Basic Character Information

Appearance

Isaac is a tall, Asian boy of Chinese descent with short, black hair. Possessing defined biceps, vascular forearms, and robust calves, his form speaks volumes of his dedication to personal fitness, every inch primed to express force by his dictation.

Dark-eyed and possessing round, squishy cheeks, he has unwittingly developed a perpetual baby-face, much to his chagrin.

Character Traits

He is an Optimist.
Isaac believes that some problems are too much for the powerless to deal with, and that only the powerful can rise to meet those challenges. He feels that the best way that one can help is to take care of themselves and the people around them, rather than complicating the matter further. He has faith in the ability of authority to protect the well-being of students and citizens alike.

He tries to see the best in people.
Every individual has good in him, and Isaac strives to discover and bring that goodness to the fore.

He has a tendency to idolise people he looks up to.
Isaac reveres others with qualities that he wishes he had. He will sometimes form idealistic impressions of who they are in his mind and will attempt to emulate the way they act to improve himself as a person. As a result, he can become blind to, or attempt to justify their flaws to himself, imagining them to be the perfect human being.

He has low self-esteem.
Favouritism from his parents coupled with his lack of affinity for magic has led Isaac to feel constantly inadequate. He doesn’t think very highly of himself and feels nervous when complemented. He often suspects that people say good things about him only because they feel like he needs their gratification to be happy.

He lacks self-confidence.
When placed under stress, Isaac is unable to act independently as he does not trust himself not to make the situation worse. He requires a second opinion to make important decisions, often from someone he respects or idolises.

He is a gentle avenger.
Rather than reacting with jealousy towards others with better self-esteem, Isaac desires to ensure that no one around him will ever feel the way he does. He makes a visible effort to celebrate the accomplishments of others by honouring small wins to keep people motivated. He strives to be a good listener and will try to accommodate others in conversation.

He is a pacifist.
The boy dislikes direct confrontation, especially when it leads to violence. If he had the choice, he would attempt to talk or reason things out to reach a compromise that satisfies both parties.

Interests

Martial Arts

He first started learning wushu when he was 9, after experiencing a brutal incident of bullying at school that left him with deep lacerations across his lower body. Initially hindered by aspirations of learning magical self-defense, Isaac eventually came to terms with the possibility that he might be a squib, and devoted himself fully to practicing his technique. What started as a means of self-defense turned into a source of great pride for the boy, and eventually one of his greatest self-taught skills. When he was younger, Isaac would attend mixed-martial arts tournaments under the junior category, winning his first tournament at the age of 10.

At the present, martial arts has become firmly integrated into Isaac’s life. Many of the exercises he conducts are martial arts related, and they revolve around building his strength, reflexes, mobility, flexibility, and stability.

In addition to these benefits, the practice of martial arts also improves bodily coordination and cardiovascular health.

Chinese History and Literature

While growing up in a family with strong traditional roots, Isaac was widely exposed to Chinese Culture. As one of the biggest empires of the pre-modern period, China produced many great works of philosophy and strategy, including Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and the writings of Confucius. Many works of literature were also produced, including the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin that were closely based on historical events. Chinese Culture centres its focus on values such as loyalty, filial piety, and shrewdness, celebrating the honour and intellect of their heroes. Isaac draws inspiration from these stories and aspires to be like the characters he has read about.

Hygiene Freak

Isaac is terrified of germs, going beyond simple fear. He refuses to touch anything that hasn’t been washed and often carries cleaning supplies on him for this purpose.

If an environment is unclean, it will serve as a source of disturbance for him, and will prevent him from thinking clearly.

Magic

Born unexceptional and ordinary, Isaac marvels at the feats of magic performed by those around him. He enjoys the simple pleasure of watching others do what he wishes he could do.

Quotations Attributed to Isaac

Relationships

Family

Backstory

Isaac’s Upbringing

Reducio

As the eldest child, Isaac was doted on by both of his parents, raised to be the male heir of his family. There was great anticipation for him to succeed as he was both diligent and eager to learn.

However, as he grew older, it puzzled his family that he displayed little to no magical ability. This continued alarmingly into his late childhood as both of his younger sisters had their first instances of magic.

Perhaps they hadn’t intended for it, but Isaac felt a shift in the relations between him and his parents. They seemed to be less warm around him, less caring towards his problems. They became more invested in his sisters, to the point that he sometimes felt as if he had to fend for himself. The favouritism wasn’t extreme, but he was a perceptive child, and he wished he never realised it. It tore him down, realising that his parents valued him less because of his lack of magical talent. Though they didn’t say it, their actions implied that he would be a disappointment if he ended up being a squib.

This adversely affected his self-esteem while growing into his early teens.

The Beating

Reducio

When he was nine years old, Isaac took his first beating. He had expected to be bruised a little, maybe shoved into a locker… Anything but this.

There was blood. So much blood. When he thought they were done with him, he realised that the gang was only getting started. They knew where to hurt him - how to hurt him without breaking any bones, without causing any damage that could get them into serious trouble.

That was until one of them got overzealous. He fell, straight into the drain. His leg caught onto a sharp piece of exposed pipe, and it erupted into a shower of crimson. As he lay in the murky waters, the dirt and gunk that people disposed into the drain began to enter his open wounds.

He was rushed off to a muggle hospital where he languished for a day. The anaesthetic relieved the pain, but it was the infection from the drainage that caused him to feel ill. He eventually suffered from a high fever and was transferred to St Mungo’s.

