Chad Barrett

I built a time machine
Chadwick Taylor Barrett, "Chad"

9 July 1993

Chad is a good height and build, standing at 5'10" and looking like he could probably play football if he gave two shits about such things. His dirty blond hair tends to be a shaggy mess, blue eyes often giving away the fact that he's prrrrobably under the influence more often than not. His clothes tend to be jeans and t-shirts, a lot of retro and vintage and plenty of things that look like they shouldn't have been nearly as expensive as they probably were. He usually speaks slowly and quietly, voice low and stoner drawl often rather heavy. Generally, he has a habit of coming off as a geeky pot-head and, well, that's probably because that's just what he is.

I'm going to see the homecoming queen
Chad is pretty easy to read as a person, most of the time. Friendly, well-meaning, usually stoned off of his ass and almost always a little too easily distracted, he's not all that hard to get along with on any given day, as long as you can deal with a bit of often unintentional bluntness and not entirely thought-out sarcasm. He's more likely to beat himself up over things than let it turn into outward anger and is often good for a compliment, though it may not always be readily apparent by anything other than his smile that what he says is actually meant in the best way possible. And heaven forbid the boy flirt. Nine times out of ten, any attempt to do so just comes out, well, off. Trying to get his actual meaning across and not come off as a skeeze is not always something at which he has the greatest success.

As a child, Chad learned how to hate himself for being more priveleged than most of those around him and that fact has remained a pretty steady part of his self-awareness ever since. Not the most well-socialized child, he doesn't always know what he should or should not do or say because he tended to just get away with anything and everything while growing up. He's terrified of upsetting people but he has trouble figuring out exactly what's going to be seen as upsetting, habitually overstepping boundaries and then backing away with his tail between his legs when reprimanded. Honestly, Chad just wants to be everyone's friend but, at the same time, he expects more people to dislike him than to actually find his myriad forms of advances and admiration in any way endearing. He's attentive and appreciative but it must be admitted that these aren't necessarily always seen as good things and he knows it but he can't really help himself.

take her to the Christmas dance
Chad is a ferrokinetic, meaning that he has control over metals. In order to affect them, he has to be able to touch them or another metal that touches them in turn. As previously mentioned, he's rather easily distracted, so he can sometimes have a serious issue with actually focusing well enough to control it but he tries and he works on it constantly. It's quickly noted that he is always in possession of a pinball, with which he practices in his spare time. While he works on developing his focus, Chad is being medicated to keep him from affecting any metal he contacts while under stress or entirely lacking in concentration.

maybe now I'll get in her pants, whatever
Chad is and has always been, much to his dismay, just another spoiled, rich kid. Born and raised in Philadelphia, the oldest of three with a lawyer for a mother and a surgeon for a father, he has always been caught in that position where he truly wanted for nothing and sometimes that's driven him a little crazy. At a very young age, he caught on to the fact that most people who were his "friends" weren't really his friends. They just wanted to be associated with his family's money. He hated that feeling, only being "liked" for his status, but not nearly so much as he hated the feeling of being disliked for his status.

In his preteen years, he developed a love of all things vintage and retro. Sequestering himself away from his peers, he became obsessed with the old pinball machine in his family's basement. Near the same time, he acquired an Atari system and also discovered 8-bit arcade gaming. Always playing old hand-held games on the bus soon introduced him to a new group, as well as the ever amusing world of the perpetual high. Geeks and stoners, he quickly learned, weren't quite as likely to only stick around for his money. What they really cared about was the latest video game, the Death Level of Pac-Man and getting the best deals on the best grade pot.

When Chad first manifested his abilities, it took him a while to realize what was going on. High as a kite, he was probably lucky that those around him were just as far gone as he was when it turned out that he wasn't actually hallucinating the park bench melting when he touched it.

On the 20th of April, Chad came to Quadrinity, enrolled under the front of an exclusive private school.

back with my high school friends
In-game History

passing round a skinny joint

 * Brian Acker V
 * Lear Shapiro
 * Lee Letowski

rolling up to Lookout Point

 * Girls

I want to pull it apart and put it back together
One Man Wrecking Machine by Guster

I want to pull it apart and put it back together / I want to relive all my adolescent dreams / Inspired by true events on movie screens / I am a one man wrecking machine

Pinball Wizard by The Who

''Ever since I was a young boy, / I've played the silver ball. / From Soho down to Brighton / I must have played them all. / but I ain't seen nothing like him / In any amusement hall. / That deaf, dumb and blind kid / Sure plays a mean pinball!''

Sassafrass Roots by Green Day

''Roaming 'round your house / WASTING YOUR TIME / No obligation,just / WASTING YOUR TIME / So why are you alone? / WASTING YOUR TIME / When you could be with me / WASTING YOUR TIME''

inspired by true events on movie screens
Chad? Mine. Cory Knauf? Not.

I am a one man wrecking machine
Let's be honest. This is just here to finish the lyrics.