Avery Driscoll
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Contents |
His Basics
Name
Name: Avery Fitzwilliam Driscoll
Nickname(s): Puppy, Pup, cariad from Jack, beautiful from Jake
Dates
Birth Date: 4th June, 1989
Places
Birth Place: Shimla, India
Places of Residence: Cape Town, London
Current Residence: Cape Town
Family
Parents: Mother, Claire Fitzwilliam. Father, John Driscoll.
Siblings: Jameson Driscoll, Elizabeth Driscoll
Raised By: Birth parents
Significant Other(s): Jack Dickon, Jake Griffith
Children: None
Education
School(s): Constantia Waldorf School, Eton College
First Language(s): Afrikaans
Additional Language(s): English, French, German, some Xhosa, passable Italian, Greek, Latin
Occupation: Violinist with the Cape Town Philharmonic.
Footnotes
1
His Self
Physical Appearance
Height: 5'6"
Haircolor: Light brown
Eye color: Yellow-green
Weight: Around 140
Memorable marks: Fading scars on his neck, one angrier than the other. Another fading scar on his knee.
Description: Avery stands about 5'6", has bright yellow-green eyes, thin, light (very light) brown hair that waves and curls and rebels against most forms of taming, but is usually in his eyes. He has a small nose with a long, lightly freckled bridge and eyes with an unhealthy, slightly wrinkled dark skin around them. It only looks unhealthy, however. It's actually a feature seen in many of his family members. His eyelashes are dark and long, and his eyes are wide and expressive.
He now has a fairly strong jawline and defined cheeks now that he has entered adulthood and shed his baby weight.
He has long, slender, slightly calloused fingers.
His time playing rugby blessed him with rather muscular, somewhat stocky legs and leaner arms.
Personality
Avery is perhaps the most eccentric member of his family, and has been since he was young. Perhaps it's the fact that he's highly intelligent and incredibly perceptive, or perhaps he's just nutty.
Throughout his years at Eton, and for some time after, he suffered from severe depression and regression in his behavior, perhaps to reclaim the years lost to abuse at the hands of an early boyfriend. In time, these disorders, including panic disorder, have corrected themselves, and he is today unaffected by most of his tumultuous teenage years.
Despite a natural tendency towards being wild and off the wall (sometimes literally off the wall), he also easily calms down and remains quiet and reserved, studying and sponging up different things in his spare time. He likes entertainment, and is good at making his own, and will do so at the expense of any unfortunate people around him.
His personality is rather intense and intensely random. He is a bit of a brat. He is spoilt. He's also a bit of a hurricane. He has a bunch of energy and tends to take it out on everyone around him. And on learning how to join the circus.
Avery in a nutshell is impulsive, irrational, comical, and unpredictable. But he loves his family dearly and has no shame in being attached to his mum, even at the age of twenty.
Interests and Uncategorized Facts
He was a child prodigy, having played the violin exceptionally well since the age of three. It's the one steady comfort he has always relied upon. He can and does bring people to their knees, and not just through use of violence.
He is quietly intellectual, and a genius when it comes to academics. He has an affinity for languages, as he spoke both Afrikaans and English from birth (though Afrikaans was an accident), and picked up Italian through studying what Jake Griffith was using, and even listening to Jake's father, Domani Reali, speak. He also knows Latin, Greek, and French and a good deal of Germanic languages, just due to knowing Afrikaans. He also understands, but cannot always speak, Xhosa.
He entered Eton a year early, at twelve, and completed his studies fully by sixteen, though he was plagued with bullies due to his somewhat effeminate looks during his early teenage years, and the rumor that he was gay.
He loves rugby, and despite his size usually packed quite a force on the field. He hasn't played in three years, but he wouldn't say no to going back, though he is out of shape for it.
He hates tea and sort of tolerates coffee drinks to an extent. He enjoys anything meaty (well, he is South African. And he does have boyfriends). He also loves jelly beans, but hates the licorice ones (Jake eats those).
One of the least known things about him is that he is also avidly into cross-dressing. He loves androgyny, and until he reached nineteen, had delicate enough features to pull it off well. However, he has matured to a point where it's less easy for him to get the right look, and he is a bit more flashy with his tastes. He has a huge collection of lingerie and women's clothing, but in recent years hasn't been as active in any drag communities. He would fix it in a heartbeat if he had the time.
