Oliver Braun

Coming from a family of nine kids, it was pretty much inevitable at least one of them would end up in the military. At a young age Oliver’s father got involved in some “illegal things” (running alcohol during prohibition) to make his down-on-their-luck family more money, but he was soon riddled with guilt over it, knowing the LDS church they were involved in would NOT approve if he was ever found out. So he decided to take that dirty money and uproot their family, starting over clean in a new town. Since then they have lived a very sheltered life, rarely dealing with people outside their family aside from his father’s work. (Conveniently, his mother was a school teacher before they moved, and was able to home school all their children.) Oliver always took interest in dad’s work as a veterinarian and learned a lot from him, even being allowed to work on the animals himself once he was confident enough.

Though he was content in his simple life he always secretly wished for something more, and when the war broke out he saw joining the army as a way of both gaining more medical training (and getting to work with actual humans), and seeing the world beyond…Idaho. He was nervous how his parents would feel about him wanting to leave home, but was instead pleasantly surprised that they were proud of him for wanting to go off and do something to help people. Working out on the front lines has so far been both terrifying and exciting all at once, and a huge shock to see a whole new world, new people, and so much violence and death…

Personality

Some find him a little strange in that he is very "familiar" and speaks to everyone in the same way he speaks to members of his own family, or anyone else he's known his whole life. He never bothers to change his tone, mannerisms, etc. for anybody, with the exception of superior officers (he shows them the same respect he does his father.) He's very honest with his feelings and opinions towards everyone and everything, both positive and negative, and never bothers with meaningless "small talk" or pleasantries. (You'll never hear a "nice weather we're having today!" or any other such forced conversation out of him, awkward silences don't exist to him and if he has nothing to say, he won't bother.) He can actually be quite rude, whether intentionally or not, and is EXTREMELY sarcastic, and a bit of a smart ass too. He's not prone to extreme outbursts of anger and will rarely yell or scream, nor does he ever curse. Even though he should be used to it, he is genuinely surprised when anyone gets mad at him for his attitude, though he's pretty well-spoken and is usually able to smooth things over somehow. (He's no fighter!) He will joke around/playfully tease people he gets along with, as his way of being friendly. He is also perfectly capable of being nice or giving compliments too, and can even (grudgingly) admit when he's wrong or apologize when necessary. He's very prudish, due to his religious upbringing, and is easily flustered by anything he sees as "sinful," getting especially irritated when he feels like people are rubbing it in his face intentionally, or when they curse while speaking to him. He's completely serious and focused when it comes to his work, and nothing will distract him from attempting to save a patient, even threat to his own life.

Mannerisms

His facial expressions are very animated, especially his eyebrows, he's often raising or quirking them about something. (He tends not to grin or smile wide though, just soft smiles and smirks.) When not working he loves to lounge or lay about and read, making him appear a bit lazy, and he will completely ignore or shush anyone who tries to bother him when he's in the middle of a particularly interesting book. Being more used to working with animals that humans, he tends to treat them as he would an animal, not asking permission first before touching/examining them and getting to work on their injuries, and if he has a patient that won't cooperate for some reason he will not hesitate to wrestle them to the ground. In general there's an innocence about him when it comes to touching others and being in their personal space, sometimes he literally doesn't realize he's too close or too handsy, making them wonder if he's trying to flirt, when the thought never even occured to him. He is not at all fazed by the sight of blood and guts, (though obviously seeing people die makes him upset!) often not realizing how horribly bloody he's gotten while tending to soliders until it's pointed out to him.

Voice

Best way to describe what he sounds like would be David Spade lol. There is an almost constant...tone of sarcasm in his voice (except when he's being nice that is) that can't be described otherwise. As stated above, he rarely yells, but when he does his voice always cracks.

Preferences

Likes: the medical field, animals, reading, what he's seen of Europe so far, milk, Jesus

Dislikes: foul language, being embarrassed, animal abuse, violence, hot weather

Looks

Hair: Shiny black hair, short in the back with long bangs in the front that reach to his eyes. It is almost always parted on one side and slicked to the other with pomade, and tends to curl up at his ears. He is usually clean-shaven, but will have a light mustache & facial hair if he forgets or doesn't have time.

Eyes: An olive green color, fairly wide, sometimes a little tired looking.

Build: Average, doesn't really have much muscle definition, soft belly. Fair amount of body hair, mainly on his chest and stomach.

Scars/Body Modifications/Other distinguishing features: None really, he just has a pretty big nose!

Clothing

Out of uniform he dresses in western/farm hand type clothing: flannel/gingham shirts, jeans or corduroy pants, and heavy sweaters & coats in the winter. He usually tends to dress neatly, tucking in his shirts, buttoning them up properly, straightened collar, etc.