Coriander Silverman

Name: Coriander “Andy” Christopher Silverman

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Grade: 12

School: George Hunter High School

Hobbies and Interests: Collecting things, basketball, miniatures, playing the guitar, video games, partying

Appearance: Andy is tall and well-built, standing at 6’2” and weighing about 210 pounds, with distinct muscle tone in his torso, arms, and legs. He is Caucasian and sports a decent tan, and his naturally dark brown hair is bleached blond, though his darker roots are starting to show through. He does not devote much upkeep to his hair beyond washing it regularly and keeping it trimmed to about two inches long, and he wears it in its natural tousled state. His eyebrows are thick and dark brown, matching the natural shade of his hair. His blue eyes are wide, and he has a straight, narrow nose, full lips and a pointed chin. He is generally clean-shaven. His fingers are calloused from years of playing the guitar.

Andy dresses casually, with a preference for jeans and band or graphic t-shirts. He occasionally accessorizes with jewelry and particularly likes to wear collars as a fashion statement, but in general he does not have much flair for fashion. He has a septum piercing, which he removes while exercising or playing sports. On the day of his abduction, he was wearing dark blue bootcut jeans, a white baseball shirt with black sleeves and the phrase “I woke up like this” across the front in block letters, black tennis shoes and a studded black leather collar.

Biography: Coriander Silverman was born to Pepper and Michael Silverman on December 14, 1998. He is the second of four brothers; his siblings are Basil (age 22), Clove (age 17), and Michael Jr., nicknamed “Mikey” (age 14). The Silvermans are a military family, with a history of service going back several generations. Both of Andy’s parents served in the US Navy, and his older brother followed in their footsteps and enlisted once he graduated from high school. The boys' mismatched names are the result of a compromise by Pepper and Michael; Pepper's family all shared plant-inspired names, which she wanted to carry on with her own children, while Michael's family were more traditional with names. Michael ended up giving in more on the grounds that their youngest child would be named after him. Coriander's name in particular proved to be unexpectedly unwieldy in everyday use, and he was quickly given a nickname for convenience. Michael rejected "Cori" as he felt that it was too girly, so "Andy" was settled upon. As he got older, Andy would find his full first name to be embarrassing anyway, and he was content to let people who didn't know better think that his nickname was short for Andrew. He has considered legally changing his first name at some point, but has not yet made concrete plans to do so.

Pepper and Michael raised their children in a strict, orderly home in Chattanooga near the Naval Reserve base where Michael worked as a mechanic and Pepper as an administrative assistant. From a young age, Andy had trouble working within his parents’ highly structured daily schedules. He tried to do things at his own pace regardless of what he was supposed to be doing at any given time and chafed under his parents' control; he was easily upset if disturbed from the routine which he wanted to pursue or if anyone moved his belongings from how he had arranged them. Between this, his abundance of energy, and a proneness to tantrums when things did not go his way, Andy was easily the most disruptive out of his siblings. Though they tried to avoid labeling him as a problem child, his parents were frequently at a loss for what to do with him besides punishing him for his misbehavior and hoping that he would calm down and adjust as he got older.

He was lucky enough to have a very understanding and patient kindergarten teacher who was willing to let him work his own way for the most part and encouraged him to take time on his own if he had trouble getting along with other kids, which he frequently did. Much like at home, Andy spent a lot of time collecting objects that he found; he focused mainly on small objects easily found around his home, school, or the outdoor areas that he frequented such as buttons, rocks, and coins. He had a habit of organizing and arranging them in patterns based on shared traits like color and size, and he got very upset if anyone interrupted him or moved the objects he was playing with. On a few occasions, he got into physical altercations with his classmates because they moved or took something he had set up. These incidents increased in frequency during his first few years of elementary school, especially as other children caught on to the cause of his agitation; a few would mess with his collections just to get a rise out of him.

Because of these issues, Andy became rather withdrawn at school, though he was as energetic and temperamental as ever at home. His pulling away from others did a bit to mitigate some of his outbursts, as he did not often approach other children and except for a few who were intent on picking on him, most of his classmates were willing to leave him alone. His parents devoted a lot of time to him at home, spending time helping him with homework or playing with him to try and help him through his frustration, as well as trying to figure out what was going on with his fixation on counting and collecting things. Internet searches and asking other parents if they’d experienced similar issues eventually brought the possibility that Andy had some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder to their attention, but his young age and the fact that they had to manage finances carefully with four children made them hesitant to consult a professional.

Michael and Pepper questioned themselves about this decision and whether continuing to try and work through Andy’s issues on their own was the best thing to do, but they rationalized that it was risky to try and diagnose a young child, and they didn’t want to risk a potential misdiagnosis or the chance that they’d simply be told that Andy was a normal, if temperamental, little boy. Pride also played a part in preventing them from seeking help for Andy; they preferred to believe that his behavior could simply be corrected on its own rather than acknowledging that they might have a mentally ill child who required outside help. Instead, they made an effort to help him manage his stress and temper with constructive outlets and plenty of active time outside. They struggled to strike a balance between giving Andy more freedom than his brothers and being too strict for him to handle, but he made gradual progress both at home and at school with some adjustments and careful monitoring.