His personal style is as eclectic as his personality. He's one of those thrift shop babies, the kind of people who roll around in a Salvation Army storage facility and come out looking very cute, if mismatched. He likes sweaters with patches and unmatched, buttondown shirts and beat up Vans/Chucks. You know exactly what I'm talking about. He also likes ties, but worn with things that don't exactly support wearing a tie (ie, t-shirts), and slightly-fitted jeans with patches and holes (he makes those himself; he doesn't buy deconstructed anything). Avery likes what is easy, and hates shopping, so having cheap, easy, comfortable-to-wear clothes is the best thing for him. He does none of it ironically. (He also has an affinity for breeches--yes, old fashioned breeches.)
Recently he has taken up the strong desire to join the circus. He is a man of very man oddball talents, and the circus is his home. He was unaware that his great-grandmother was in a circus as a girl until all of his experimenting caught his mother's attention, and she took out old photos.
Circus Checklist
- Juggling DONE
- One-handed juggling DONE
- Insanely complex jugging DONE
- Juggling involving fire DONE
- Walking on hands DONE
- Fire eating DONE
- Tight-rope walking DONE
- Acrobatics MASTERING
- Sword-swallowing
- Lion taming TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET A LION PAST HIS MUM
- Plate-spinning MASTERING WITH SACRIFICES
- Uni-and-other-cycles DONE
- Sleight-of-hand (he's got the magic already) MASTERING
- To copy every interesting feat accomplished in the Guinness Book of World Records
- To ask his great grandmother what else he needs to know
His Life
Avery Fitzwilliam Driscoll was born on the 4th of June, 1989, two months early while his parents were on holiday in Shimla, India. Named for his mother's maiden name and her deceased best friend, Avery remained under heavy care in a nearby hospital until he was strong enough to brave the long flight home to Cape Town, South Africa, where his mother's family has lived off and on for about two hundred years.
Avery spent his childhood as many rich children do: having everything and doing everything. For the first three years of his life, he spoke both English and Afrikaans in a jumble. His nanny, a woman who spoke primarily Afrikaans, taught him her language as an infant, and he refused to change until he was bribed with biscuits for every try. His mother's family all speaks fluent Afrikaans, but they picked it up out of necessity, and the shock of having a son unable to properly communicate with the family made his father, John, unsettled. He was fiercely protective of his golden boy, and fired the nanny. Claire was displeased by his overreaction, but began to stay home with her son, instead.
Never able to sit still or be quiet for very long, Claire put Avery in a variety of activities from the age of three and on. At three, he picked up the violin, and this became his most essential activity for over a decade. He was gifted and intelligent, a prodigy that his violin instructor absolutely delighted himself with. They paraded him about in small suits, giving him solos in front of packed audiences, occasions that never caused him to do so much as bat an eye. At four, he began piano, and later other things were added to the list, which included: vocal lessons (choir boy), rugby (age six--became pleasantly addicted), cricket (hated it), football (liked rugby more), painting (talented, but better at sketching--thought it was all boring), French (blah!), Latin (helped him at Eton!), German (too similar to Afrikaans), crew (not enough kicking), swimming (too wet), ballet (dad pulled him out after a solitary week--Avery was seven, and actually excited about it), hunting (with dad--sang to the animals and saved the rest), polo (too snobbish), archery (broke a window and was banned from ever doing it inside the house--but where was the fun if not aiming at his young sister?), chess (fell asleep) and riding (still does it on occasion, but found the jodhpurs to be absolutely uncomfortable).
In conclusion: Avery has done it all.
Meanwhile, he excelled at school, starting at age four, and made a great deal of friends, the least favorite of which was Isabella Rosalinda Bartholomew, or Bella. Family friends, the Bartholomews were rich, and as is to be expected, not fully aware of the fact that there are, indeed, other people with other incomes (and sometime none at all) in the world. Bella was a direct reflection of their ideals, and at ten, they were nearly engaged--under her strict orders. Avery took to putting frogs in her tea, but she grew accustomed to it and took her revenge by requiring Avery to wear a suit and tie whenever they socialized.
