Bryn

• X-Ray

*[INSERT QUOTE ABOUT BRYN FROM NOVEL]*

Bryn Llewyn-Boyer (b. Kester Ariadne Dolourpoulos) is a long-term patient at New Hope. He is the longest residing patient, having been admitted to the institute four years prior to the events in the novel. Bryn suffers from PTSD, and finds difficulty sleeping due to recurring nightmares relating to his past, as well as congenital hyperthymesia. He has the innate ability to 'read' people - this involves examining a person and picking off information about them via non-verbal indicators such as facial expression, tone, or habits. Bryn maintains a bright demeanour, giving the impression of stability and hence seeming somewhat out of place amongst the other patients. Very few people actually know *why* he is there, as he himself only ever refers to his admission as the result of "a series of misunderstandings".

## PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

One of the most prominent of Bryn’s features is his height: he stands at an impressive 6'2", significantly taller than the majority of the patients. However, Bryn’s height appears to be mainly his legs, which are described as “long, gangly, useless things”. Another prominent feature is Bryn’s curly purple hair, which is said to be “bright purple in a not-show-offy way” and “smells faintly of watermelon”. Notable facial features include parakeet green almond-shaped eyes, rosy cheeks and a dusting of freckles. He has a slender body and broad shoulders, with a slightly chubby stomach. There is notable scarring across his back sustained from beatings during his childhood, as well as a deep horizontal scar across his neck from a suicide attempt. Bryn is highly conscious of his scarring, viewing them as bad reminders from his past, and constantly wears a purple bandana to conceal his neck. In addition to this, he wears white-gold thin framed glasses, quirky socks, sweaters or cardigans and chino pants.

## TRAITS

Bryn is an incredibly intelligent individual, with this intelligence often manifesting in his observational abilities, as well as his eloquent and articulate speech. Bryn’s analytical outlook on life has caused him to be rather cynical, despite being raised Christian. He bases the majority of his actions and decisions on logic and science, having his head rule his heart, the only exception to this rule being where his family is concerned. However, Bryn is very friendly and charismatic, in spite of his calculated mindset, taking on a sort of fatherly role in the institute. He is incredibly polite, holding manners with a high regard and addressing all staff members as ‘sir’ or ‘madam’, even if he knows their name. Bryn is quite a quirky individual, often cracking jokes (namely terrible puns), picking apart or ‘dissecting’ his food and having a schedule for smoking (a cigarette after breakfast, after lunch and before bed). He can speak English, Greek and Latin fluently, though he was raised speaking mainly Greek.

## TALENTS

Aside from his significant intelligence and his observational prowess, Bryn has a number of other notable talents. Bryn has an extensive knowledge on astronomy, so much so that he could “prove NASA wrong”. In addition to this, Bryn is able to pinpoint any paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci, including when it was originally painted and what kind of canvas and paints were used. He also has memorised the Greek pantheon, and can recount Greek mythology. The majority of Bryn’s talents are thanks to his hyperthymesia, though he does not showcase these talents often due to embarrassment over them.

## LIKES AND DISLIKES

Bryn is particularly interested in astronomy, psychology and physics, often reading books about these topics. He also enjoys literature and poetry, as well as orchestral music and classical art. His favourite food is chicken nuggets, and he prefers tea to coffee, taking his tea with milk and two sugars, and his coffee black with two sugars. Bryn is often described as a “neat freak”, feeling uncomfortable with any mess or disorder, though he does not have any diagnosis of OCD. Bryn is also noted to have a strong dislike for soup, claiming that his hatred stems from his confusion over its consumption, as his argument is: “Do you *eat* it? Do you *drink* it? I refuse to like something that needlessly perplexes me like that.” Perhaps one of Bryn’s most notable dislikes is violence; Bryn will find any method possible to avoid violence during an altercation, and will freeze helplessly if he witnesses acts of violence.

## BACKSTORY

### **CHILDHOOD**

Bryn was born as Kester Ariadne Dolourpoulos in Athens, Greece on April 24th 1991. His mother, Winifred Boerpoúlou, was born and raised in Athens, and his father, Thomas Dolour, had been temporarily staying in Greece for two years before having a baby with Winifred. Just over two years later, on May 15th 1993, Bryn’s sister Margaret was born. Bryn was raised speaking mainly Greek, as he lived in Greece for the first twelve years of his life, learning enough English for general conversation. Additionally, he was taught to speak Latin, despite its absence in modern-day usage.

### **ADOLESCENCE**

At the end of August, 2003, the family relocated to Thomas’s hometown of Berkshire, England, where they settled down.