By fourth grade, the turbulence of Andy’s early years seemed to have settled, with only a few notable incidents here and there. His academic ability was decent, he was beginning to show an interest in team sports and other social activities, and his parents and teachers were cautiously optimistic that the next few years would go more smoothly for him.

When Andy asked to be signed up for team sports, Michael and Pepper agreed with little hesitation, glad to give him an outlet for his excess energy. There was some concern about how he would perform in a team setting, but having clear direction from coaches and a goal to work towards proved to be an effective method for keeping him focused. He played several different sports both in and out of school when given the opportunity, but his favorite was basketball, which he started playing at age 12. Participating in sports also helped him to forge better connections with other kids his age outside of a school setting. As a capable athlete, he got his first taste of popularity among his peers, and his enjoyment of this motivated him to try and improve his interactions with kids his age both in and out of school. He did have an amount of natural charisma and had little trouble convincing people to follow him when he was on good terms with them.

Andy was and is a very physical person, and the hobbies he developed over the years were all primarily things that he could do to keep his hands busy. Michael had a collection of unassembled miniature models that he had built up over the years with the intent of completing but had never gotten around to it. He rediscovered them while cleaning out his closet one day and decided to turn them over to the boys rather than keep hoarding them. Andy quickly grew enamored with building miniatures once he gave it a try. He had a good eye for small details, and his penchant for counting and organizing things give him a perfectionist bent that lent itself well to assembling lots of small parts without growing bored. Being able to lose himself in the process of building and painting or applying stickers to his models for a few hours served as an excellent outlet for Andy’s stress when he couldn’t channel it into sports. His preferred miniatures are model ships and other vehicles, as those are what he started with and is most familiar with. He has some interest in giving Warhammer 40,000 models a try but has not yet done so due to the prohibitive costs associated with Warhammer.

He first grew interested in music when his older brother Basil received a guitar one Christmas and attended lessons for a few months. Basil’s interest in playing the instrument burnt out quickly, and he had little objection to passing it on to Andy afterwards. His parents wouldn’t enroll him in lessons, not wanting to spend more money in case Andy lost interest just as Basil had, but he stuck with it, instead teaching himself to play via YouTube tutorials. Once he picked a song, he would practice it obsessively until he mastered it.

As his parents had hoped, Andy’s middle school years went smoothly, with only a few minor hiccups. Hopes were high for him to have an easy transition to high school, thanks to his decent grades and well-rounded hobbies and the fact that Basil would be attending the same school as a senior, but this unfortunately proved to not be the case.

While Andy had so far had teachers who were understanding or at least tolerant of his quirks and the difficulties he had in a typical classroom setting, his high school was much larger and more impersonal than his previous schools. Here, Andy was just another face in the crowd, and most of his teachers were more concerned with overfull classes and various other work than with working through the issues of one troublesome student. Increasingly often, he was unable to complete his classwork on time, and his inability to clearly explain himself to his teachers led to frustration and arguments, leading to disciplinary action for being disruptive and disrespectful.

This heightened stress brought Andy’s obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which had been mostly under control to that point, back in full force. Most notable was the counting; Andy felt increasingly compelled to keep count of repetitive actions such as tapping his fingers or objects around him like floor tiles as a means of feeling in control of his surroundings. Being unable to do so resulted in intense anxiety and irritability for him, all to the further detriment of his performance in school and extracurricular activities. Andy’s classmates also caught on to his odd behavior and some would antagonize him for it.

The final straw came one day during a lab in Andy’s freshman chemistry class, when tensions between Andy and a classmate he was on poor terms with escalated into physical confrontation, ending with Andy having a panic attack in the middle of class. Nobody was seriously hurt, but Andy and his classmate were both suspended from school for several days. Meetings with his teachers and principal after the fact also revealed that thanks to his poor class performance and disciplinary issues, he likely would not end up passing the school year. His parents reluctantly made the decision to pull him from school for the rest of the year, and to finally seek out some form of counseling for him.

Seeing a professional confirmed that Andy did have moderate obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it was recommended that he begin cognitive-behavioral therapy. He was resistant to his therapist’s and family’s efforts for a while, sullen and withdrawn after his ordeal over the last few months at school and feeling as though the people he was supposed to rely on had let him down. It took several more months for him to begin opening back up and for any progress with his OCD to show. The compulsion to count and collect things remained in a less acute form, and he suffered occasional panic attacks when feeling overwhelmed, but his coping skills slowly improved. As of his senior year, Andy no longer attends therapy regularly, but he does sometimes check in with his therapist when stressed.

After discussing the possibility of starting over at a new high school with his parents, Andy was enrolled at George Hunter High to repeat his freshman year. He was hesitant to reach out to any of his new classmates and highly conscious of how much people might be aware of his OCD symptoms and the possibility of experiencing a panic attack in public. His first friend at Hunter High was Helena Fury, a fellow new student who also lacked connections with most of the student body. Andy and Hel bonded quickly over mutual interests such as music and games and soon became inseparable.

