Holden Darnell

[Holden Darnell]

``Holden Darnell~

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yo, Maddy here.
i came here from here
and i joined because I felt like it
i've circled the sun 16 times and about 5 of them have been spent roleplaying
if you ever need me you can contact me by PM or email[/right]
``elementary~
birth name~ Holden Darnell
nicknames~ Den
age && date of birth~ 18 && August 25th
gender~ male
sexuality~ heterosexual
occupation~ professional thief
canon / original~ Original

``case file~
hair color~ dark reddish brown
eye color~ blue
height~ 5’6”
weight~ 147
physical flaws~
general appearance~ 100+ words

Holden is generally small, standing at about five feet six inches. He has a bit of muscle on his frame, but not enough to actually weigh him down. He’s light on his feet, but his brother Espen is the faster of the two. His hands are extremely delicate looking, with his long, skinny fingers and his generally pale complexion, though they’re extremely quick. He is ambidextrous, and he often uses it to disguise his handwriting. He has calluses on the fingertips of his left hand from playing guitar, and some budding ones on his right from his experiments in fingerpicking. His taste in clothing is no different than the times allowed for, but he wears a black topcoat over whatever he is wearing at the time to give him a bit of a more regal look.

``trifles~
likes~ at least five

• his brother, Espen
  
• playing music
  
• the classical composers
  
• Eirinn
  
• getting away

dislikes~ at least five

• getting caught
  
• prejudice
  
• hurting people
  
• when people assume things about him, Espen and Eirinn
  
• rain

habits~ at least three

• when bored, he plays music
  
• sings to Eirinn
  
• wanders around London
  
• downs on himself
  
• hums to himself

weaknesses~ at least three

• not as light on his feet as Espen
  
• will do anything to keep his mother's condition from worsening
  
• doesn't know when to quit
  
• horrible self-esteem

strengths~ at least three

• can think on his feet
  
• is an incredible liar
  
• has quite a bit of patience

goals~

• to cure his mother of her illness
  
• to be able to live comfortably without needing to steal
  
• to find out what exactly happened to Alasdair

secrets~

• his mother's condition
  
• his thieving

overall personality~ 200+ words

Holden is generally shy around people he doesn't know, preferring to stay out of the light of a conversation, but he's not afraid to speak out. He's incredibly sharp witted, though he'll never say so himself. Sometimes he comes across as extremely humble, like when someone praises him, but he truly doesn't believe that he is good at anything besides stealing and music.

He tends to compare himself to Espen, and he never has anything bad to say about his brother. He's always trying to better himself to be like his brother, but he values his own sense of self. His self-esteem is horrible, and he has almost no confidence in himself, save for when he's pulling off a job with Espen or playing music.

Most of the time, Holden is irrational and impulsive. He has a tendency to leap before he looks, and he can come across as childish without meaning to. He would rather jump headfirst into the fray than plan things out, though he sits through Espen's briefings before a job. He can get quite bitter sometimes, especially when thinking about the past and why things turned out like they did. He carries around a bit of guilt at the fact that their mother is ill; he feels that it's his fault somehow.

``evidence~
hometown~ Tuam, Ireland
current town~ London, UK
parents~

• father – Alasdair Darnell
  
• mother – Eirinn Darnell

siblings~

• older brother – Espen Darnell

pets~ none
other relatives~ none of importance
history~ 400+ words

Born to Alasdair and Eirinn Darnell in the heat of a late August day, Holden was one of the few high points in his parents' lives. He had a typical upbringing, with a bit of sibling rivalry when his brother Espen saw him. It went a bit past rivalry, however, when Espen started to get physically violent with his little brother. He thought his parents didn't love him anymore because they loved Holden so much. It took him a while to get over that, but because of it, their bond was tied so much tighter.

For the next few years, Alasdair worked, Eirinn stayed at home with the two boys, and Espen and Holden grew closer and closer to each other. Everything was perfect, until the day that Eirinn started acting weird. It started with her visions. She would see things that no one else could. Then, it was as if they were talking to her. She would talk back to them. These episodes were few and far between at first, but as the months rolled on, Eirinn's mental state deteriorated so much that she could barely recognize her family.

