
Oh, I hope this makes sense, lol.