Harrison O'Hurlihan

Harrison O'Hurlihan is a non-clique character in Thirlcrest Academy. He is played by ColeCapone. 
==Appearance==
Harrison O'Hurlihan is an oversized staple of Thirlcrest's campus, standing at a substantial 6'9". He is comparatively gargantuan, and one of the tallest people seen at the school. His proportions reflect this, with arms as big around as a man's head, legs as big around as telephone poles, and hands that are individually big enough to crush a cantaloupe. He wears size 17 boots, size 54 jeans, and 3XL shirts, and his clothing is still ill-fitting and constraining on his body. He is "corn-fed," a man that is broad in body but also burdened with modest fat centralized around his belly, waist, and chest, a testament to his practical and visible strength.
Warm, chestnut brown eyes, concealed behind pair of patriotic sunglasses, sit above a permanent smile that rests underneath naturally curly, unkempt dirty blonde locks often concealed underneath the wide brim of a white Resistol. A gemstone bolo tie sits around his neck as a gift from his mom prior to his departure from New Mexico. His shirts are never buttoned in full, his boots are tired and worn, and his belt buckles that are tarnished and scuffed. He stands with a pronounced slouch, constantly trying to make himself appear as small as he feasibly can, and his back and knees pop anytime he bends down to grab anything. He always looks happy to see anybody, no matter who they are. 
==Characteristics==
The central lodestone of his character as an individual is that he is developmentally challenged and autistic, aspects of who he is that are just as intrinsic to him as they are unmistakable. They make him who he is, and without them, he would be a vastly different person. They change the way he deals with social interaction, and how he receives and reacts to information and situations. He loves people to death, and enjoys being around them, but rarely do they ever share that sentiment of him.
Harrison could be described as "skittish," fearful of loud noises or being confined with large crowds. He is subject to be easily overstimulated, bothered by lots of noises and uncomfortable with physical contact, and if he is unable to escape his overstimulation in time, he's wont to give in to an abrupt and possibly physical emotional outburst. He always regrets these later on, and so he purposefully avoids situations that could result in that.
He is acutely aware of both his lack of intellect and the capabilities of his large size. Even from youth, he was barred from participating in sports by his mother because of the injuries he could inflict upon others. He does his best to stay out of the way of people, and to make himself as unassuming, unimposing, and as small as possible. He stands with a hunch and slouches his shoulders in. 
He possesses negligible fine motor skills, and that combined with his oversized hands makes it practically impossible for him to do something as mundane as buttoning up his shirt or unwrapping a candy bar. He speaks with a slow vocal tempo, in a monosyllabic nature, deliberately enunciating each word he says through the filter of a strong Southern drawl. His movements are sluggish and lagging, and he has a hard time with coordination, making it impossible for him to do something such as running or even swimming, at times. He has delayed reactions, making it impossible for him to respond to things that could be a threat to him in a timely manner. 
Harrison has a very strong and resolute moral compass, with a defined sense of right and wrong. Raised primarily by the gentle, guiding hand of his mother, Harrison takes to her teachings and advice often, and the strong morals which she instilled in him still remain with him to this day. Whenever he makes a decision, he thinks about how his mother would react or what she would say, and he stands by what his good mom would want him to do. This makes it almost impossible to convince him of things after he's made up his mind, and he is not as gullible to lies and deceit as others may assume because of his treatment by his peers prior to his move and how his mother taught him to think about them and react to them. He does not like violence, and he does not like liars, just as anyone else would. He has a difficult time "connecting the dots," or crafting mental bridges in his head that would to the layman to be obvious or blatant. 
He possesses little to no capacity for violence, and because of his background and his upbringing, he is strongly aware of what he's capable of. As such, he will never engage in violence with others, and will not act in defense of himself for any reason. Causing pain or harm to others creates incredible emotional turmoil in him, and no matter his justification or reason, he will never forgive himself for hurting other people. He is, by all intents and purposes, a pacifist, and would only ever intercede in anything if someone he cares about dearly is being hurt.