There, he was promptly treated and his body healed. Still, the event left wounds beneath the surface of his skin. Even if the miracles of magic could do away with his scarred tissue, there were those that lay even deeper. In his mind, in his heart.

The Martial Artist

Reducio

The truth was that Isaac had sought the beating he received when he was nine. Not to the degree of intensity that he got, but he sought it anyway. He felt worthless, and he needed someone from school to reinforce his beliefs.

In the end, the beating only strengthened his resolve to become stronger. At first, his pursuit of mastery of martial arts was limited by his desire to learn magical forms of self defence. But as time passed, his growing fear of being a squib fed his passion for muggle self defence. If he was going to be a squib, he promised himself that he would be the most formidable squib ever, just like the heroes he had grown to revere from Chinese Folklore: Guan Yu and Zhao Zilong.

As with all things, regimental training and discipline could lead to a firm foundation for any skillset, and Isaac had time. Much of it. But in addition, he also had a knack for it. For his age, he was tall, and he had a tendency to build up muscles very quickly. He was stronger, and far more bold than most others his age. This allowed him to excel in mixed-martial arts tournaments where he employed his physicality to its fullest potential.

Empty Vengeance

Reducio

A year later, Isaac was a different person. Or so he thought he was. Outwardly, he had become robust, powerfully built. He was no longer the soft and helpless child he was a year before. But within? He was the same. He had all this power, and he didn’t know what to do with it.

He had waited for months, waiting for the boys who had once picked on him to come back for seconds, so that he could justify the actions he would take. But for months, he observed. He watched them pick on others, the smaller children, fresh meat. No fun subjugating someone who was already subjugated. He wasn’t worth their time. As the days went by, his confidence turned to disappointment, and then indignant anger. One day, he saw them picking on another boy, someone who was new to the school, and his patience finally ended. In hindsight, he realised that he couldn’t even remember who the boy he protected was. Neither his face nor his name. All he knew was that he was itching for an excuse to get back at the boys who wounded his body and pride.

He remembered a flash of motion. His fist crunched against something hard, and the boy’s head was slammed into a locker. He crumpled.

It was over within a second, and all Isaac felt in that instant was anti-climax. He remembered that they were tougher, bigger, bolder. And when their leader fell, the rest ran. In that instance he was disgusted. Disgusted that he had stooped to the level of those who had hurt him.

He was later punished with ten days of detention and three sessions of corrective work order. Thanks to his honesty and the reputation the gang had for causing hurt, he wasn’t expelled.

Carolyn

Reducio

Carolyn was Isaac’s best friend in muggle primary school, possibly his only real friend. They formed a close bond over their shared interest for reading, and the fact that they were both occasionally the targets of racist sentiments against Asian students.

She never judged him for being a nerd, and he enjoyed talking to her.

But eventually, her patience for him ended.

It was in the aftermath of Isaac’s re-confrontation with his former bullies that the incident that terminated their friendship occurred. He happened to pass her one day in the corridor, being picked on by a group of boys far smaller than he was. They locked eyes for a split second, and she seemed to express relief that he was there. But in his heart, he was conflicted. He had promised his principal that he would do no more violence in school, that his martial arts would remain in their field of use; that he would escalate any matters that needed attention to responsible adults. With a pained expression, he turned and ran to get a teacher to break up the fight.

When he eventually returned with his class teacher, he was horrified. Her hair was all over the floor in strips and strands. One boy still held the pair of scissors guiltily, frozen in fear like a murder suspect with his weapon. The situation was dealt with swiftly, but a rift grew between Carolyn and Isaac. She became cold and distant, accusing him of betraying her, of leaving her behind. When he tried to reason, she pointed out that he hadn’t held back when he needed stupid reasons to avenge his own honor, but was selfish in his friend’s time of need.

He didn’t know what to say. She was right. She had every right to judge him harshly.

He wished she didn’t, but that wasn’t up to him.

First Instance of Magic

Reducio

16th December 2020

Christmas came early for Isaac Lee in a way that he would never forget. The days were creeping by, and his eleventh birthday approached. And he dreaded it.

It was an impending deadline for magical talent to manifest itself within him in one way or another. Even just the tiniest supernatural movement would be enough. He would spend minutes, even hours staring at objects, trying to move them with his mind. But as time passed, his anticipation turned to desperation, and then to resignation. He was a squib. Even his younger sisters had both shown gifts for magic, and here he was, on the verge of his teens and still ordinary. Still unexceptional.

He had given up entirely.

And then, one quiet morning, the strangest thing happened. Isaac awoke feeling as though nothing was wrong. In fact, everything seemed right. He felt reinvigorated, as if his spirit could finally be at peace. That was when he noticed the carpet of butterflies that had fallen asleep over his blanket. He froze, keeping as still as a corpse, afraid that if he moved a muscle, they would fly away and no one would see. No one would see what he had created without knowing.

When his mother walked into the room, the entire layer of butterflies suddenly awoke and flew out the window.

On his eleventh birthday, Isaac Lee received his admission letter to Hogwarts.

Roleplay

Playing Fiction

Reducio

Isaac and Scarlet take the Hogwarts Express together. They get off to an awkward start but eventually warm up to each other. She shows him the snowflake-making spell and before long, they’ve reached the magnificent castle.