B004 - Bracewell, Joshua[/DECEASED]

[Deamon]

DECEASED


Name: Bracewell, Joshua Everett
Gender: Male
Age: Seventeen [17]
Grade: Junior [11th]
School: Cochise High School
Hobbies and Interests: Cats, flute, piano, tennis, and volunteering.

Appearance: At 6'3" and 178 pounds, Joshua makes for a noticeable figure. Years of playing tennis have left him with a lithe and athletic build, with particularly strong calf muscles and notable definition in his otherwise gangly arms. His complexion is naturally a dark bronze – attributable to his mother's distant Tahitian heritage – and pockmarked by light acne, despite his attempts to keep his skin free of blemishes. Joshua can be considered fairly attractive, with a rectangular face accented by a well-chiselled jawline, soft angles, and prominent cheekbones. He possesses handsome and warm, albeit boyish features, with wide olive green eyes, a classical Greek nose, and full and pert lips. His teeth are perfectly straight and white, having endured four years of braces, and can often be seen adorned by his plastic retainer during the day. Joshua's hair consists of a mop of thick and tow-headed ringlets and are kept somewhat long, typically two or two-and-a-half inches in length. He has a slight habit to play with his hair whenever he's not otherwise preoccupied, twisting his curls around his finger as if they were a telephone cord. Joshua's eyebrows are dark and bushy in nature and a similar colour to his hair, and are situated midway up a short forehead.

Joshua's clothing is always well-tailored and meticulously taken care of, as he prefers to dress smartly and always makes a concerted effort to look his best. However, he dislikes spending large amounts of money on clothing and tries to make each item last as long as possible. He prefers crisp and neutral colours, especially green, which he tends to find himself wearing the most. He normally doesn't stray beyond his favoured polo shirts and chinos (both long and short), the likes of which pad his wardrobe substantially. In the case of rare inclement weather, he has a soft spot for sweaters and scarves; though he rarely wears them otherwise due to Kingman's usual climate. For footwear, he has a soft spot for Converse All-Stars and owns several pairs in many different colours, rarely wearing anything else unless the situation calls for it. When abducted, Joshua was sporting a spearmint green sweater tied loosely around his shoulders, a charcoal grey polo shirt, pale beige chinos, and jungle green high-top Converse All-Stars.

Biography: Joshua's conception can best be described as an accident, being born ten years after his older brother, Lukas, and long after his parents – Elliot and Francesca Bracewell – had given up hope of conceiving another child. As they felt that having more children was becoming less and less realistic, they began to disregard the use of contraception – seeing it as unnecessary – which led to Francesca's pregnancy and Joshua's birth on the 19th of October. Joshua wasn't to be the last boy born into the Bracewell brood, his brother Philippe arriving two years afterwards. Though surprised by the addition of two more children, both parents were very happy to expand their family, as they could easily afford it and felt that multiple siblings would be good for each of their sons' development.

From birth, both Joshua and his siblings have known little but opulence, Elliot working as the CEO of a successful pharmaceutical company and Francesca as a former supermodel and current fashion magazine columnist. Francesca does the majority of her work from home, but Elliot's requires that he spends a lot of time away from home in order to adequately manage the company's affairs. Although he tries to make time to spend weekends with his family, this often fails to come to fruition and Joshua spent much of his childhood pining for his father's presence. Francesca tried to make up for Elliot's absence by being as active a mother as she could, but her own work commitments meant that all three boys were regularly passed off to a string of nannies instead. To this day, Joshua still misses Elliot greatly whenever he leaves for business trips and the like, and while he tells himself it's only for a short time and his father's only doing it support the family, it's resulted in him having a fairly distant relationship with him – as they've never had enough time to establish a strong bond.

The family has chosen to reside in Kingman rather than closer to Elliot's work as it's where Francesca's family has lived for several generations, and both of Joshua's parents want their children to be close to their maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – especially as Elliot has no siblings himself, and his own parents are deceased. As a result, Joshua has a very close relationship to his maternal family – he eats dinner with at least one of them twice a week, and attends any events and activities they participate in (and vice-versa). He has thirteen cousins through his mother's five siblings, all bar two of whom are younger than him. As a result, Joshua's dynamic with them is similar to that of a big brother, looking after them and helping out with their homework. In many ways, he's as close to them as he is to his own siblings and thinks of his female cousins as the sisters he's never had. He's very close to his aunts and uncles, whom are a lot more relaxed with his parents, the time he spends with them often acting as a source of stress relief for him. He feels that he doesn't need to worry about what reaction he'll elicit from them, because he knows they'll love him no matter what due to their constant reiteration of that fact.

