(no subject)

[cashmonies]

GENERAL

NAME: Cassius Holcomb; formerly Cassandra Holcomb. Also, I don't know how to say Holcomb? Is it pronounced like "hokum" a la "hokum and bunkum"? Let's say that it is.
NICKNAMES: Cash. He sometimes gets Cassie when folks are pulling his pigtails, which makes him flinch a bit, not that he'll ever explain why.
AGE/DOB: 15, May 1st
BLOOD STATUS: Half-blood
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Male, he/him.
SEXUALITY: Oh god. He doesn't know and this is all so confusing.
HOMETOWN: Las Vegas. Actually, a suburb of Las Vegas. Alright, alright, he's from Henderson, NV.

CONCEPT: Overcompensating suburban kid shoots for the moon, lands amongst the dumpsters.

PHYSICAL

APPEARANCE: Uniform is usually pristine and exactly to regulation. although like everything he owns, it's a hair too big. His out-of-uniform wardrobe is fashionable, but relatively limited -- mostly basic looks, although he does have a prized pair of kicks that spice things up a bit.

HEIGHT: 5ft 4in

PB: Douglas Smith

PERSONALITY

LIKES: checking things off his to-do list early, things organised neatly, trip hop, dusk, stormy weather, strategy games, whittling, working with his hands, success, knowing he can rely on himself, making Life Plans™ with Todd (schemingly)

DISLIKES: being underestimated, the suburbs, swimming, short jokes, flavoured water (pointless!! just drink juice!!!!), laziness, stagnation, going home at the holidays

PERSONALITY:

The "best little boy in the world" hypothesis posits that "young sexual minority men might cope with early stigma by strongly investing in achievement-related success," especially in academics, appearance, and other socially-endorsed elements of competition. This certainly holds true for Cassius, who finds that each tangible achievement strikes at the little voice in his head that whispers, "freak."

With the (frankly unnecessary) chaos of his home life all around him, Cash has found stability in organisation. Efficiency reigns king amongst his values; he hates disarray, wasted time, and pie-in-the-sky daydreaming (hypocritically, as he's often guilty of this last one, himself). This can make him difficult to work with at times, as he can be inflexible -- once he decides the best way to do something, he's rarely open to reconsidering. There are worse people to be stuck on a project with, though, as all in all, Cash is focused, goal oriented, and hard working.

Cash has learned to fend for himself despite his fairly privileged upbringing; he knows that at the end of the day, he's the only person in this world that he can truly count on. He's always had an independent spirit, but recently, it's been coupled with a newfound appreciation for self-sufficiency. He can take care of himself. Fix his own bike. Cook his own meals. Keep his own secrets. Can't unfuck an engine yet, but the hot second he gets a car, he's damn well gonna learn. Maybe it's paranoia, but he never wants to be caught off guard. If he can mend it, make it, or magic it, he can survive anything. Be his own safety net. Along these same lines, he generally resents authority figures, although he's perfectly willing to kiss ass to get ahead.

There is one exception to this rule of self-reliance: his best friend and childhood neighbour, Todd, who he trusts absolutely. Perhaps a little too absolutely. While normally, Cash can come across as secretive and somewhat cynical, he's easily captivated by Todd's charisma and zany schemes. Their friendship is Cash's grounding rock... but also, probably, the reason he'll never actually be crowned #1 Good Kid. He has no desire to get into trouble, honest, but Todd always says there's no reward without risk and boy, does he believe it. Can't be exceptional if you never strive for something different and new and extraordinary. Also, and slightly less nobly: can't buy your testosterone unless you make a quick buck.

Generally, Cash has a resilience about him, both practically as well as emotionally. It's a trait he values in himself -- the ability to climb out of any hole. Unfortunately, the flip side of this is that he can be terribly judgemental. As far as Cassius is concerned, if he can do it, anyone can, and he has absolutely no tolerance for what he deems laziness or self-pity. At his worst, he is moralising, detached/cold-hearted, and most frustrating of all, passive-aggressive about it.

Cash is determined to succeed at any cost, to prove to himself and to others that he has value and worth. That the rotten, always-different feeling inside of him is something that can be squashed with enough praise and scholarships and first place ribbons. Call it overcompensating if you want, but he's going places. People will have to love admire him then.

→ Minor note that Cassius absolutely will not swim in the lake and claims it's because he doesn't know how.

TL;DR:
→ [+] Independent
→ [+] Stable
→ [+] Ambitious
→ [+] Hard-working
→ [+] Efficient
→ [?] Goddamn it, Todd
→ [-] Inflexible
→ [-] Judgemental
→ [-] Cold
→ [-] Passive aggressive
→ [-] Perfectly willing to watch you eat shit so long as his face stays clean

HISTORY

FAMILY MEMBERS:

Marcus Holcomb: Father; no-maj, a small business owner and local pillar of the Henderson community. Sits on the city council. In his mind, this is indistinguishable from POTUS. Keeping up with the Joneses is his #1 goal, and his favourite dinner table convo is a long-winded comparison of his life to that of his neighbours. His lawnmower wins the competition; his children frequently come up short.

Alexandra Holcomb: Mother; witch, natural-born PTA mom. High strung. Wants to speak to your manager. Has similar priorities to Marcus, but more magically oriented. Would really like one or all of her children to go into business and politics "like their father."

