Brant

Brant Esser XI (commonly known as just Brant, or Brant11) is the third President of Acadia. Born in Penguin Town, now Club Penguin, Brant joined the Revolutionists during the Colonial Antarctica War, fighting alongside many of his future acquaintances. After the war ended, Brant returned to his family's homeland, Acadia, where he began his political career. He was elected President of Acadia in 2015 and introduced major reforms to the country, making it much more powerful and allowing Acadia to be a major player on the Antarctic stage.

Brant has been routinely criticized for his multiple rumors, which his opponents seize every opportunity to use to their advantage. His opponents often exploit his supposed love for Melon Thunderbeak, his love for many years and the wife of his biggest rival, Hockey Manlet. While both Brant and Melon both fervently deny these rumors, the Acadian press continue to write countless articles about their supposed affair. Other rumors about him include the fact that he is a Snoss puppet, coming from their old friendship in school, and that his daughter was from another female, which was proven false.

On June 8, 2019, he announced he would not stand for reelection in December 2019.

Childhood
Brant11 was born Brant Esser XI in Acadia, in the Esser Estate, the first and only child of Brant Esser X and his wife. The Essers moved to their estate in Penguin Town, present day Club Penguin, when Brant was one, and they would stay there for the next fifteen years. It was in Penguin Town that Brant met his lifelong friends, the Hochstadt brothers, Gaston, Swiss Ninja, Fisch, and Clovis, and his later vice president, Ryan Crosby.

Eventually Brant and his friends began training in the Dojo, and due to his skill and hard work, eventually earned a black belt in about a year and a half. Swiss Ninja claimed to have earned his black belt in two days, something the friends have neither confirmed nor denied. Despite earning their black belts, the friends continued staying at the Dojo, mostly to learn more or train new ninjas.

Middle school was mostly uneventful for him, but in eighth grade, Brant met his future rival, Hockey Manlet, who would later become a famous hockey player. Brant had a major crush on his girlfriend, even claiming to "love" her, and according to Hockey Manlet, tried to steal her from him. This caused a lifelong rivalry between the two, and it is said that Hockey Manlet beat Brant up after he tried asking out the former's girlfriend. Eventually both moved onto high school, and they parted ways, though fate would bring the two together a few years later.

Colonial Antarctica War
In 1999, fighting broke out between rebels and Puffish soldiers in the towns of Luckyton and Coconut, in the north of Penguin Island, after Puffish soldiers tried to confiscate weapons and supplies held by the rebels in Coconut. The fighting culminated in the Battles of Luckyton and Coconut, the first battle in the Colonial Antarctica War. Rebel forces quickly occupied Penguin Town to prevent it from being taken by the Puffish, though the Puffish held some of Penguin Island.

Eager for some adventure, as Brant later admitted in a memoir, Brant and his friend Ryan Crosby joined the Revolutionists, as the rebels came to be called. The Hochstadt brothers parted ways, with Swiss hoping to found a country, Fisch setting off on adventures, and Clovis following Gaston. With the help of cannons hauled from a Puffish fort in present day Happyface State, the Revolutionists were able to get the Puffish out of Penguin Island.

Brant first saw action in the Battle of Rockhopper Island, a failed attempt by the Revolutionists to hold Rockhopper Island from Puffish forces. With the battle lost, Revolutionist forces retreated through icy cold and camped at Aware Dell, Eastshield during the winter. In a later interview years later, Brant remembered that coming from a wealthy family, he had decent clothes for the winter, while many less fortunate soldiers were wearing tattered clothes. However, he admitted they were probably "the hardest months of my life".

Throughout the rest of the war, Brant stayed alongside the Revolutionist army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant by the end of the war for his valor and bravery in combat. He successfully negotiated for the release of many Revolutionist soldiers in exchange for some Puffish soldiers who were captured. Amazingly, one of the Revolutionists was his friend Ryan Crosby, who had been captured months earlier. Brant participated in the final major battle of the war, the Battle of York Street, which captured the Puffish capital of Antarctica, Landsowne.

Founding of Acadia and Adulthood
After returning to Acadia after the war, Brant helped the new nation rebuild itself from the war, and aided in the founding of the new government. Chosen as a delegate to the Acadian Constitutional Convention, Brant helped draft the new Constitution of the Republic of Acadia. After helping sign the Acadian Constitution, Brant was called on to help lead the Acadian forces during the Snowinn Civil War.

In 2003, after the war ended, Brant returned to Acadia, where Brant practiced law for two years with his friend and future vice president Ryan Crosby, in a law firm called Crosby & Esser. It was during this time that he had a chick with an unknown woman, said to be his future wife, Jayne Dupont. This issue would cloud his political career until a DNA test in 2014. After two years of being a lawyer, Brant was appointed by the first president of Acadia, Greg Cleanington, who was elected a second term, as Ambassador to Freezeland.

