Harris Van Allen (art by Little Boy)
Name: Harris Van Allen
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Hobbies and Interests: JROTC, American Football (running back, #39)
Appearance: Harris is a big, strong guy and he doesn't like to hide it. He stands at 6'3" with very fair skin and is quite heavily built at 183 lbs. His muscles, while apparent, are not 'cut' enough as to imply steroid use. His head is constantly shaved though he is starting to form some stubble on his jowl. His face is starting to clear up from a not-particularly-bad acne attack. He has deep-blue eyes, medium-thick (dark-brown) eyebrows and a slightly-rounded nose.
He generally tends to wear your average 'tough guy' clothing, consisting of T-shirts or tanktops, jeans and rugged shoes.
Every Announcement Day, he puts on a standard recruit outfit that he purchased from an Army surplus store. This consists of a tanktop, army-issue pants and boots. The uniform is actually quite worn, he purchased it a few Announcement Days ago and actually 'grew into them.'
Biography: Harris wasn't always a skinhead tough guy. In fact, he doesn't like to say much of what he used to be, and when he does it's never from a positive standpoint. After all, he doesn't like to think of himself - or have others think of him - as 'inferior.'
Harris was born to semi-rural and deeply-devout Christian parents that were greatly involved in the movement that brought the current government to power. His father was a war veteran and his mother is an almost 1950s-esque housewife. As such, he found himself very easily conducive to the ideas they espoused during his upbringing. By the time he was in elementary school (and thus fully cognizant of the things he did,) the first General had taken power and the Pledge of Allegiance, with Under God was now firmly institutionalized. However, his interests at the time were mostly academic which, in the newly-instituted culture of strong American patriotism, did not go over well with his classmates. He found himself bullied through most of elementary, though he generally did his best to 'suck it up.'
But after a particularly nasty beating upon entering Junior High, Harris received a particularly nasty dressing down from his parents who in short told him to 'shape up or ship out.' This was advice Harris took to heart, mind, body and soul. He started joining sports, idolizing soldiers and sportsmen and the nuclear family unit, learning all about (the "real") American history and what it meant to be "a true American." He started to enjoy the family camping trips, where his father would often impart a few military survival skills onto his son. Harris even started forming quite a few friends from among the same 'jock' ranks that used to pick on him and looked set to enter varsity.
But as he entered high school, he doesn't seem to notice that he's taken all that a little too much.
He started freshman year almost fanatically patriotic and even racist to a degree. He grew hateful of racial minorities altogether (and not just the 'members that keep claiming entitlement rather than working for their fill like every other American'). This has caused him to clash with the minority members of his team, leading to his relegation to the sidelines for quite a few games. He especially started not take kindly to people that don't respect the military given his father's background.
It is perhaps somewhat ironic then that Harris has and still hates the current government, although he joined the JROTC as soon as the sign-up sheets were posted in freshman year in order to prepare himself for his inevitable military service. He doesn't hate it from any ideologically opposing standpoint, as he doesn't see any valid reason to. Rather he despises the current government simply for growing lax since taking power and not being more aggressive in their enforcement, which happens to fit the government's only 'technicality' for dissent. Of course, knowing full well how the government operates, he prefers to keep silent on that issue unless asked.
Although he doesn't like to mince words when making his other opinions known, he fervently believes that actions speak louder than words. Or rather, he lets his fists do the talking. Despite his superiority complex, his grades have been in a downward spiral since he decided to focus more on the physical than the mental. His temper, which has significantly shortened since the 6th grade, has also gotten him into trouble several times with school authorities and it is only due to what his school has described as 'fervent family patriotism' (as well as the fact that his father is well-respected within the community) that he has not been expelled altogether. Indeed, his parents have found themselves telling him to calm down, lest he end up soiling the family reputation. Unlike "shape up or ship out," however, this is advice he listens to one moment...and then discards the next.
What is most shocking is the fact that he is one of the few that looks forward to Announcement Day, showing up in his Army surplus uniform, ready to fight. Should he somehow win, he hopes that his prize will be a set of Gunnery Sergeant's stripes so that he can "pass American values to those that deserve it."
Advantages: The more patriotic a classmate is, the better. He is one to protect his patriotic friends (however relatively few they are) to the death in the 'defense of all that America stands for.' He also learned some forest survival skills from his father, which could help in a nasty situation.
Disadvantages: Racism, obviously. Anyone that does not fit his constantly-narrowing vision of what constitutes an "American" will not want to try to socialize with him during the Program, and his quick temper will most certainly grow even quicker. This could lead to a very early isolation.
Designated Number: Male Student #9
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Designated Weapon: Nightstick
Conclusion: We could use more like M09. His patriotism shows that he will be willing to fight as is his American duty. As such, odds are that he will go far.
The above biography is as written by LaZardo. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.
Evaluations[]
Kills: None
Killed by: Benjamin Latimer
Collected Weapons: Nightstick (assigned weapon)
Allies: Michael Sekoler
Enemies: Benjamin Latimer, Johan Luther
Mid-Game Evaluation:
Post-Game Evaluation:
Memorable Quotes:
Other/Trivia[]
Coming soon...
Threads[]
Below is a list of threads that contain Harris, in chronological order.
Pregame
Program
Your Thoughts[]
Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Harris. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!
- It was a darn shame to see Harris out so early. - MurderWeasel
- Wow, I came in here ready to say the same thing now. Yeah, Harris was one of the most prominent characters in Program V1, especially because he was the central figure in the longest of only six pregame threads. Harris had a lot going for him, especially because Laz was pretty good at avoiding doing the obvious thing with characters. I think Harris had potential as a lot more than a thuggish villain, and his death is really the first instance on Mini in which I can say a character's run being cut short was a disappointment to almost everyone. - MurderWeasel