Timezone: EST
Roleplay Pref: Script/lit/hcs are fine!
Typically I prefer doing a bit of hc-ing to get an idea of things and then develop a more solid foundation w/ script or lit

Open to all types of relationships, but in regards to romantic ships heads up I multiship and I also like developing my OCs in their own separate verses in which they're in relationships w/ each other so if you don't vibe with that then please do not ask me for romantic ships.

Barnaby is able to channel his magic into a beam of light that can temporarily banish whatever is inside it from the physical plane, so long as it's an inanimate object. However, any inanimate object that has magical properties are much harder for him to remove. Objects remain removed from the physical plane for a minute before returning, although Barnaby can prolong something’s banishment by keeping his light on the intended target.

Important to note is that when Barnaby removes something, it doesn’t stop existing--it’s just temporarily placed in a state of limbo and will reappear in the same exact place it was before he used his magic.

Another quirk of his magic is that the strength of it is also dependent on how strong his light is, so the darker his surroundings the more effective his magic is and bright surroundings have an adverse effect.

TLDR;

After Barnaby’s parents moved from China to the United States with their four-year old son Everett, they had Barnaby. They became overprotective of Barnaby due to his penchant for accidents and illnesses, which in turn made Barnaby an anxious and nervous child. Barnaby and Everett were extremely close growing up, so when Barnaby discovered he had magic powers he confided in Everett. Together they decided to better understand why Barnaby had powers and in their attempts to do so accidentally wandered into Alterna via fairy ring. They became lost and separated in an Alternian forest. While Barnaby was found by a witch, Everett was never found and presumed to have been turned into a nightmare due to being a mundane. After the incident, Barnaby’s parents forbade Barnaby from getting anymore involved in magic. However, over the years Barnaby was unable to do so because of his guilt and ended up enrolling at St. Spell in the hopes of learning magic to save his brother.

When Barnaby's parents moved to the United States to pursue better paying jobs, the loss of a tight-knit community was palpable as they tried to forge a new life. The separation from friends and family was especially painful for their four-year old child, Everett. Therefore, Barnaby's birth was met with much rejoicing as his parents had dearly wanted to expand their little family and Everett would soon have a companion. Everyone doted on the new little bundle of joy, who seemed to be the perfect baby with a quiet and calm demeanor.

The bliss only lasted for a few years before it was replaced with almost never ending stress relating to Barnaby. It was never just one mishap, but a chain of mishaps. His parents would sign him up for swimming lessons to help him with his asthma, only for him to nearly drown during one of his lessons. He'd recover from a bad bout of pneumonia only to wander in the street, get run over by a rogue bicyclist and be bedridden once again with a sprained ankle. Barnaby’s mother had always been a protective parent, but her anxieties had worsened after they had moved to a foreign and unwelcoming country. She was convinced the world was sending her signs that her youngest child was too delicate, too weak, to be allowed the same freedoms she had given Everett. Her parenting style became stricter and she frequently ingrained into Barnaby's head warnings and superstitions in the hopes it would make him more careful. His father, ever supportive of his wife, followed suit and enforced more rigid rules for Barnaby to follow. Over time Barnaby changed from a naive and adventurous child to a nervous and easily frightened one.

Despite his parents’ strictness, Barnaby never felt particularly resentful of them for it. They loved him dearly and would go to great lengths to spoil him so long as it wasn’t encouraging anything “dangerous”. Plus, he felt like there was still plenty of things he could do--as long as he was at least being supervised by Everett--and as such never had the compulsion for rebellion. In many ways Everett wasn’t just a brother, but a third parental figure and Barnaby’s best friend. It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to be seen together. They did most things with each other, from reading the same book series to doing homework side by side. As Everett grew older and became closer with the friends he made at school, he would always make time for Barnaby. So even though there were some difficulties during Barnaby’s childhood, he spent his days mostly content.