Though hesitant at first, Andy gradually built more connections with his classmates at Hunter High, especially the basketball team. He and Helena have also started up a garage band called The Deadbeats, along with their close mutual friend Axel Fontaine. Andy remains cautious about opening up to others concerning some of his odder hobbies, such as collecting, and few people know that he has OCD. When not practicing sports or with his band, Andy is most often at home working on his miniatures or at a friend’s house playing video games, which he picked up as a casual hobby after making friends who consider themselves gamers. He likes to use video games either as recreation with friends or a way to unwind on his own; with others he likes more competitive fighting and racing games, while the games he plays solo are mainly slower-paced collectathons. He has gotten especially invested in the Pokémon series, and has ambitions of one day having a complete collection of Pokémon.

Helena is his closest friend, and he is protective of them in the same way that an older brother might be. After they had known each other for a while, Helena revealed to Andy that they were transgender; though he didn’t fully understand the concept, Andy promised that it didn’t change their friendship and that he wouldn’t out them to anyone else. This, the knowledge that some of his other friends are not straight, and Hel’s later confession that they identify more with a non-binary gender have prompted him to pay more attention to LGBTQ issues. Though he often feels out of his depth when the topic comes up, he considers himself an ally and is less receptive to jokes and jabs targeting LGBTQ people than he once was and more inclined to speak up about it, especially in defense of his friends.

Andy’s relationships with others outside his close friend group vary quite a bit. He is naturally charismatic and attention-grabbing, and he is on good terms with most other school athletes. On the other hand, he is quick to overreact when he feels threatened and will pick fights with the offender, especially if his ego has been hurt. He sometimes engages in risky behavior to save face or prove himself, resulting in things such as a broken foot during his sophomore year when he tried to jump from a second-story window to a tree outside. Andy is straight and has had a few relationships, though he tends to act awkwardly around girls he is attracted to. He does currently have a girlfriend, Mikki Swift, but he also still harbors feelings for his ex-girlfriend Forrest Quin.

Outside of school, Andy attends parties regularly and frequently gets together with his bandmates to hang out and drink after they rehearse. He enjoys drinking alcohol with friends and also smokes pot on occasion. He finds socializing and relaxing to be easier when he is under the influence, but he cannot indulge as often as he would like to since he must be careful when there will be drug testing for the athletes at school. Andy's introduction to alcohol and his ability to obtain it were both facilitated by Basil, who enjoyed partying himself when in school and felt that it was harmless for Andy to do so as well as long as he was just hanging out with friends. Before he moved out of their family home, Basil was often the one who would buy alcohol for Andy, and he helped Andy purchase a fake ID as well, which is what Andy uses when it is up to him to provide drinks as he can easily pass for a couple years older than he actually is. He is less confident about buying marijuana and would rather just use it when someone else brings it to a get-together, as the penalties for being caught with it would be more severe than with alcohol.

Academically, Andy is solidly average. He struggles with focusing on his schoolwork and not getting caught up in other things more than with the course material itself. His performance in math and science is slightly stronger than in the humanities, but he doesn’t have much passion for education and just wants to do well enough to graduate. He performs well as a shooting guard on the basketball team and even holds the position of team captain, but he has no aspirations to play in college unless offered a scholarship, which seems unlikely, or to pursue the sport as more than recreation once he is out of school. He is actually very motivated when it comes to things he truly enjoys, but currently most of those things have nothing to do with future schooling or a steady career.

Andy is on decent terms with his family but isn’t especially close with any of them. Basil, whom Andy got along with best, enlisted in the Navy upon graduating high school and moved out officially last year, and his younger brothers attend his old high school rather than George Hunter High. Clove and Mikey hold some resentment towards Andy for the legacy that his breakdown left at their old school, as some teachers and students treat them like potential troublemakers due to Andy’s difficulties. His parents worry about his lack of college and traditional career ambitions and have been resistant to his claims that he can pursue a career in music, leading to tensions between them lately. He made some half-hearted applications to nearby colleges at his parents’ behest and got waitlisted at most of them; he has little motivation to go even if he does get admitted, not wanting to spend the time and money for something he isn’t fully invested in.

Advantages: Andy is in great physical shape and has good strength and stamina. He has a forceful personality, as well as the charisma to get others to follow him for at least a short time. He is willing to take risks and is determined to follow through with achieving the goals he is really invested in.

Disadvantages: Andy is impulsive and quick to overreact and pick fights or take risks, especially if his ego has been bruised. Due to his OCD, he experiences heightened stress when his personal routine is disrupted, which can result in panic attacks. He tends to get caught up in one specific task, sometimes to the detriment of other things and long-term plans.

Designated Number: Male student no. 024

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Designated Weapon: Terrarium of fire ants

Conclusion: If B024 doesn't smash that entire thing over someone's head I want my money back. - Josie Knight

'The above biography is as written by backslash. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: backslash

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Collected Weapons: Terrarium of fire ants (assigned weapon)

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