During his school years, Avery was rambunctious; the typical boy that any parent dreads having. His father, a lawyer, was often away on business trips and working all day long when he was in town. His mother taught at schools for poor children and spent much of her time in the ghettos. She brought Avery on occasion, and he made a few friends. At times, his mother would arrange for schools in England to write to her students, and once, she paid for a trip so that they could all meet. She quit just after having her third, and final, child, Elizabeth (who goes by Bess).
He broke his arm twice in barely five minutes' time (once from falling out of his tree fort, then when running inside when it began to rain). Also broke ribs and his nose, and various fingers and toes, during rugby games. He was notorious for ignoring the injuries and heading straight back in to play.
At age twelve, he was accepted into Eton College. His mother thought he was too young, and that the school was out of its mind for accepting him early, but they gave him a Junior Music Scholarship, and after much coaxing from John, Avery was sent to London in August of 2001 to stay with a family friend of Claire's, whose son was older but also attending Eton.
Frank, the son, became Avery's first 'boyfriend', just weeks after his arrival. Avery, at twelve, and Frank, at nearly sixteen, were not a match, but he was entranced by the older boy's tattoos, dyed hair and piercings, and Frank was entranced by Avery's purity. Avery had only thought a little of his sexuality before arriving in London, but was comfortable enough not to question was was going on. Their relationship became a whirlwind of drugs, sex and sneaking into clubs. Frank, a dealer, had enough connections to protect their entry. The bullying that went on here was kept from everyone, but it was soon over Avery's head.
On the first day of Eton, before everything began to go down hill, Avery met Jake Griffith, who was quiet and attractive. Avery, who was not paying attention when he first saw Jake, walked into a door and nearly broke his nose. He spent his first week at school with a delightful bruise and an even more attractive bandage. But all was made up for when he and Jake spoke after that first day and found they had a great deal in common. Too much, really, because Frank immediately detested the kid.
Avery hated sex for a very long time--until Frank started to get him high. The drugs and drinking increased. They would sneak out and sneak in and during the day, Avery played his music, did his prep work, and excelled at rugby. But he nearly died of overdosing at a party that Frank brought him to, and the boys hosting it, frightened that they would be in trouble for more than simply having drugs, shut him in a bedroom and panicked. Though no one saw, this is when Avery's angelic traits first appeared, bringing back from the very brink of death. The boys found him crouched in a corner, blue and cold to the touch.
But miraculously, after they finally took him to hospital, Avery's system was clean of any signs of drugs. There was visible damage, but there was absolutely no clue as to how it got there. Frank was free, and Avery went back to school. But parents were made aware that something wasn't right.
As the year passed, Frank turned even more abusive, swearing at Avery and striking him on a number of occasions because Avery had started to grow more independent. His self-worth had shot to zero, and he lived his life afraid that any misstep could result in another bruise. Especially when he interacted with Jake. But Jake was the person he felt most at ease with, so it was hard for him to stay away.
Jake had been a problem to Frank from day one. As they studied together and laughed together and smoked together, Frank grew more and more suspicious. He had a right to think there was something between them, because there was. They kissed a few times, fell asleep together on other occasions, and found themselves obviously wanting more. Jake was wary of Frank, as was Avery, but one evening, they made the mistake of not only kissing, but snogging until they fell asleep together.
The next morning, very early, Avery fled into the winter chill, and Frank caught him. Not only caught him, but attacked him, shoving him against the wall and punching him. Avery began to yell about his attraction to Jake, saying very graphic things, just to piss Frank off. This was the end of them, he knew it. But when Frank disappeared behind a shed, Avery made yet another mistake: he kept following. Frank came at him, hitting him in the knee with a cricket bat.
His knee shattered, Avery spent several days in hospital and a few months in a cast, crutches at hand. He told Jake that they could no longer see each other, that it was too dangerous. Because Frank wasn't out of their lives enough to prevent anything happening to either of them. Besides, at a school like theirs, rumors spreading of someone being gay would only make things worse. Devastated with his choice, Avery spent the rest of that year bitter and upset, but he took Frank back, anyway, as he was young and idiotic, and the end of their relationship began.
