Abhishek Panicker

[Dogs231]

Name: Abhishek Panicker
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Grade: 12th
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Politics, accordion, debate, trolling, video games, communist history, sewing

Appearance: Abhishek stands shorter than average at 5'5 and is on the thinner side at 125 pounds. He also has a small frame with shoulders that are both narrow and rounded. While he is in shape, he is not particularly strong, exercising only to maintain a feminine and attractive appearance. His body is almost entirely devoid of hair due to a combination of genetics and an active interest in removing it. He is of mixed Indian and European descent, with skin that burns moderately in the sun.

Abhishek has straight black hair, styled as a long bob with side-swept bangs. His face is round and oval-shaped, with an overall soft and feminine appearance. As a result, he is often misidentified as a girl. He has a button nose, with subtle freckles across the bridge and parts of his cheeks. His eyebrows are thin and well-groomed, with a brownish-black color that is very slightly lighter than his hair. He has expressive eyes of bright brown color, with subtle eyeliner and small dark spots under them from heavy computer use and lack of sleep. Abhishek painstakingly eliminates the minimal amount of facial hair he can grow.

His voice is slightly high-pitched and trained a small amount to sound more feminine than average. He often speaks with a dramatic flair to his voice.

Abhishek has a strange sense of style, which is evident by his outfits outside of school. He often adorns his clothing in pins, patches, and badges referencing various historical and pop culture references. However, as a result of the dress code, he wears more subdued outfits at school. He also is almost always seen wearing a metal necklace with an oval, claw-set amber glass pendant. He wears this necklace almost everywhere due to it having been a gift from his late grandfather.

On the day of the trip, he wore an outfit more suited to the school environment. He wore an unbuttoned red-over-red checkerboard-pattern dress-shirt over a thin white sweater, a pair of faded blue jeans, prescription clubmaster-style glasses, a gray knit beanie, and the necklace he received from his grandfather.

Biography: Abhishek was born in Salem, Massachusetts as the second child of Rajendra Panicker and Joyce Panicker (née Sharron), both of whom work as mid-level accountants at the Frye & Company management consulting firm.

The two met at the firm shortly after they received their jobs, and they found that they shared many similarities. They were both working in data entry and had both been hired by the company shortly after they graduated from higher education. They also shared similar economic statuses and views of the world. Eventually, the two pursued a brief but successful romance before becoming married.

Abhishek's parents were both born into relatively poor, working-class families and became determined to break from their roots and succeed where those before them had failed. As a result, the two poured themselves into their work, working long hours in the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder and becoming successful. Abhishek's father, in particular, viewed career advancement as the only measure of his success and worth as a person and so became devoted to his employment, valuing it far above his fulfillment or health.

While their work was simultaneously monotonous and stressful, they succeeded at managing their work-life balance even after the birth of their first child, Adarsh, two years Abhishek's senior. However, this was disrupted following the birth of Abhishek, as the parents had more difficulty raising two children than they did raising only one. While they managed to do so, they often found themselves splitting their time between their two children. The two also felt contention due to their different views on how they should parent - Abhishek's father was heavy-handed and could be harsh and combative, while his mother was often distant and hands-off.

Adarsh was a diligent, quiet, and obedient child who caused little trouble and for whom they held great affection. The same could not be said of Abhishek, who from the start was an intelligent but distracted, troublesome, and loud child, often disregarding directions and causing problems.

As a result, his brother quickly became the favorite child, which they seldom concealed from Abhishek. While his brother received regular praise from their parents, he received criticism for his difficulty and inattentiveness instead. They hoped that this would drive Abhishek to become more like his brother, but he became frustrated towards their treatment of him instead, as he felt that even when he tried to do well, it was not enough to satisfy their demands. Abhishek and his brother were also driven apart by this method, as Abhishek began to resent his older sibling for setting high expectations for him. While these feelings would pass, the two of them would never become particularly close.

Abhishek often found himself feeling alone due to his parents preferring to spend their little free time with his older brother and a lack of many friends. As a result, he often found himself playing video games on the computer to help him escape from the feelings of loneliness he experienced. His favorite video games include the Half-Life and Portal series.

When Abhishek was entering sixth grade, his parents received important promotions due to their strong work ethic and efficiency. However, it came with more difficult working hours that would allow them to spend less time at home. To resolve this predicament, they enlisted Abhishek's grandfather Kailash, a metalworker who had immigrated from Kerala, India, and sought his help in taking care of the two while they worked. Unlike Abhishek's parents, however, his grandfather treated the two equally. As a result, Abhishek grew close to his grandfather, who showed pride in him despite his flaws.