He has not a mean bone in his body. The words "hatred" or "bigotry" are not even among those in his limited vocabulary, and he possesses no capacity for judgement. No matter who you are or what you've done, he is ever kind and endlessly forgiving, to a fault. He holds no grudges and knows not of hatred or disdain. He is a comforting and gentle person, willing to give the shirt off of his back to help somebody, and finds no greater joy than to help other people physically or emotionally. His direct, one-track mind lends itself to him in that he almost always can see the simplest or most morally right solution to any problem put in front of him. He does not give up or forsake anyone, and no matter who comes to him, they will always be welcome to be his friend. He loves people, he loves meeting people, interacting with people, knowing them and their stories. It's the little things that he remembers best, commenting on someone's birthday or giving them a flower he picked nearby cause it was their favorite color. He'll give anything to make somebody else smile. 
==Character Background==
Harrison Brook O’Hurlihan was born November 11, 1989, on a generational family ranch situated outside of Faywood, New Mexico to Frank and Jane O’Hurlihan. Two years after his birth, his younger sister, Ruth O’Hurlihan, would be born.
Harrison was subject to an intellectual examination prior to his enrollment in American public school at age 6, as his parents had voiced concern for his inability to learn as quickly as his childhood peers. The discovery that he was both autistic and mentally deficient yielded major alarm in each of his parents.
Harrison found himself quickly separated from his scholarly peers, placed into specialty classes for those who were so greatly impaired. Most of his time was placed into work on the ranch, for at age 12 Harrison already stood at 5’8”, brawny and built, suitable for the farm work which was required of him at home. Strong as an ox, he unfortunately never understood things that young men his age usually would.
Life continued as normal, with his younger sister Ruth being the intellectual star of the family, Harrison instead relegated to the position of being reliable. Rarely did his parents ever see his personality, for he was poorly socially adjusted. Resources for the mentally deficient in the U. S. were rapidly dwindling come the turn of the century, and Harrison was not exempt to that societal shortcoming.
At age 15, Harrison’s father fell into a grain silo and was killed. Incapable of operating the ranch or tending to the hired work on her own, Jane took Harrison out of school so that he could shoulder the burden of taking care of the ranch. Recklessly, after only a year she remarried, hoping that the man she married - a member of their ranch’s hired help named Jack - would be able to take her son’s stead. He did, and Harrison returned to school, a year even further behind. 
Jack was reasonable and good for a year, up until he turned to alcoholism. He became abusive and cruel to the members of the O’Hurlihan family, of which only the mother took his last name. Harrison’s temperament is that of endless patience, but upon entry into the homestead one day he was forced to witness the abuse which his mother and sister had been victim to. The event of that day is often disputed by members of law enforcement, but Jack Morgan ended up dead, and Harrison was shipped to TCA to be given the resources he needed to become a better adjusted member of society.
He has been a student for one year, from a junior, now a senior.
==Relationships==
===None===
His personal connections will eventually be put here, if there are any at all.
== Disclaimer ==
The bottom line is that the U. S. fails the mentally deficient. It lacks the ability to provide them the resources they need to develop properly, and I feel as though Harrison is my most human character. There is nothing that hurts people more than seeing those that truly don’t deserve it be hurt. Harrison did not deserve what fate handed out to him, he did not deserve to have such a beautiful mind so grotesquely limited, and yet here he stands. 
Despite his cliche of being a slow, autistic man of incredible size, he is played with respect in accordance to his situation as I’d provide to any other character. He is a feeling, breathing, thinking man, with emotions and desires just as complex and substantial as your own. He laughs, he cries, he loves, he lies. 
Under no circumstance would I ever play him in a manner that disrespects who and what he is. He is no more and no less than a man, and I will not deign to flanderize his personality for any reason. A society is no better than its least fortunate person - Harrison is one of its least fortunate people. Throughout all of U. S. history, there has always been a disappointing lack of resources or support for the developmentally challenged, such as Harrison.
Spat on, ignored, disrespected, abused, feared, insulted, and emotionally dismissed, Harrison is one of the nicest people anyone may ever meet. I do my absolute best to play him with maturity and tact, and if anyone ever feels like I fail to accomplish that, I implore you to tell me what I do wrong. I have family that is both developmentally challenged and autistic, but I myself am not, so I do not understand exactly how they feel or the struggles they face. If you have criticism, let me know, and I will always hear you out.
Category:Characters