Despite the Bracewells' wealth and prosperity, both of Joshua's parents have taken due care to install within their children a great deal of gratitude and thanks for their comfortable economic position. Francesca grew up in a lower-class family with several siblings where money was a constant issue, and wants her sons to be aware of how lucky they are to be born into such a wealthy family. Due to the amount of time he spends with his economically disadvantaged maternal family, Joshua feels somewhat uncomfortable with the amount of luxuries he's been afforded; thinking that his cousins deserve it just as much. Additionally, their generally upbeat and positive worldview has shown Joshua just how irrelevant money can be when it comes to happiness, so he doesn't place much personal investment into anything material either.

The economic disparity between the Bracewells and Francesca's birth family has been a minor source of conflict between Joshua's mother and his maternal extended family. Until she and Elliot settled in Kingman to have children, Francesca hadn't returned to her hometown for over a decade, having spent that intermittent period attending college and building her career and having sporadic communication with her family. Seeing their daughter return as a wealthy, materialistic woman clashed with the idealistic eighteen year old they'd last seen as she left to attend college. They had difficulty adjusting to the change in temperaments Francesca had undergone, and assumed it had to do with the man she'd married, especially as Elliot was of a similar personality. Francesca viewed her family's issue with her marriage into the Bracewells as them undermining her life successes, believing herself to be a self-made woman. She studied hard throughout high school to secure a place at an Ivy League school, paid her own way through college without familial assistance, and interned at Vogue after acquiring her degree. In her eyes, she would have been just as successful and financially well-off in her own right if she hadn't married into Elliot's family.

After the birth of her first child, Francesca began to reevaluate the attitude she'd taken towards her family since her return home. She'd done so in order for her children to grow up around their extended family, but was now finding herself uncertain about whether she wanted her birth family in Lukas' life, and found herself undergoing a period of introspection. In the years she'd spent isolated from her family, Francesca had forgotten about the tenuous financial situation she'd grown up in and the privileges she'd been afforded throughout her modelling career, and apologised to her family for the attitude with which she'd greeted them. Her family accepted her apologies, more so out of a desire to see their grandchild than out of genuine forgiveness. They still took issue with the poor communication she'd had with them in the years since leaving home, and felt that was something unable to be covered by a simple apology.

Francesca's humbled mindset also triggered a need within her to act more charitably and give back to the community in which she was raised. She hated the snobbish attitude she'd had upon returning to Kingman and never wished to return to that state of mind. The idea of her children developing a similar mindset upset her, and she vowed that they'd spend time with her family and also participate in volunteering from an early age. Currently, a tentative peace is held between Francesca and her family, as the renewed relationship between them has strengthened with time and both sides are capable of withholding any lingering bitterness for the sake of the younger generation. Joshua doesn't know much about her mother's turbulent history with her family, as Francesca sees it as a time of great selfishness in her life, and doesn't want to unnecessarily dredge up the past. In Joshua's eyes, his mother's relationship with his maternal family is (and always has been) unwaveringly strong.

Their parents' widening of their sons' social awareness mainly took the form of choosing to forgo private education for their children altogether – despite having the finances to do so – and send them to public school from preschool through to high school, as well as introducing them to volunteering and charity efforts from a young age. All three of the Bracewell children took well to working with the poor, with Joshua taking a particular liking to the soup kitchen he began working in at the age of eight; enjoying talking to those he served there. Although he's generally lacking in time nowadays due to his various activities, Joshua makes a concerted effort to continue volunteering there whenever he has the chance. He often feels very guilty about having so much handed to him, especially as very few of his peers are in a similar position, and finds that doing charitable efforts helps alleviate part of that guilt.

From childhood, Joshua displayed himself a trusting and naïve young man. Joshua wholeheartedly believes in the goodness of other people, especially the classmates that he's grown up around. This nature has oftentimes been easily taken advantage off by those playing on his sympathies; every time someone asks him for something he'll give it to them, no questions asked. Even if it's something he values he'll give it away freely, under the impression that they'll need it more than him. In the occasions that his family sees his trusting nature being taken advantage of, Joshua is subjected to cautionary warnings by them, citing that people aren't always what they appear to be on the surface and he needs to be more cautious and not trust so easily. Although these lessons have taught him that not everybody has his best interests at heart, they've done nothing to shake his belief that everybody is fundamentally a good person and is trying to do their best. Joshua feels the idea that there are wholly bad people in the world an unsettling one, and tries his hardest to understand everybody's point-of-view. When considering the beliefs of those who have a differing worldview to him, Joshua does his best to respect and understand their perspectives. He knows that everybody has lived different lives and experienced different events which have shaped their view of the world, and is always curious about the opinions of others and what causes them.