When Barnaby was thirteen, he discovered he was a magic user. He came across his power by complete accident. One night when Barnaby’s parents were out, there was a blackout. In a panic to get some source of light, Barnaby grabbed the first flashlight he found and turned it on. After that, Barnaby and Everett scoured the house by flashlight for candles to light the house until the blackout was over. It was an entirely uneventful incident that would have faded from memory had Everett not decided to cannibalize the flashlight’s batteries for the T.V. remote the next day--only to discover that the flashlight didn’t have any batteries. It was a puzzling discovery that he quickly shared with Barnaby. Out of curiosity, they did a few more tests with various other flashlights and electronics to see if the phenomenon would repeat and concluded the common denominator was Barnaby. At first, Barnaby reacted to his strange, newfound ability with fear. What if it was the first sign of some mysterious disease!? Or what if it was some strange mutation and the government was going to lock him up for experiments!? Barnaby swore Everett to secrecy since, well, that was what kids in books and shows always did and in Barnaby’s mind, that seemed to be a rational step to take. Everett, being the ever caring older brother that he was, agreed to do so and also promised to help Barnaby research what was happening.

There wasn’t a lot of info to find, but after a few weeks of researching Barnaby and Everett stumbled upon their first potential lead in a clearing within the woods that bordered their backyard. It was a fairy ring. According to some potentially questionable websites they had googled, stepping into a fairy ring would allow you to see elves and fae. Admittedly, the potential that Barnaby’s ability was the result of fairy shenanigans and that they needed to meet fairies to figure out what was going on was extremely far-fetched. However, their other two strategies were to make contact with aliens and to “find out if X-men are real”, so far-fetched had yet to become a deal killer. Plus stepping into a fairy ring seemed not only easy, but extremely convenient given their proximity to one.

There was no telling how long it might take for a fairy to show up, so Barnaby and Everett tested out the fairy ring early in the morning as a precautionary measure. When they first set out they had planned to sit in the fairy ring all day if need be, but their determination evaporated after a few hours under the blistering summer sun with no shade. Barnaby only had to complain a few times before they decided to pack it in and try again another day. Barnaby didn’t notice anything odd after they stepped out of the forest ring or even after they exited the clearing. It was only after they had walked for ten minutes through the woods and they had yet to see their house that Barnaby was certain something was off. The woods weren’t large enough for them to be able to walk through it for a short period of time without eventually stumbling into someone’s backyard or a street. And yet, the trees never thinned away to reveal their suburban neighborhood. It didn’t matter which way they walked, the trees continued to grow taller and more numerous, their thick branches spreading out like webs and interlocking until the sky was no longer visible. Even though it had been afternoon, it was almost as dark as night in the unrecognizable forest they had somehow found themselves in. The only small comfort was that they had a light source in the flashlight Barnaby had brought along initially to use as proof of his ability.

Barnaby was already on the brink of tears when Everett hesitantly revealed that his phone wasn’t working. It took a good while of his brother reassuring him that things were going to be okay for Barnaby to calm down enough to stop crying over their impending deaths. He didn’t want to keep on walking through the creepy forest since the farther they walked the creepier it became, but it was the only option they had if they wanted any chance of getting out. Reluctantly, Barnaby followed his brother, staying glued to his side with one hand clutching his brother’s and his other hand clutching the flashlight. It was getting hard to tell how much time had passed since they’d first left the fairy ring and the darkness was beginning to play tricks on Barnaby’s eyes. He kept on seeing strange figures half hidden behind trees only for them to melt into shadows the longer he stared. He was convinced that there was something monstrous hiding just out of sight, waiting for the perfect opportunity to get them. Barnaby was barely holding it together, when he felt something warm breathe down his neck.

For the next few seconds his mind blanked out in sheer terror. When Barnaby came to, he was running wildly through the underbrush, trying to get away from whatever he thought had been behind him. He was in too much of a panic to spot an overgrown tree root and tripped over it, tumbling to the ground. The impact of the fall rattled him enough to regain some clarity. He was alone. As he picked his flashlight back up and swept the light around, the dreadful realization dawned upon him that his brother was nowhere to be found. He must have accidentally left Everett behind when he started running. He’d left Everett behind with no working cellphone or source of light. A hundred panicked thoughts raced through Barnaby’s head. He had to find his brother again. He couldn’t leave him lost alone and in the dark! Despite knowing what he needed to do, Barnaby couldn’t find the courage to get back on his feet. As he sat on the ground shaking, he became acutely aware of how exhausted he felt. He’d never used his ability this long to maintain a light and was reaching the limit of his endurance. The light flickered once, twice, and then went out completely. Completely engulfed in darkness, Barnaby felt that mind-numbing terror once again. The darkness was no longer a lack of light to him, but a crushing pressure that was suffocating him.