Crispin Holcomb: Older brother, 21. Kind-hearted stoner slacker currently holding the title of family disappointment. He's a wizard, a magical high school grad, and is currently working at what was once a Blockbuster but appears to now be a secret society and/or drug front. Whatever, man. They keep paying him, so he keeps stocking the videos.

Davina Holcomb: Baby sister, 7. Sweet, sheltered baby and the Holcomb's last hope of a socially acceptable child.

HISTORY:

Cash's parents would describe his childhood as healthy, happy, and fun... and in some ways, that's completely true. He was never hungry, never had to worry about grown-up things like money or jobs. Yet, despite all that, "carefree" would be a mischaracterisation. As kid, he was always striving to be the best in his class, the prettiest, the most well-liked. The perfect daughter.

After all, he didn't want to add to his parents' stress. Cash's older brother, Crispin, already had their mom and dad in knots. When Cris was 16, he was caught with a small amount of pot. Everyone acted like he'd murdered a baby and their mom cried a lot in their minivan about how he'd shamed the family and sullied their good name. She was not kidding, not even a little. Having decided kid 1 was a LOST CAUSE, the Holdcombs quickly refocused their aspirations, placing them on their middle child.

Always far more observant than his brother, 10 year old Cash watched all this with wide eyes. He knew he had a secret that was way worse than a few ounces of weed. Cash (or Cassie, as he was then known) had to be extra good because it was his only weapon against the worm in his stomach, the one that slithered around whenever he thought dangerous thoughts. Thoughts like, "maybe I should've been a boy instead."

And then, he met Todd. Todd who lived in the funny house next door. Who was a no-maj (or so he thought, at first) with magical ideas. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Cash started spending more and more time with his neighbour... and quickly realised that the other boy was, amazingly, a wizard too. By the time they were started at Wislizenus, they were inseparable, much to the Holcomb's chagrin. From their POV, Cash met Todd and started acting out; from Cash's POV, he met Todd and finally, finally, started being himself. To be fair, he has now been banned from two (2) IHOPs.

Middle school was a misery, replete with the dual horrors of puberty and a truly boring suburban town. Henderson sucked. Everything sucked. Cash's grades didn't suck. Actually, he was a straight A student, star player of the Little League, the 12 and under chess champion, and student body treasurer in Todd's administration. Despite his reputation as a minor miscreant, everyone agreed that Cash was going places, most likely to succeed. Boy, were they surprised when Cash, now 13, announced he was trans.

Mortified, his parents did their best to ignore the problem. Unfortunately, in doing so, they had to ignore their child. Almost overnight, Cash went from being smothered, to being invisible. His parents don't make eye contact anymore. They've stopped talking to him beyond barebones small talk. At breakfast, they pass him juice and call him Cassie and refuse to acknowledge what's in front of their faces. (Last he heard, his mom was telling the neighbours he'd transferred to an all-girl's school... He's been on testosterone for a year and his voice has dropped.

Occasionally, very occasionally, they will ask him about his recent achievements -- and despite his frustration with his family, Cassius lives for those times. He always makes sure he as something to say.)

One night, he heard his parents whispering about camp school, and not the artsy kind in UT. School for troubled kids, where they kidnap you in the night. Bitter and scared and generally fed up with suburbia and all this bullshit, Cash and Todd hatched another plan -- to apply to Gooseberry. They swear to only go if they both get in.

Todd threw a brick through the Holcomb's front window on the day they were accepted. He's no longer welcome at their house.

SCHOOL

YEAR: Sophomore (Grade 10)
HOUSE: Coppertale
SORTING: Speed-sort, honestly. He considers himself aligned with the underdog, but Cash was never a peacekeeper and so Ribbonfin was out. He's not much fun, so sorry, Azurecrest. What Cassius does have is an unshakeable determination to be the most successful version of himself. He believes that practice is the enemy of anxiety, and as a result, has developed a well-deserved confidence in his abilities. Mostly. Ebonhide, quickly sensing a steady thrum of nervous perfectionism, put in its bid, but the idea of being defined thusly was... unpleasant to Cash, and he quickly asserted his preference for Coppertale. Done and done.

WAND: Hornbeam, lava bear fur, 10", stiff
FAMILIAR: A pygmy owl named Squeak. She's a hoot.

CLASSES: 7; potions, charms, hermeticism, herbology, transfiguration, artificing, astronomy
SENIOR PROJECT: Future problem.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Cash is a dedicated student, open to any kind of challenge. Potions is his strongest core class. He likes the way it's all about following instructions and mixing ingredients, like a recipe or a chemical reaction. He also enjoys artificing, and the act of creating something with his own two hands brings him a lot of satisfaction. In fact, he found himself having so much fun in class, that he's recently taken up woodwork as a hobby.

Transfiguration is his weakest class. He's not intuitively great at it, unfortunately, and while he's perfectly able to keep up with the book work required, he doesn't enjoy it one bit. His disinterest reflected ever-so-slightly in his grades, although overall, he's willing to play through the pain for the sake of his transcript.

EXTRACURRICULARS: Archery, gaming, ?hockey

OOC

NAME: cameron
EMAIL: captainkickflips@gmail.com
CDJ: angoranimi
OTHER PREFERRED CONTACT: gchat, dropbox
TIME ZONE: gmt