Character Quirks

One of the quirkiest characters in Paradiso happens to be the first character (as of right now) that the readers meet: Brick LaMasse. He’s a night shift janitor at a local hospital, and he fully enjoys being what he calls a “day snoozer.” Although he keeps to himself, usually because of the time he’s awake, Brick is incredibly friendly if not awkward in most of his encounters with other people. His schedule is pretty set – which, believe me, is a necessity for anyone working overnight – even on his off days: wake up, pour coffee and brown some toast, go for a walk (or go to work), come home, wind down, sleep … repeat.

Brick is actually modeled after a good friend of mine who just happens to be autistic. When I told her about it, she was absolutely delighted and gave me a whole mess of her idiosyncrasies that she sees in herself or have been pointed out to her by friends, family, and the “occasional unsolicited dickhead.” Just like my friend, Brick is very online since he is able to express himself better than he is otherwise, and he also only eats in threes – 3 different food items, 3 pieces of one type of food at a time, 3 chews (and if necessary a pause, followed by another 3 chews). He enjoys working with his hands, so his janitorial job keeps him moving around. Plus, he is allowed to listen to music at work, which helps him focus. He prefers classical music but will occasionally listen to the space station pop radio for a bit of a different vibe. He must wear ironed clothes, even when he is not at work; he loves ironing his hoodies last because they’re a lot bulkier than his shirts and pants. He also has a cat, Waffle (named after his favorite food), that he found in a dumpster on one of his night walks, although that is against the building’s policy for the studio apartments, and he keeps the litter box meticulously clean (less of a quirk and more of a necessity).

Because he lives in a small studio apartment, he doesn’t have space for a lot of possessions, but he loves photography and has every inch of his walls covered in various pictures that he’s purchased, cut out of a publication, or taken himself. His camera is his most prized item, and he keeps it locked in the cabinet above his small fridge.

Believe it or not, most of these things actually come into play in Paradiso, but I kept this as spoiler-free as I could! I could keep writing about this man for pages, but … I have to get some rest and go into my night shift job.