Birchwood Isle Family Roleplay

Basic Information

Where do you live? The Orphan Village
Are you married? If yes, to whom? Currently Single
Do you have any children? If yes, list them. No
Is your family open to adopting children or adolescents? Lando would absolutely love to adopt

Appearance
Height: 6'0"
Build: athletic
Hair Color: black
Eye Color: blue
Distinguishing Features: deep dimple in his right cheek, shallower one in his left, an Italian accent, and a big, inviting smile
Brief Description: Somehow Lando manages to look laid back even in a three-piece suit (which he doesn't wear often!). His style leans toward a pair of blue jeans, a thick leather belt, and a sports jacket, sometimes with a tie and sometimes without. He has thick, wavy black hair, blue eyes that always seem to be smiling, and a white-toothed grin that always seems to appear when he encounters a young person. Lando is generally considered to be very handsome. Quite a catch for any single folks!

Personality
Strengths: active; involved; sensitive; organized; generous; kind; playful; child-centered; loving; verbal; easygoing; laid back; charming
Flaws: easily distracted; self-deprecating; traumatized; sensitive; manipulative; judgmental; second-guesses motives; overly-relaxed; emotional
Likes: young people; taking care of people; viewing artwork; traveling; well-fitting shoes; American culture; Harry Potter; the smell of libraries; cats; late-night phone calls; hot showers; the smell of the ocean
Dislikes: being alone; smarmy women; men who don't know boundaries; people who abandon children; the need for the Orphan Village; writing reports; ringing phones; saltwater in his hair; long boat rides; ferries
Vices: Lando can be quite vain
Fears: being abandoned (again); falling in love with someone who doesn't love him back; snakes; spiders
Personality: Lando is warm, friendly, and charming, but the emphasis here is on his warmth. It's the first thing most people notice about him. He's quick to introduce himself to any young person he encounters, slower with most adults, and willing to get down on a child's level to introduce himself to them. He assumes the best in other people before there is the opportunity for them to prove him wrong, and he persists in insisting that people are good even when they try to prove him wrong. More than anything, Lando believes that people are a product of the history that made them and that young people need to feel that they are understood in that context. If someone has been abandoned, you can't expect them to feel important. If they've experienced emotional abuse or neglect, you can't expect them to feel secure. If they've been physically abused, you can't expect them to feel safe. Everywhere in his life, Lando approaches youth with this mindset, though he has a hard time extending the same to the adults, who he views as the abandoners, neglecters, and abusers in almost every case.

Relationships & Discipline

How do you normally get along with other adults? Lando struggles with other adults because he is always second guessing their motives. This lack of trust impacts those relationships and it takes a lot longer to get him to warm up internally to adults he meets. It is worth noting, however, that he is externally as warm with adults as he is with youth.
How do you normally get along with teenagers? In general, Lando gets along well with teenagers because he makes them feel seen and understood. On the other hand, he holds a degree of distrust for those who are moving into adulthood (as he sees adulthood) and is most likely to attach to teen parents who are making the effort to parent. The more of this he sees, the better Lando feels.
How do you normally get along with children? Spectacularly. Lando knows how to get down on their level and talk to them like humans and not like children.
Link to your discipline sheet: click here

Orphan Village

What is your role at the Orphan Village? Administrator
Which house or building do you work for? The whole village, not a single house. Orlando oversees everything.
Do you live in the Village or commute? Orlando has his own, private home in the village -- with enough room for him to adopt several children and still have room left over.
Do you have any special training, certification, or skills relevant to your role? Before moving to Birchwood Isle, Lando was a teacher.
Do you prefer to work with a particular age group? Which one? School-Age Children
Do you struggle with a particular age group? Which one? Not really. Maybe young adults.

Briefly describe your caregiving or mentoring style. Lando is incredibly down-to-earth with the kids. He speaks to even young children as though they are full people, doesn't talk down to them, and communicates in a very direct, grown up language that acknowledges their autonomy and the reality of their emotions. He's careful to make space for the way kids think and feel, and he is an excellent listener when they have a problem. He's not the type to give them their way -- the adults in charge of their house are allowed to set their own rules and enforce them in the way they feel is best -- but he will always provide an ear and a hug if they need it. He makes space for the kids who live in the village, and for many, that is the most important thing a grownup can do.

Describe how you see your role in the village. Orlando oversees everything in the village. That's his job. He signs the paychecks, makes the rules everyone must follow, and ensures that youth are both moving in and being adopted out. He's also a big part of the organizational team that sets up things like adoption festivals and fairs.

Is there anything else we should know about your role in the Village? He's very hands-off with the adults (allowing them to govern their houses or organizations as they see fit) but very hands on with the children. Lando will absolutely, without question, stop and discipline a child he finds misbehaving in the village, even if they aren't a village resident. His discipline is generally gentle, and if he can opt to do anything other than spank, he will. Unfortunately, his position makes it difficult for him to issue lasting consequences like grounding, and therefore his hands are often tied, making corporal punishment a virtual necessity if time-out isn't indicated.

Background

Education: Masters degree in European History, Masters degree in Secondary Education
Work History: Orlando worked as a teacher before he moved to Birchwood Isle
Current Goals or Challenges: Lando is in therapy working on his own trauma so that he can remove the blocks he has to communicating well with other adults
Reason for Living on Birchwood Isle: He learned that this island took in abandoned children -- like him -- and he wanted to help
Brief History: Lando was found abandoned on the side of the road when he was only a few weeks old. He doesn't even know his true birth date, and has always celebrated his birthday on the anniversary of the day he was found, rather than on the day that he might have been born, according to his modified birth certificate. Although he was adopted by the time he reached the first anniversary of his founding, he always knew he didn't fit in with his adoptive family. He was in his mid-twenties before he learned the true story of how he came to live with his family, and it explained so much. But it also came with a fresh set of abandonment issues that sent him on a trek around the world that ended, at least for a time, at Cambridge, where he earned his first degree (in European History) and then his second (in Education). From England, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a high school teacher. Students seemed to enjoy his thick accent and his charm.

He loved his job, and he wouldn't have left it if he hadn't heard about Birchwood Isle, the "Island of Misfit Toys," where abandoned children went to maybe rehabilitate. Wanting to be part of that, Orlando took off for the island and simply never returned to the United States or the job he left behind. At first, he intended to be a teacher at St. Jude's, to help support those who needed him the most. He took the job and held it for four years, but then three strange things happened at the same time.

First, the story of his founding went viral when the woman who would have been his mother came forward with her story. The media sought Orlando out, and as he began to provide his story, the offers went wild. A book deal. A movie. Money coming from sources he'd never dreamed might belong to him. Then his adoptive father passed away and left him a mountain of money he'd been hoarding for decades. In spite of Orlando having seven brothers and sisters, all of the money went to him, along with a sort of an apology. Finally, the original set of children's homes dedicated to supporting orphans on Birchwood Isle dissolved due, in part, to the administrator's burnout, but also because the system they'd had in place wasn't working. Orlando had the means, the opportunity, and the passion to set up the Orphan Village and so he sought the island's support, taxpayer funding, and finally the land rights, and built the Orphan Village from the ground up. Now he lives there and handles all of the top-level responsibilities, overseeing the entire village while letting his staff run it.