Barnaby didn’t know how long he sat there crying silently in the darkness until he saw another light in the distance. For a minute, all he could do was stare at it before he gained the sense to call out for help. The light rapidly approached him, revealing itself to be a lamp held by a woman with gentle eyes. Relief flooded Barnaby’s body at the sight of another human being and he mustered up enough strength to cling onto the woman and beg her to find his brother.

Later, Barnaby would learn that the woman who had rescued him was a witch. There were a LOT of things he would learn later. After the witch called for backup to search the forest for Everett, another witch--a caseworker specifically--took him back home to his parents. The caseworker explained the entire situation to both Barnaby and his parents. How he and Everett had accidentally wandered into Alterna, the fact that Barnaby was a magic user, the importance of keeping magic secret. While all the information explaining everything Barnaby had wanted to know was fascinating, it was difficult to pay attention when all he wanted to know was whether Everett was safe. He got his answer soon enough when another witch came to deliver news of their search. The only traces of Everett they had been able to find were torn pieces of bloodless clothing and a cracked smartphone. It was clear that they hadn’t been able to find Everett in time. He had decayed and transformed into a nightmare. The chances of him ever being recovered again were slim to none, but the caseworker promised to send Barnaby’s family a letter if there was ever news of him.

Naturally, Barnaby’s parents rejected the caseworker’s suggestion to enroll Barnaby in a conservatory in the future and went so far as to forbid Barnaby from getting anymore involved in magic. All they knew was that the magical world was dangerous and it had already taken one of their sons. Letting Barnaby get more involved with this strange and unforgiving world seemed like a death sentence. Everett’s disappearance was a heavy toll on the entire family, and the fact they couldn’t tell anyone else about the details of what had happened made recovering difficult. Barnaby’s parents became even more strict and anxious over Barnaby’s wellbeing, convinced that if they just made Barnaby act the way they wanted, he would be safe. Barnaby obeyed without resistance, because although his parents never blamed him, he still felt at fault for Everett’s fate. If he had never asked for Everett’s help or had run away from him...maybe things might have ended up differently.

The years passed and the Lei family never heard anything about Everett. All they ever received were the annual informational pamphlets or brochures on conversatories, which always went straight to the trash. While his parents gradually came to accept that Everett was essentially dead, Barnaby could never let go of hope. When he had first been told to never get involved in magic, Barnaby had readily agreed. The trauma from being lost in that forest had been fresh and he could only view magic as a harbinger of misfortune. However as time passed and nothing changed, Barnaby’s guilt made it impossible for him to ignore his magic. Maybe if he actually honed in his skills he could have a chance to save Everett himself. He never had the courage to act on these thoughts, especially when he knew how much pain it would cause his parents. But when he was alone, Barnaby would read what pamphlets he’d saved and practice his magic.

It was only after Barnaby had a quarter life crisis in college that he gained the willpower to drop the normal and safe life his parents had tried to carve out for him. While everyone around him seemed to have an idea of what they wanted to do with their lives after graduation, Barnaby couldn’t even begin to fathom what he wanted to do with his own. Continuing on to the next stage of his life as if everything was fine, when his mind had never escaped the dark forest Everett had disappeared in, was impossible. Barnaby’s decision to drop out of college and apply to St. Spell devastated his parents, but he remained resolute in his choice. Barnaby had delayed in doing the right thing for far too long, and he could only hope it wasn’t too late to save his brother.

A life of being coddled and overprotected has left Barnaby a spoiled and dependent man-baby. He’s quick to complain and cry when the slightest thing goes awry. Rather than handle things on his own, Barnaby will almost shamelessly cling to others for help because he has little confidence in his own abilities. His insecurities run deep and he stays within his comfort zone whenever he can.

Barnaby is pacifistic by nature and recoils from violence and aggression. While his aversion towards conflict is partially due to his own fearfulness, it's also due to his deep concern for the well-being of others. Barnaby has a gentle heart and cares about the happiness of others, regardless of who they are. Unfortunately his cowardice frequently leaves him backpedaling on his morals when met with resistance. All too often he'll voice something, backtrack, and then stew over the grievances in his head.

However, it's pretty rare for Barnaby to hold onto grudges. Despite being the type of person to get his feelings hurt easily, Barnaby forgives just as easily. He doesn't have the fortitude to withhold forgiveness, because to him that would be akin to giving up on someone. Just like how he wouldn't want anyone to give up on him, he can't bring himself to give up on others.