Ramble Grant

[ifnotwinter†]

Name: Ramble Grant
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: Aurora High School
Hobbies and Interests: Singing, amateur guitar, activism, veganism, meditation

Appearance: Ramble is a relatively small and slim individual, standing at 5'6" and weighing in at around 125lbs. He doesn't have much muscle mass to speak of; skinny arms and legs and a flat but completely undefined stomach showcase his lack of athleticism. His face is thin but expressive with a small mouth below a long, narrow nose and high cheekbones rising below gray eyes. Naturally arched eyebrows often make his expression seem mildly surprised or incredulous when he's not smiling, and his fair skin (which tends to burn rather than tan) is remarkably acne-free, something Ramble has always attributed to his diet and lifestyle (but is more likely due to good genes). The occasional breakout is usually restrained to a few pimples which are gone within days, and he rarely notices any kind of blemish on his back, chest, or shoulders. His hair is light blonde with a tendency to bleach out at the slightest hint of sunlight and a slight curl around the edges where he's allowed it to grow long, flopping over his forehead and curling over his ears.

His clothing is generally predictable, his wardrobe consisting of several pairs of jeans for winter and cutoffs or shorts for summer, paired with tees (carefully selected to be manufactured domestically and from ethically sourced materials) and thin jackets. He tends to be something of a magpie when it comes to jewelry and collects bracelets, rings and necklaces in a variety of styles, favouring local handmade work in metal and leather.

Biography: Ramble Dharma James Amethyst Grant was a home birth, welcomed into the world by his birth mother Reba Lowe (whose contribution to his name was Ramble, feeling that her child's name should reflect her life of travel), Reba's partner Marie Grant (whose contribution was both the last name and Dharma, having spent a significant amount of time in India), his biological father Arik Barber (whose contribution was James, after his own father) and Arik's partner Gareth Parks (whose contribution was Amethyst, in honor of both the February birthdate and the lore associated with the crystal). His mothers had met two years prior while traveling in India, and his biological father had been his biological mother's best friend for years. He was more than happy to provide the sperm required for Reba to become pregnant when the couple decided that they wanted a child and shortly afterwards met his own partner, rounding out the peculiar little family nicely by the time Ramble was born. The four lived in Seattle, in a large apartment above a small alternative therapies/spiritual healing shop which did remarkably well, their shared income rounded out by Arik's work as an acupuncturist and Marie's poetry, which was published by local and national magazines before she eventually was able to publish a collection of her works. Ramble grew up as the center of the family, content to be the only child of his two fathers and mothers.

As a child, he was encouraged to explore and learn as much as possible about everything. Lacking a television he took to reading early and devoured books at a prodigious rate without favourites, happily immersing himself in whatever was given to him. He went everywhere with his parents and was encouraged to ask questions whenever he had them, something which made them less than popular at the local movie theatre but that his parents loved. He played often with children of their friends and was a gregarious child, generally happy to share his toys and include any other small child who wanted to join them.

When kindergarten rolled around, Ramble found it something of a shock. The more structured environment confused him and he found it difficult to adjust to not being able to simply do what he wanted when he wanted to, or speak whenever he thought of something to say, or ask questions at any time. He began to act out, throwing tantrums or refusing to listen to the teachers. His mothers were quickly called in and it didn't take them long to realize that while the lovingly unstructured environment they had provided for Ramble may have been fun for him, it hadn't prepared him at all for what life was like once school began. They began to work harder at home to ensure that his social skills were up to par and that he understood what would be expected of him behaviourally, and he soon settled down. Elementary school went rather smoothly for him and he enjoyed the learning environment, becoming a very good student and continuing to be outgoing and social with his age group.

Middle school, however, brought a new challenge. His name was an easy target for students struggling to fit in in the new environment and his lifestyle as a vegetarian who often talked at length to the other students about the healing power of crystals, various herbs and natural remedies was just another thing marking him as different from many of the other students. Although he was never truly bullied he was often teased and soon withdrew from the others, preferring to spend his time alone and reading. His parents quickly noticed this change and were eventually able to get him to talk about it, only to be saddened and confused when he admitted that he felt ashamed of their more alternative lifestyle.