Joshua's aware that although he might have the best intentions, that doesn't always mean that his actions will end in the intended results, and that they might have unforeseen negative consequences. This idea is one that troubles him greatly, and although he knows that it would be impossible to always avoid negative outcomes, he tries his hardest to ensure they don't happen by considering every element of the situation and the potential consequences that could arise from them. Whenever his attempts at helping others end badly, he does his best to make up for it and takes time to learn what went wrong, so as not to repeat the same mistakes in a similar situation. He also realises that some people do undeniably bad things, and this knowledge initially proved to be at odds with his philosophy that everybody is good at heart. He aligns these two contrasting points-of-view under the mindset that while the action itself may be bad, the person who committed it is not, and that no matter how heinous someone's actions may be there is always a chance for redemption. Whenever he encounters someone who did something bad, Joshua tries his hardest to understand what drove them to take the course of action they did, so as to reinforce his image of them as a good person.

Despite his attempts at being open-minded, Joshua is still occasionally driven to anger; though when he is it mostly takes the form of sadness or disappointment, rather than outright rage. His positive outlook on life means that not many things trigger anger in him, but when he is under extreme duress it is much easier for him to reach that tipping point. He tries to handle it in a constructive manner, preferring to directly face whatever is causing his anger and solve the issue is to the best of his ability. He hates the way he feels when he's angry, especially given his general inexperience with the emotion, and tries to cope with it as quickly as possible, disliking the idea of bottling it up. The uncomfortable feelings he has when experiencing anger have further cemented his ideal that people are fundamentally good at heart; he believes that others feel a similar way when they themselves are angry, and any negative actions they take while experiencing it is their way of coping with a scary, unpredictable emotion.

Due purely to the large age difference between himself and Lukas, Joshua has naturally enjoyed a much closer relationship with Philippe over the years. Lukas and Joshua do have a shared interest, however, one that Philippe is fairly neutral over: musical instruments. All three of the boys took piano lessons from the age of seven at their parents' behest, and whilst this sparked a lifelong love of music in both Lukas and Joshua, Philippe is much less enthused, lacking much of a musical bent. When Joshua and Lukas showed talent with the piano – Joshua likes how piano music can range from delicate to intense – Elliot and Francesca were more than happy for them to take up another instrument. Although they're both proficient at the piano, the two boys' true musical talents lay with the flute and drums. Joshua's recently graduated to Level Eight for the flute, and though he doesn't much care for the melodies it produces or the general sound of the flute, he finds they come easier to him than any other instrument he's tried. Joshua finds the lessons a lot of work and very time-consuming and has often considered giving up over the years, but seeing the praise he receives from his parents for his talent – and the quiet disappointment Philippe received from them when he dropped his lessons – has led him to persevere. His favourite type of music to play is classical, with a particular liking of Bach and Pachelbel; though he's recently been looking into modern pop as well. Joshua and Lukas' shared passion for music makes up for the age gap between them and often formed the large bulk of their bonding time when Lukas still lived at home, with the two boys playing together and teaching each other the basics of their favoured instruments.

Joshua started playing tennis midway through seventh grade, when a unit in his Physical Education class on the sport piqued his interest in it. His parents were quick to encourage this, acknowledging the long-term benefits playing a sport would have – both physically and socially – and hoping it would curb his wellspring of energy. While initially average (in both enthusiasm and skill) at the sport, he dedicated himself to it and practiced daily until he developed a genuine interest in it. He enjoys the simplicity of the game and the endorphin rush it provides, finding it a good way to vent any stress and to simply exert himself when he's feeling too overwhelmed by everything. Although he practices regularly, by his junior year he's still an average player at best, but tries to make up for it through being unfailingly positive and supporting his teammates as best he can. Though he currently officially plays no sports other than tennis, Joshua can often be found at various sporting events around the school – either to try them out, or just to lend his support.

