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General Info
Name: Andrew James Russell
Nickname(s): Drew
Age: 30
Gender: Male He/Him
Ethnicity: European descent
Residence: Los Sueños - Downtown
Occupation: Vice Department Officer (Central Precinct)
Formerly: Private Vietnam, Honorably Discharged, NYC Police Officer/Detective
Hair: Sandy blonde, wavy flirting with a small curl
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6'1"
Build: Athletic
Tattoos: Left arm, right arm, and right hand
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In Depth
Andrew is every part the dedicated, disciplined soldier turned cop turned detective. His pride in himself and his work is always something he bears on his sleeves and his proverbial armor. There is always little room left to doubt him or his dedication to his work. Meticulous about his appearance, Drew seeks to always seem well put together with only a stray curl of hair to separate him from someone fabricated from polished stone. There is a sharp, focused intelligence in his eyes and a seriousness carved into his jawline. He prioritizes completing tasks and having a plan over following instinctive and impulsive actions. He is a kind and helpful individual who freely chooses to step in to help others out of the goodness of his heart. While he tends to be secretive about his own life and keeps to himself, Andrew will hold out a hand to those in need and allow them to have a shoulder to lean on until they can stand on their own feet. His priorities will place others well before himself. Andrew does his best to smile, help, and defend those who cannot or do not have the means to do it for themselves while bearing the demons and shadows of his past and his mind behind the scenes.
Beneath the surface, he is littered with scars and reminders of the war. While he is entirely private about his life, Drew's suffering lives as near to the surface as the scars carefully kept from view across the expanse of his back. He chooses to talk very little about his past and holds a deep paranoia close to his heart. Fueled by desires many find dirty and unwelcome, Drew's life remains a secret beyond what he carefully places out into the world. Further still lie the scars of doubt -- on making a wrong call and bringing harm to someone else. An opportunity to overthink a situation is one that can bring Drew the greatest level of stress.
Andrew is very self-conscious, especially about his burns. He will completely avoid letting others see them willingly. Although he works out and keeps up with a constant regiment, he does nothing to act as though he is proud of his body. He merely utilizes working out as a means of grounding his mind to organize his thoughts through repetitive action. It can sometimes act as an indicator of his inner mental health to those who know him better. -
Basic History
- Drew is born second of four children - one older sister, one younger brother, and one younger sister in one of New York City's suburbs. His father was an industrial worker and his mother's time was dedicated to raising the family. His childhood was relatively straightforward with a standard education.
- At the age of 18, Drew is drafted into service for the Vietnam War in 1972. While others intentionally aimed to fail, Drew's conscience and hardworking attitude made it too difficult for him to do the same. Enraged with an anti-war mentality, Drew struggles at first to adapt to the lifestyle. Eventually, though, the routine of training and lack of direct conflict in the early weeks soothed the raw edge of fear. Drew built a camaraderie with his fellow privates equally young and equally drafted into service. He starts building strong bonds, and starts exploring deeper and personal activities with one of his closest comrades. Despite the creeping rumors that no one could prove, Drew's hard work and dedication seemed enough to keep them under control.
- When nearly at the first year anniversary of deployment, the unit is sent on a mission that ultimately leaves the entire brigade wiped out from the explosion of a bomb or burned beyond recognition. Drew is the only one to survive the blast, but still bore the severe burns that threatened to add his name to the fallen. The whisper of rumors, of touching him bringing AIDS, delayed his transport for treatment and inevitably worsened the injury before it could be made better. Drew spends the first week of recovery slipping in and out of conscious thought, in a world between nightmares and the pain of a changed dressing. Although he is honorably discharged due to the extensive wounds affecting the expanse of his back, shoulders, and general musculature involved, it still takes a month before he can be safely sent back home.
- The initial months home remain relatively hazy, full of pain and weakness and an unwillingness to make an effort. Eventually, it is a joint effort between his mother and sisters that encourage him to start seeking out rehabilitation therapy to start rebuilding his body. Wracked with insomnia, PTSD, and nightmares, Drew finds comfort in the simple effort of exercise and repair to his body. Although it ultimately takes a year of careful effort, Drew manages to regain the majority of his muscular function.
- With old dreams to guide him, Drew uses his military benefits to pursue a criminal justice degree. After graduating the four year program, Drew joined the police academy in pursuit of the next step of his desired career. He became a rookie once he completed the academy training, and spend a couple years acquainting himself with the job, the district, and so on before pursuing his transfer to handling organized crime for another couple years.
- Despite care and caution, the arrival of someone from his army past joining the force brings back old fears and paranoia at being caught, outed, and dismissed from all he truly has in life.
- In 1984, Drew makes the calculated [Read: Cowardly] escape to Los Sueños in hopes of getting as far away from the ghosts of his past as he possibly can. While the job he takes is essentially below someone of his experience, Drew does not hesitate to take a demotion in order to escape before his life can be ripped away from his fingers again.
- Drew is born second of four children - one older sister, one younger brother, and one younger sister in one of New York City's suburbs. His father was an industrial worker and his mother's time was dedicated to raising the family. His childhood was relatively straightforward with a standard education.
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Plotting Points
Connection Opportunities:- Job Related - due to his position as a cop, there is an endless list of opportunities for Drew to interact with others. He's a former detective, so solving things is good therapy for his mind too.
- Therapy - it stands to reason he'd probably still need some form of therapy even this far out, so there's always room for this kind of interaction. It'd be interesting considering he has probably resisted it so far.
- Veteran crew - let's be real, vets need to stick together in a comparatively peaceful world that doesn't know what it was like on the other side
- Day to day/slice of life - it's always a big, normal part of general interaction. Build those friendships, stew those uncomfortable feelings, make an enemy out of him -- the more depth and building the better because it's never fun to just go chasing waterfalls and romance
- Romance - it's low on it's list, pretty much nonexistent. He'll sooner have a single secret encounter than anything else. He's not going to open up for the thought of this. Is it off the table? Never, because at the end of the day he'll grow how he wants to grow.
Rumor Has It- Someone once caught Andrew's wandering eye, but he completely denies checking out another man.
- Andrew doesn't seem to sleep. Ever. He's always keeping himself busy, always picking up extra work, and never seems to let any exhaustion show. Does he take something to keep him going?
- Andrew always seems kind, and always seems to be smiling, except when he thinks no one is watching.
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Character Ties