However the family had stayed together this long in part due to their ability to communicate and remain honest with one another, and all four of his parents were dedicated towards helping Ramble with his problem. It was around this time that with the help of Marie in particular Ramble began to meditate seriously, and he found it almost immediately helpful both in calming his mind and providing a way to separate from his problems. For his fourteenth birthday he received a set of meditation crystals from Gareth and has used them in his daily meditation ever since (his favourites being amethyst for stress and healing, heliotrope (bloodstone) for regaining energy and perspective, and smokey quartz to dispel negative energy). Around this time he also began to join various causes that his parents supported, marching in gay rights protests, designing posters to support the spread of vegetarianism and veganism, and volunteering with local charities. By the time he reached ninth grade and entered Aurora High he had settled firmly into himself and no longer cared much about what other people thought -- he was content with his life, and proud of his family and the lifestyle he led. His family, he felt, was making a difference and no matter what other people said, he wasn't happy when he was pretending to sneak dirty magazines or make gay jokes in order to fit in. He had always been taught to find what made him happy and stick to it no matter what, and that's what he did.

His quiet self-confidence was appealing and he found himself being teased for being a hippie less and less. Instead, he began to make more friends and soon found himself at the center of a small but tightly-knit community of friends. All were from different backgrounds, and at least one had been raised by strictly Catholic parents who weren't shy about their disapproval for Ramble's two sets of parents, but all shared a common love for knowledge and an insatiable curiosity about different things. With them Ramble went to church for the first time, and to synagogue, and visited a mosque. He learned about their lives as they learned about his and attended yoga classes with him, tried meditation and got in trouble for burning incense in an empty classroom at lunchtime. He became all the more secure in the knowledge that he was exactly where he was meant to be and began to take it a step further, convincing a teacher to sponsor a club aimed at disseminating information about various human rights issues and becoming well known for tracking down students he heard using racial or sexual pejoratives and lecturing them. Although this behaviour got him into trouble more than once with both students and teachers (who felt, rightly so, that he was often a distraction in class as he tried to turn discussions into debates on ethics and spirituality) he felt strongly that someone had to stand up for what was right, and his friends backed him up on it.

In ninth grade he also discovered his talent at singing. He had always had a love for music and could often be found at home playing slightly off-key renditions of folk songs on Reba's acoustic guitar, but it wasn't until he joined the school choir that he realized he had a particularly impressive voice with a versatile range. He took to singing like a duck to water and began writing his own lyrics as well, performing with the choir at school events and at home for his parents. Singing provided a creative outlet for his emotions that meditation didn't, and when he couldn't find relief from his crystals he would often take long showers, belting out tune after tune into their small bathroom.

As time went on Ramble mellowed somewhat on his activist stance, learning to sit back and not push issues to the point where he was pushing people away. He still occasionally policed the halls for any sign of gaybashing or bullying, but no longer involved himself directly unless he felt that his words would actually get through to someone. His thoughts were that people needed to find their own way, and while he would happily assist anyone who asked for it it wasn't fair for him to force his path on them. With this slightly calmer outlook on life came a reputation around Aurora for being a nice guy, always willing to listen and offer advice if it was wanted.

Now eighteen and completing twelfth grade, Ramble is a level-headed and warm-hearted young man with a wide and varied circle of friends. Emotionally he's steady as a rock and known to be essentially unfazeable, only showing strong emotion when talking about issues dear to his heart. Still an active participant in the gay-straight alliance and choir as well as working with various unofficial groups dedicated to trying to stop bullying, he hasn't left his activist past behind him but rather has learned to integrate it with his social life and work better with other people. He has recently become a complete vegan and will often talk at length about how much better for the body, the planet, and animals a vegan diet is to anyone who is interested. He still writes song lyrics occasionally and still picks away at his mother's guitar, but is content to do the majority of his singing in the shower after school. As they have throughout his life his grades remain good without being outstanding but he's not particularly worried, as he so far has no real desire for post-secondary education and has been toying with the idea of doing long-term volunteering somewhere overseas.

Advantages: Ramble has an extremely good sense of self-control, and prides himself on his ability to control stress and negative emotions through meditation. He is generally well-liked and trusted throughout the student body and is unlikely to have any enemies going onto the island.
Disadvantages: Ramble abhors violence for any reason and would find it incredibly difficult to even consider hurting a fellow student, let alone killing them. He's not in good shape and his sense of justice and desire to help others may lead to him putting himself in dangerous situations.