Isaac van Wyck

The marks of a rough start to Isaac's life have made his body their canvas. The countless illnesses that have plagued poor Isaac have left him feeble and small, standing at a mere 158 centimeters—abnormally short for a young man like him. Often thought to be younger than he actually is, Isaac has found his petite frame to be a source of frustration and insecurity. He feels like he is often ignored and overlooked, sometimes even ridiculed, perhaps the most by his own father.[break][break]

The resentment Mr. van Wyck has built towards his son started early on in the boy's life. Isaac seemed to be constantly sick, unable to meet the standards his father had set for his sons. Despite being a bit healthier nowadays than during his earlier years, Isaac is still frail and easily exhausted. This makes him unable to keep up with the rest of the farmhands, which the hardworking head of the van Wyck family has always viewed as a point of contempt.[break][break]

Compared to his worst, Isaac's features have filled out a bit—no longer are his cheeks hollow and eyes sunken, since though he is far from the epitome of health, Isaac seems to have a lot more healthy days in his recent years. He might still be sick way more often than the rest of the family, but it is nowhere near the frequency it used to be in his childhood. Additionally, Isaac seems to be back on his feet a lot quicker than before. Still, Isaac is often accompanied by audible wheezing, and a persistent raspy cough. This seems to have affected his voice too, leaving it scratchy and often hoarse.[break][break]

When it comes to his appearance Isaac would like to look presentable, but with limited resources, it always turns out to be more of a challenge. All of Isaac's clothes hang loosely on his small frame, most of them having been bought when he was years younger with the expectation that he would still grow into them. Isaac has tried tailoring his clothes himself, but despite helping his mother out with repairing the family’s clothing, he isn’t exactly a master tailor. He knows how to patch holes discreetly, yet figuring out how much to take off and where is an entirely different matter. At least he has managed to make all his sleeves and pant legs shorter, but suspenders are still doing a lot of work when it comes to Isaac's clothing.[break][break]

At the very least Isaac looks easily approachable, always a pleasant and polite expression on his face. His features are both soft and sharp in various places, most often softened by a gentle smile. In the end he garners silent pity with his feeble frame and wheezing breath, with people often promising to keep him in their prayers.[break]







Often lost in his own world, Isaac can initially come off as quite reserved and shy. Though once he gets to talking, it becomes quite obvious that he isn’t exactly shy. Isaac might not be loud or talk endlessly, but there is a calm and effortless feel to the way he interacts with others. In particular, Isaac is a natural storyteller with a strong grasp on how to keep people’s attention—he might not do this intentionally, yet the tales heard from Isaac's mouth leave people guessing what comes next. Yet a storyteller he was not supposed to be, and the burden of expectations set upon him have left him wishing for a different life. [break][break]

With the way Isaac's father has only criticized his son for being constantly ill, Isaac can’t help but feel like a burden to his family. After all, he isn’t doing much for the ranch, considering how much of the work needed to be done around the ranch is quite laborious. Isaac focuses on the lighter tasks, and though he is contributing, it still leaves him feeling inadequate. All the criticism Isaac has received from his father has left him believing himself to be weak and useless, which isn’t helping Isaac's confidence much. [break][break]

This feeling of inadequacy isn’t the best companion to Isaac's unwavering determination, which could be even described as stubbornness. Thanks to this, Isaac tends to push himself past his limits. Perhaps he is proving something to himself, or his worth to others, or perhaps both are true. Yet regardless of the reason, Isaac tends to push his own limits quite often, especially when he’s feeling particularly well, often leading him to overexerting himself.[break][break]

As reality hasn’t exactly proven to be kind to Isaac, he has found solace in his thoughts. Dreams of a life out of reach often occupy Isaac's mind, of something else than working at a ranch. Fueled by his love of literature, Isaac dreams of becoming a writer, yet he doesn’t know where to start with his dream. Not that his father would allow it, though on the other hand he might be happy to get Isaac out of the corners of his house. Still, taking the first step towards his goals feels impossible, even though he has been scribbling drafts of stories in a notebook he keeps hidden in his nightstand.
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When the first child of Amanda van Wyck arrived in the world, no one could have predicted the rocky path waiting ahead. His birth was without complications, ending in a healthy baby being placed in his mom’s arms. Only after illness after another seemed to grab a hold on Isaac did anyone suspect anything to be wrong. He was barely a year old when he first got so sick Amanda was seriously fearing for her son’s life, and to her grief, it wouldn’t be the last time.
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Rarely having the energy to run around the yard with his siblings, not to mention helping out around the ranch, Isaac turned to his imagination to entertain himself. Spending a lot of time reading, Isaac entertained himself in worlds of fantasy and fairytales, something his father did not find particularly fitting for his already feeble and unfit son. Not only was he not contributing to the tasks around the ranch, he wasn’t spending his time on anything productive either. The fact that he was a child, and constantly ill on top of that, did not matter to the man. Isaac faced many snide comments from his father, yet the most hurtful action his father took was ignoring his son entirely. Despite the love and care he got from his mother, the way his father treated him made him feel unloved and unwelcome to his own home, having heavy consequences on Isaac's self image. [break][break]

Isaac didn’t get away with doing nothing, however, as his mother often asked him to help in some of the lighter housework, such as patching clothing or knitting. Amanda didn’t exactly force her child to do housework while he was sick. In fact, she did so to give Isaac some purpose and sense of achievement. This did help boost the boy’s confidence, as he felt like he was doing something helpful instead of being just a burden—even though his father thought it to be ridiculous that his son was doing what he called women’s work. Still, Isaac enjoyed helping his mother out the best he could, and would patch the family’s broken clothing, even knitting a pair of socks or two every once in a while. [break][break]

As Isaac grew, he started getting a bit healthier, though his development wasn’t exactly normal thanks to the heavy burden his body bore due to the illnesses he faced. Still, despite being a bit feebler than the rest of his siblings, and getting ill more often than them, Isaac was able to take on more responsibilities around the farm than before. Since his oldest brother, Austin, took on a lot of the responsibilities when it came to managing the ranch, Isaac was assigned some of the lighter, easier tasks thanks to his brother being quite fair. Despite this, determined to show his worth to both his father and siblings, Isaac has tended to push himself past his own limits. He should know that there is no pleasing his father, as those who live up to his expectations never receive any praise, yet Isaac has grown tired of being criticized for so many years. Isaac hasn’t gotten too much shit from his siblings either, yet his low confidence makes him want to prove himself perhaps even to people he shouldn’t worry about.
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