Two years of Frank was enough. At just fourteen, Avery took the final step and dumped him, enraging Frank, though he did nothing. Avery wanted to grow, to meet other people and live the live he ought to be. His marks had suffered and he was out of rugby because of the injury. Music was all he had. He was straining his mother, who had to continuously visit and worry about him, and his peers were suspicious of the reasons behind Frank being such a prick.
And then came Jack Dickon. Avery had dreamt of Jack, of a brown-haired boy and his blonde-haired sister, though he never understood them. The dreams occurred amidst nightmares during the end of his relationship with Frank, and they were a comfort to him. But he never expected them to be real, though he once touched Jack and it certainly felt much more than a dream.
So when Jack walked into his class on the first day of his third year at Eton, he was astounded. Avery had no idea he wasn't human, had no idea there was anything different about him, as Claire had yet to say anything, so this dream come true was not only odd, but terrifying. The boy, whose name he learned that day, looked different. His hair was dyed black, there was make up around his dark green eyes, and he held himself with an arrogance that could have been dangerous--but mostly, it attracted the attention everyone who looked at him. The swing of his lips, the carefully-placed smirk on his lips. Their eyes met, and the recognition wasn't just in Avery's--it was in Jack's, too.
They became friends that year, and Avery slowly rekindled his friendship with Jake, as well as other boys, including the unfortunate Clydai Morgan, who was infamous for being an asshole. During June, Avery attempted to get Jake back in his life as more than best mates--as boyfriends. He kissed the now taller boy, but was horrified when Jake didn't respond. Crushed, he left, assuming it was over between them as anything beyond the platonic. Afraid there would be rumors, because being close to Jack had begun to circulate wild things. Jack was strong enough to handle the slurs, but Avery wasn't.
Frank started to stalk and threaten him as the rumors began to shape. He was thrilled to have something to attack the boy with, and he did it mercilessly until the bullying from other classmates got out of hand, and Claire pulled him out of school.
Avery was sent home to Cape Town, where he finished out the school year. But in between his work, he worried about Jack and showed signs of severe depression. Too many years of maltreatment had made their mark, and when Jack called to say that he and Clydai had done something they shouldn't have, the camel's back was broken and Avery attempted suicide.
He stayed in a psychiatric ward after his physical recovery, and the stitches and pills were harsh reminders of what he had done, of what Jack had done, and what being gay was doing to him. But perhaps afraid of a lawsuit, Eton did what it could to accommodate for Avery in long distance, and he finished his schooling in absentia, able to finish a year early.
But the summer of 2004 presented a problem. Loving two different people. It was a slow process to adjust, and Avery had to convince himself that Jack was probably not worth it, but the boy came to him just as Jake was visiting, and the issue was addressed. And shoved aside. No one liked it, and everyone was confused. The idea of anything other than monogamy didn't click.
Avery had to return to London to potentially testify against Frank, who was arrested for his assault and possession of illegal substances. He stayed with his grandparents there. It became incredibly obvious then that Avery's depression was only getting worse, and the two boys, instead of fighting over him, helped him.
He stayed in London with Jake for the rest of the summer, with Jack visiting every now and again. They slowly began a friendship, and Avery held them tightly together, especially when Frank was let out on parole and Avery's panic disorder flared up. He continued to suffer from extreme breakdowns until one of them resulted in wings.
In 2005, he finally found out what he was, and this revelation put a large crack in his parents' marriage, which was already crumbling under the weight of the complications at Eton and Avery's polyamorous, homosexual relationship. He carried guilt with him over it, especially when his brother began to take it personally and lashed out at everyone for what was happening. Blaming Avery. Blaming his mother.
Beginning at the divorce in 2006, Avery had to do a lot of adjusting. His disorders eased, and he got a job performing with the Cape Town Philharmonic. By 2008, he and the boys had moved out of the house and into their own, with Jack's little sister.
For the first time in a long time, he feels no more pain.
External Links
Avery's Journal
Avery's Second Journal
Avery's First Journal
Inhabit the Garden: Avery's complete history at Eton, in novel form. (Though needing some retouches.)
Inhabit's Website: The official website of the novel.
100 Things About Avery (Also needing retouches.)