Despite being quite healthy and fit from tennis, Joshua still carries several health issues with him. By the time he entered high school, Joshua was diagnosed with severe lactose intolerance (forcing him to be very meticulous concerning his eating habits) and allergies to bees, peanuts, penicillin, and shellfish. He discovered his allergy to bees at the age of five; whilst playing with his cousins in his family's garden, he fell into a patch of clovers and the bees currently investigating it reactively stung him, causing him to go into anaphylactic shock. Thankfully, his father was in close vicinity and reacted quickly, ensuring he was properly treated and taken to a hospital. Elliot's knowledge of pharmaceuticals meant he was familiar with a wealth of allergens and knew how to treat them, ensuring Joshua suffered no lingering physical side-effects from the sting. It did, however, have psychological consequences for him; it was the first instance in Joshua's life that the world wasn't as harmless as he liked to imagine it was, and the life-saving actions of his father that day have stuck with him through to the current day. As it was one of Elliot's more notable actions in Joshua's life, it's helped shape his image of his father as a kindhearted, noble man, and helps to fuel his desire to live up to him and emulate him. This is the only notable incident concerning his bee allergy to have occurred in his life; the only other effect it's had on his day-to-day life are the signs of discomfort and fear he shows whenever a bee or wasp is around him, and the fact that he always carries an epipen on his person. His other allergies were discovered under much more mundane circumstances, have comparably minor side-effects, and are fairly harmless, resulting in hives or slight physical discomfort at worse. Joshua's personal opinion on his myriad of allergies is an ambivalent one; he dislikes the restrictions they've placed on his life, but also feels thankful that they've helped him become more generally cautious and mean he can personally identify with the plights of others who also suffer from allergies.

Due largely to his parents' wishes for him to take advantage of any privileges afforded to him, Joshua began to throw himself into any activities available to him, not wanting to waste any of the opportunities less-fortunate kids weren't afforded. He tries to find something to enjoy about all of them, because he refuses to back out of any of them for fear of risking his parents' disappointment. This is mostly visible concerning the plethora of extracurricular activities he's joined over the years; beginning with many of them in middle school and continuing with them all throughout his high school career. Joshua loves being amongst those who share his interests and decided that he should join any club that interested him, even if it was in the smallest of ways. He's a natural member of the tennis team, in which he rose to the rank of captain during his junior year; plays flute in the school band; represents Tahiti in the Model United Nations, works for the school yearbook committee; is an outspoken member of the student council, in which he successfully ran for the position of Vice President of the junior class; tutors struggling students; and is a member of the volunteering club, amongst others. Additionally, he tries to participate in any other one-off school activities he can find or trying to provide support for others clubs of which he is not a member. Neither of his parents are particularly concerned with the amount of clubs he participates in, as a combination of their pride in him for doing so well with them and the skill with which he covers up the stress they give him prevents it from becoming much of an issue in their eyes.

He has a very good relationship with his brothers, acting as a confidante to Philippe, driving him to and from his own clubs and activities, and making sure he finishes his homework on time. Although Joshua sees much less of Lukas now that his elder brother lives out of state with his fiancée, the two get along very well whenever he comes to visit, spending much of their time jamming together. With his parents, Joshua is closer to his mother than his father, thanks to the greater amount of time they've spent together over the years. However, Francesca and Elliot are both very busy and not always around for Joshua to give their support; which has developed into something of a driving force for him over the years. He partakes in every activity he can and does well in sports and maintains excellent grades under the impression that it'll make his parents proud and affirm their love for him. Both Elliot and Francesca can be somewhat pushy, strongly encouraging their children to keep on with any activity they choose to participate in, even if their interest begins to wane. As a result, Joshua has never quit anything, not wanting to earn his parents' disappointment; even when his workload comes close to unbearable.

The thought of disappointing his parents is a troubling one to Joshua; he's aware of the sacrifices his parents have undergone for their children over the years, such as relocating back to Kingman and working hard to ensure their offspring had a comfortable upbringing. He feels that he ought to repay them for the efforts they've gone to, and sees achieving well in school, taking the most of the opportunities given to him, and giving back to the community as the best repayment he can offer. He considers failing at any of these to be akin to failing his parents and, subsequently, earning their disappointment and losing any chance of gaining the affirmation from them he desperately craves. Joshua has only confided about this anxiety to Lukas, whom harbours similar feelings about his parents; he dislikes the idea of placing such hefty issues on Philippe when their dynamic is so strongly defined by Joshua acting as his younger brother's advisor and confidante. He's never curried the idea of discussing it with anybody other than his brothers, as he feels that discussing issues so tied to his family with someone outside of his immediate relatives would be a betrayal of his parents and might only worsen the issues he has.