This close relationship is also what allowed Abhishek to pick up one of his grandfather's hobbies, the accordion. His grandfather had learned to play the instrument after immigrating to the United States and taught Abhishek how to play some songs. While Abhishek initially had difficulty operating the accordion, he gradually learned how to play it and became more skilled. As he continued to practice the instrument, he decided to create a YouTube song cover channel to record his progress. While the YouTube channel has proven unsuccessful, he still uploads to it, viewing the experience he gains as the part that matters.

Throughout middle school, Abhishek achieved middling grades. The sole exception to this was history, a class he found far more interesting than his others. While he understood the curriculum, he had trouble staying motivated when it came to assignments. As a result, the work he handed in was often of poor quality, and his grades began to decline. This decline became evident in Eighth Grade, which caused worry and frustration for his parents, who held him and his brother to high standards. However, neither of them could agree on a solution to the problem. Abhishek's father wanted to enforce a strict study regimen, but his mother believed that it would only make him more uncooperative towards them. Her solution was instead to offer him money in exchange for high marks. Having a tangible reward for better grades helped him stay motivated, and as a result, his grades improved significantly.

In his sophomore year of high school, Abhishek and his family suffered a personal tragedy when his grandfather suffered from an unexpected heart attack. While they were able to bring him to a hospital in time, he eventually passed away following complications during his treatment. Abhishek and his family were heartbroken, and their grief was only added to by a large medical bill, which their insurance did not fully cover. Abhishek's parents buried themselves further in work due to both of these factors, and Abhishek became depressed and withdrawn as a result. He also developed a dark sense of humor, making fun of bad situations and unfortunate events in life.

As a result of the stress surrounding the medical bills and a surge of far-right rhetoric in the mainstream during the presidency of Jared Canon, Abhishek also became more politically aware. While his parents were indifferent to politics and found themselves relatively content as long as the economy was strong, Abhishek had far different views. He found interest in socialism and the history of countries that practiced it, believing that their methods of governance were fascinating. Eventually, he began to consider himself a socialist, believing in concepts such as universal public healthcare, redistribution of wealth, workplace democracy, and strong government regulation of the economy.

At the same time, he joined a political discussion forum due to a desire to discuss his newly found ideas and views. While he initially enjoyed being on the website and was viewed as a model community member, he gradually became frustrated due to increased toxicity, poor administration, and a constant need to defend himself from personal criticism and ad-hominem arguments. He began to use the forum as a way of dealing with stress and started to act in bad faith intentionally. He disrupted political discussions with nonsensical arguments and gish-gallop. He also began to insult users that he disliked and made hasty excuses and defenses whenever he came under scrutiny as a result. As a result, he became a highly controversial forum member. While he has come close to being banned on several occasions, he has narrowly avoided removal from the forum by making occasional positive contributions and reducing his activity after starting controversies.

He also joined the high school debate club, where he initially held a poor reputation due to an unwillingness to take debates seriously, often making ridiculous claims and strawman arguments. However, on the rare occasions where he showed a willingness to participate, he could convey his points articulately and effectively. He is skilled at taking devil's advocate positions when required and puts significant effort into arguing points that are not necessarily his own. Over time, he has made efforts to genuinely become a better debater, though he reverts to trolling when he feels as if his opponent is acting in bad faith. He takes significant effort to avoid doing this in scored debates, though he is not unwilling to make small jabs at opponents, which usually go unnoticed.

He started to take part in sewing classes because he wanted to sew socialist patches onto his clothes, though he was not allowed to due to the school dress code. However, he soon developed a more genuine interest in the process as time has gone on and has become somewhat proficient. He continues to sew in his spare time, attaching flag patches and other accessories to his clothing outside of school.

As a result of his political beliefs, he found himself within a group of similarly-minded peers at John Endecott Memorial. They helped to comfort him throughout the stress of his situation, causing him to feel less alone while dealing with the problems he faces in his life. He formed close bonds with his newly-found friends and became very devoted to them as a result. As time went on, this friend group crystallized into the "vanguard" of which Abhishek is an active member and participant.

Around sophomore year, Abhishek began to realize that he felt attracted to both girls and other boys. As a result, he concluded that he was bisexual. When he came out to his family, he received little support. His father was displeased with it but chose not to argue about it, aware that nothing he could do could change it, and his mother was relatively indifferent.

Around junior year, he also began to use the money he received from grades to experiment with how he dressed and styled himself. As a result, he found that he preferred to style himself in a more feminine or androgynous way. He began to exercise in a way that helped him to build a more feminine body shape. While his parents were unhappy, he was not discouraged by their lack of support, as he had become used to not receiving their support in his endeavors.

Abhishek's grades are above-average and are steadily within the mid-B to the high-A range. His highest grades are in his history and elective classes, while his lowest are in the sciences and mathematics.