Alarmed by this, Holden tried to slow down the progression of her symptoms while Espen went out and got a job working with his father. It was there that Espen learned many things that he could later put to use as a thief. Holden stayed with his mother constantly, helping her do everything she needed to do to survive. Alasdair also started to teach Espen how to play guitar, and when Holden walked in on them and wanted to learn, their father gave Holden a flute. Holden absolutely fell in love with the flute, and he experimented with many other instruments around this time, including the pan flute and clarinet.

As time went by, Alasdair and Espen, Holden joining them later after he'd gotten a job, were setting more and more money aside for Eirinn, just in case something happened to him. Alasdair's fears came true a few years later, Espen being only 16, when he was killed. Espen and Holden never found out how exactly their father had died, as they were confronted with the cold facts of their life: they needed to support their mother. Espen didn't know if what she had could be cured, but they would try.

First, they had to move her. Getting her out of Tuam and someplace that could help her was going to be harder than it sounded, but it wasn't completely impossible. Espen came up with the plan to take her to Dublin, and if she couldn't be helped there, they would take her to London. There was bound to be someone there who could help. Espen and Holden took the money they had saved up with them, buying two horses and a buggy. They loaded everything they needed into the buggy, lashed one of the horses to it and started off.

Holden drove the buggy while Espen rode next to it, a pistol strapped to his leg, just in case. From Tuam, they went south to Galway. They stayed in Galway for a couple of days, as Eirinn hadn't been doing so well on the road. After Galway, they headed east, through Loughrea and Ballinasloe, and they ended up in Athlone. Going a bit northeast this time, they stopped in Mullingar for a bit of rest, then started out the next day for Maynooth. After Maynooth came Dublin, the hopeful end of their quest.

In Dublin, they checked everywhere, but couldn't find anyone who would give them any clue as to what their mother suffered from. They weren't to be deterred, however, as they could still go to London. They used their musical prowess in Dublin to work for some extra money so buy passage on a ship to Liverpool, England.

Arriving in Liverpool, they crossed through town after town, and they realized that they would have to do something more to keep up with their mother. Eirinn's condition was deteriorating fast, and she couldn't even tell them what was wrong with her anymore. Her speech was getting so disjointed that they couldn't make sense of it. The brothers were getting even more worried about her, and they needed to find someone to help. Fast.

In Chester, the first major stop after Liverpool, Espen was looking around for someone that could point them in the right direction when he stumbled upon a ball of sorts. Curious, he spied on the party goers and managed to spot a couple of pickpocketers working their magic on the crowded floor. Their trade looked so easy, and no one ever noticed. Intrigued, he set out to try it himself. At first, he picked out easy targets, and the miniature heist went off without a hitch.

Everything got kicked up a notch when, reaching into an intoxicated woman's purse, he lifted an intricate diamond necklace that had to have cost hundreds. He quickly ran away, the necklace still in his possession, and he realized just what they could do to help their mother. Stealing from the rich people wouldn't hurt them; they could just go out and buy another one of whatever had been stolen. Going back to Holden, he related his plan. Holden wasn't so sure about it, but after the next few days, he accepted it.

Now that they had a purpose, they could hone their skills and make sure that their mother was going to be alright. The two pillaged the rich people in the towns they passed through, and when they got to London, they sold the entire collection they had acquired. It made them quite a lot of money, and they put it to use, trying to find someone to help their mother.

After many false leads and years wasted, Espen's twenty-first birthday has come and gone, and Holden has turned eighteen. Eirinn's state has only worsened, and she's teetering on the brink of a vegetative state. Keeping her hidden within their home, Espen and Holden can only hope that they can find her help before it's too late.

``east wind~
rp sample~ 100+ words

Holden sat on the balcony of their small two story house, his black guitar across his lap. The stars shone in the night sky above, reflecting themselves in his electric blue irises that shone with wonder. The stars had always bewitched him, and even though they were different here in London than they were in Tuam, it merely made them even more mysterious.

Looking down at the guitar on his lap, he smiled and picked it up again and started to play a song he'd heard earlier that day. He liked the opportunity to practice his fingerpicking, and the song was absolutely beautiful. He put his own little spin on it, improvising the ending because he'd only heard the middle part of it. He felt that he would be able to give it a bit more emotion if he could play it on piano as well, because then it would have a certain depth to it that a single instrument couldn't give. He was constantly thinking about things like this; music had become part of him.

anything else~

List of Instruments Holden Plays:

• Piano - best
  
• Flute - best
  
• Guitar - better
  
• Pan Flute - okay
  
• Clarinet - okay

[Hakumei Kino]

accepted