Rounding out the Bracewell household is their pets: every member of the family owns at least one animal, with Joshua's being a pair of tubby ginger cats named Sherlock and Cornflake that he marginally spoils and loves very dearly. He developed an interest in cats at a young age, sparked by visits to the local animal shelter when his mother was showing him various avenues of charity. He found himself drawn to them above any other animal present, thinking them adorable no matter the breed, age, or physical state, and their naturally independent nature means he doesn't feel as guilty when he can't spend time with them due to his busy schedule. He was overjoyed when, at the age of thirteen, his two cats were bought for him by his parents as a reward for his scholastic successes. He finds cuddling with his cats to be soothing and calming, and often does so whenever upset or stressed. In addition to looking after his own, Joshua helps look after cats at the local animal shelter too; even if he can't make it due to other commitments, he still drops off food, kitty litter, and toys on a weekly basis. Even those who are unaware of his own pets and volunteer efforts involving them can clearly see his interest in the animal, as he owns several pieces of stationary and clothing adorned with feline artwork, and often fawns over his friends' cats whenever he sees them.

Socially, Joshua is fairly well-known around Cochise High due to his high involvement in school activities, and generally well-liked due to his friendliness and trusting nature. He's never been too concerned with the social hierarchy of high school, not wanting his friendships to be constrained by cliques and popularity, which has prevented him from becoming a member of the more close-knit circles of popular kids. Joshua is naturally outgoing and extroverted, and spends what little free time he has socialising with whomever he can; though he's closest to his fellow bandmates and other members of the student council. Around his friends he behaves just as he does around everyone else; an energetic and friendly guy who's always willing to help out wherever he can. However, the sheer wealth of activities he participates in has prevented him from having the time to develop many deep or meaningful friendships. His awareness of this lack of close relationships saddens him occasionally, but he takes comfort in the friends he does have and the fact that he can rely on his brothers or cousins for comfort or a sympathetic ear whenever he has an issue.

Joshua identifies as a heteroromantic-asexual, something he's comfortable with and open about. He came to this conclusion sometime during his freshman year, after his initial sexual experiences with his classmate Caedyn Miller proved unenjoyable and made him feel uncomfortable; the resulting research he participated in so as to understand these feelings led him to read about asexuality and the difference between romantic and sexual orientations. He came out to his parents shortly afterwards to little fanfare, and has experienced only a minor amount of open prejudice for his orientation. He has had a handful of romantic relationships in the time since coming out, most of which have ended amicably; he is currently not involved with anyone.

Academically, Joshua's grades tend towards upper-average and though he's not valedictorian material, he consistently scores in the top quarter of most of his classes. He does particularly well in English, Geography, and History, possessing both a natural aptitude and high level of interest in those areas. Due to his dedication to other activities, Joshua doesn't have much spare time to invest in additional studying and revision, and often abuses caffeine to keep himself going whenever assignments and homework threaten to overwhelm him. This regular use of coffee, energy drinks, and the like has further exacerbated his hyperactive and energetic demeanour, and has helped him stave off much significant stress, leaving him remarkably emotionally stable despite the high level of pressure he's constantly under. Once high school is finished, Joshua hopes to continue his interest in volunteering and changing the world for the better, and is eyeing doing overseas aide as a possibility, as it would help him expand his work in places other than Kingman. However, he knows his parents expect him to attend college and doesn't want to go against their wishes; even though he has no idea what degree he'd choose to pursue.

Advantages: Joshua is quite a prominent and popular figure around school, and is well-liked by many of his peers. He's relatively fit and active, putting him at an advantage over his more physically unfit classmates. He's good at multitasking, and is used to juggling multiple responsibilities and stresses at the same time.
Disadvantages: Joshua is naïve and trusts his classmates wholeheartedly, even bordering on blindly, which could prove to be his downfall. Joshua will also be very conscious of not doing anything that would cause his family and those he cares about duress, especially under the circumstances. His tendency to overwork and exert himself in every day life has led to fluctuating energy levels that could easily catch up with him on the island, especially without the caffeine he relies upon to stabilise them.

Designated Number: Male student No. 004

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Designated Weapon: Falchion
Conclusion: If B004 can upgrade his tennis swing to a sword swing he might stand a chance...wait he trusts everyone...nevermind.- Josie Knight


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