Among his peers, Abhishek is divisive at best and hated at worst. Many students consider him to be some combination of insensitive, annoying, or rude. While he does have friendships at school, they consist primarily of other vanguard members, to whom he is more emotionally open and friendly. He is currently in a relationship with another member of the friend group.

Abhishek has a strained relationship with his family. He and his father do not get along well as a result of his high expectations and strictness. He and his mother are somewhat distant, with his mother having a hands-off role in his life. He and his brother, who is currently studying accounting at the University of Southern California, are also very distant due to their differences in upbringing and personality.

Advantages: Abhishek is somewhat intelligent and may be able to think his way out of situations. He has a strong group of friends who he may be able to rely on as allies. He is in shape due to exercise and may fare better than some of his less active peers.
Disadvantages: Abhishek is generally unpopular among the student body of John Endecott Memorial Academy, which will make it difficult to find allies. He can be disrespectful, which could provoke other students. He bristles under the authority of others and may act in a way that is unconducive to the game. He is emotionally reliant on the support of his established friendships and may have difficulty dealing with stressful situations without their help.

[VoltTurtle]

Heya Dogs! I'm the staffer critiquing Abhishek for you today. He's looking really good for a first draft, but there are a few things I want touched up before he can be approved.

One general concern I will mention before I get into anything specific is that I find it a little strange that Abhishek doesn't develop any hobbies or major interests before middle school. Most kids will usually have one thing that they cling to and then subsequently stick with from an early age, though this isn't always the case (and if you decide it's not the case for Abhishek, it might be good to mention why so in the biography). I'd say the most fitting hobby for this (requiring the fewest changes) would probably be his video games hobby, since it could easily be adjusted to fit into his earlier life.

Onto the specifics!

Hobbies and Interests: Politics, accordion, debate, trolling, video games, communist history, sewing.

No need for a period at the end of this, since it's just a list, not a sentence.

His voice is slightly high-pitched and more feminine than average. He often speaks with a dramatic flair to his voice.

Does he train his voice at all to maintain a more feminine pitch? The vast majority of 17 year old boys don't have voices that sound naturally feminine (due to puberty). He already exercises to maintain a feminine appearance, so I imagine this would be a logical extension of that.

On the day of the trip, he wore an outfit more suited to the school environment. He wore an unbuttoned red-over-red checkerboard-pattern dress-shirt over a white t-shirt, a pair of faded blue jeans, prescription clubmaster-style glasses

Did he have anything in the way of winter gear? This is going to be a winter trip, and while this current outfit is fine for cool weather, it's not really all that suitable for freezing temperatures.

and a metal necklace with an oval, claw-set amber glass pendant. He wears this necklace almost everywhere due to it having been a gift from his late grandfather.

This is probably better placed in the paragraph above (and then repeated here), since it's a part of his usual outfit rather than specifically his trip outfit.

As a result, he often found himself playing video games on the computer.

Was this a form of escapism for him? That much is implied by what comes before, but a little elaboration would be nice.

Over time, he has made efforts to genuinely become a better debater, though he reverts to trolling when he feels as if his opponent is acting in bad faith.

Does he do this during actual scored debates? If so, does he get in trouble for doing so?

He started to take part in sewing classes because he wanted to sew socialist patches onto his clothes, though he was not allowed to due to the school dress code.

I'll note here that not all socialist symbols are forbidden by the school dress code (for instance, the bisected red and black flag or a simple hammer and sickle would likely go unnoticed, especially if they take the form of a small patch and are not massively displayed). You don't have to change this, necessarily, but I wanted to let you know.

the student body of John Endecott

I know what you mean here, but you should add "Memorial" or "Memorial Academy" after Endecott to make sure nobody thinks you're talking about the actual guy.

--

...and that's it! Lots of edits, I know. Get back to me when you have all of that handled and Abhishek should be good to go. :3

[Dogs231]

Abhishek Panicker Critique Changelog (1.0.1)

• Removed the period in Abhishek Panicker's hobbies and interests.
• Noted that Abhishek Panicker trains his voice to a small extent.
• Replaced Abhishek Panicker's white t-shirt with a thin white sweater and gave him a gray knit beanie.
• Placed the anecdote about Abhishek Panicker's necklace in the paragraph above and re-iterated it in the list.
• Made Abhishek Panicker's interest in video games occur earlier.
• Noted that Abhishek Panicker's early interest in video games was a form of escapism
• Elaborated on what Abhishek Panicker does when he feels an opponent acts in bad faith during scored debates.
• Clarified advantages and disadvantages to eliminate any mention of the tangible body of the human being known as John Endecott, who served as the 1st, 10th, 13th, 15th, and 17th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and who serves as the namesake for the school known as John Endecott Memorial Academy.

[VoltTurtle]

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