MADISON, elias

[attr="class","hdtitle"]PERSONALITY

[attr="class","hdinfo"]POSITIVE
☆ personable
☆ considerate
☆ sympathetic
☆ curious
☆ generous
☆ respectful

NEGATIVE
★ fickle
★ unreliable
★ gullible
★ disorganized
★ weak-willed
★ lazy

HABITS
☆ Elias has a bunch of nervous ticks, including but not limited to biting his fingernails, chewing his lips bloody, and wringing his hands together.
☆ He is the least confrontational person you will ever meet, and he dodges all allusions to things he doesn't want to talk about or deal with to any degree.
☆ He can, however, be strong-armed (be it physically or verbally) into doing things he doesn't want to. He's very susceptible to loud, commanding voices, usually because he wants to make it stop as soon as possible.

[attr="class","hdtitle"]HISTORY/MISC.

[attr="class","hdinfo"]For Elias, his closet wasn't where a monster lurked ready to attack him in his sleep; it was a space safe from the screaming voices of his parents.

He never understood what they were fighting about—sometimes it was bills, sometimes it was a fair, sometimes it was lying or stealing—but once it was him. It was his mom's fault he was always hiding in the closet, according to dad. It was his dad's fault he was always hiding in the closet, according to mom.

Elias didn't know whose fault it was, he was just scared. His third grade self only wanted to put as many walls between him and the shouting as possible, even if it meant preparing a book light in advance so he could still do his homework.

He supposed he saw it coming in a way then, his parents' divorce. Books and TV shows depicted marriage as a happy thing with two smiling people, yet he couldn't remember the last time he saw his mom and dad smile—much less at each other. Elias ended up moving away with his mother just in time for the start of his middle school career, and the goodbye he bid his dad was the last time he ever saw him.

He was introduced to a whole new school and a whole new group of students, and his mother told him things would be better now. Elias could smile and agree, he could tell her he was happier this way, but his bed didn't feel safe. He nearly caused his mom to panic when she checked on him and didn't see him, only to open the closet and find him blinking the sleep from his eyes.

He said it wasn't her fault, it was just a habit. She didn't believe him, he could tell by her eyes, but nonetheless Elias was told he could do whatever made him feel comfortable. And Elias nodded and smiled and got ready for school.

It was around seventh grade that Elias started skipping. He said he felt sick, he walked out the door and around the neighborhood instead of taking the bus, he roamed the halls instead of going to class. His principal talked to him, and then they brought his mom in too, and to both of them he promised he'd do better. No it wasn't because of his situation he didn't need to go to therapy; he just didn't feel like going to school. He will though, he will from now on.

Makeup work was a pain, but eventually he got his school career back on track. Special consideration for his circumstances helped him through his seventh grade year, but it was close. His principal said he had to do better next year.

And he did, for awhile. Eighth grade started fine until zeros began cropping up on Elias's report cards. You can't afford to do this again, his mom said. So Elias did his work again. And then he slacked. And then he didn't. And then he did again. It was a never ending cycle, constantly wavering between passing and flunking.

High school was a new school, and a whole new academy on top of it. His mom determined this was the best for him, and that she couldn't correct his behavior on her own. He didn't listen to what she said, she didn't want to push him after what he had to go through in his adolescence, and this was her last resort. She was too sensitive to the idea he'd leave her and riddled with guilt that he reminded her of every time she fetched him from his closet, and it was long overdue for a professional's help.

It's now Elias's third year at Birchwood. He flunked freshman year the first time, but he made it on his second try. That makes it the start of his official second year, huh? He'd gone along with his mom's wishes, agreed he thought it was good for him, but honestly Elias doesn't think he needs this place. Isn't he fine?

— Elias's method of coping with the stress of his early childhood was denial. He isn't consciously aware of the problems that fuel his actions—mostly anxiety and depression—and has deluded himself into thinking he's fine even if his actions say otherwise. Confronting his problems is incredibly difficult for him, and he'll likely break down if he's ever forced to.