Ambassador to Freezeland
In 2008, Brant married Jayne Dupont, who he had been dating for years, and the daughter of the CEO of a Club Penguin based coffee franchise, in an elaborate ceremony at her parents' estate in Freezeland. The two had been dating since 2005, before Brant had been appointed Ambassador to Freezeland. Though the had fallen in love and the marriage wasn't arranged, this union did bring a great amount of prosperity for both of their families, since the Essers were very wealthy and the Duponts owned a coffee franchise.

As Brant admitted in an interview in 2009, his marriage with Jayne Dupont helped him finally get over his love for Melon Thunderbeak, the wife of Hockey Manlet, who he had loved since middle school. Hockey Manlet and Melon married some time before, with Hockey Manlet mockingly sending Brant a wedding invitation, which Brant didn't attend, although he did send the couple the Acadian presidential flag as a gift, implying his future political plans, something that was said to have inspired Hockey Manlet to run for president years later.

Sensing trouble on the horizon in late 2010, President Greg Cleanington pulled Brant out of Freezeland, days before his term was due to end. Brant, his family, and the entire staff at the embassy in Freezeland were evacuated by an Acadian military helicopter at night. A few days later, Freezeland's King, Triskelle, was deposed by his Prime Minister, Amluc Riam, who led a resistance movement against the King, which sent the country into civil war. Acadia, and a few other nations, declared war on Freezeland the next day, in a war known as Twilight and Shadow.

Return to Acadia and Member of Parliament
After returning to Acadia, Brant ran for Member of Parliament for his district in the province of Capitale, a campaign that had started while he was still in Freezeland. Due to his past achievements in the military and in Acadian politics, he easily won the seat, defeating the current holder, a liberal in a landslide. In Parliament, he worked alongside his fellow Conservatives to enact more rightist policies, which helped ensure Acadia's prosperity, power, and prestige on the Antarctic stage.

The years in which Brant served, 2010 to 2015, were a tumultuous time for Acadia, and the world. Multiple wars, many of them incredibly devastating, struck Antarctica, including, but not limited to, the six Great Snowzerland Wars, the Fall of Nexon, and the Frosian War. Pursuing a nationalist and protective policy, in a rare unity, Parliament decided to stay out of the war, as their involvement would only endanger Acadians, and would make no difference. However, during the Frosian War, Puffalian forces attacked Fort Cheese, which threatened Acadian neutrality. Still Acadia stayed neutral.

Presidency
In 2015, despite soaring popularity in Parliament, Brant instead ran for the nation's highest office, President of Acadia, alongside Ryan Crosby, who was his running mate. Despite facing criticism for being too young or inexperienced, Brant and Ryan received multiple endorsements, and eventually won the vote by a large majority, having five percent more votes that the second most, his rival Hockey Manlet.

After becoming president, Brant attempted to restore relations with many countries, including Snowzerland. He also expanded on relations with Snowiny, and after weeks of negotiations, led Acadia's entrance into the Western Union. Acadia joined the Antarctic War on Terrorism soon after, with Acadia being one of the biggest supporters of the counter-terrorist cause. However, Acadia also joined Snowiny in the Bow Tie War, which caused much controversy and made Brant's approval ratings drop.

Throughout late 2016 and 2017, relations with Dorkugal and the United States of Antarctica rapidly deteriorated. After Megg and Happyface141, were elected president and vice president of the USA, respectively, Parliament convened in an emergency session, and voted 89-10 to leave the Free Republic Union, knowing the Megg and Happyface141 had notable anti-Acadian views. This decision was blamed on Brant, and was heavily criticized. With encouragement from Happyface, violent riots soon broke out in Acadia, calling for Brant to step down, though the riots were crushed by police.

In 2019, Brant announced that he would not seek a third term as the president of Acadia, and instead endorsed Adrian Croft, the forerunner for the Conservative Party's nomination, as the new president of Acadia. Although in the past, Esser had stated his plans to continue serving as president for a few more terms, political analysts believed that his declining support among Acadians as a result of his handling of foreign affairs served as the main reason he chose not to run again. Adrian Croft, who he endorsed, won the 2019 Acadian general election and became the new president of Acadia.

Future
After finishing his term in 2020, Brant returned to living a normal life at an estate in the province of Laurentides, a short distance outside the capital, though he was constantly bombarded by the press and newspapers looking for interviews. Despite no longer being president, he still continued to hold much influence in government, due to many influential friends of his. In the late 2000s, Brant also befriended Clovis, the King of Castilla once more, reigniting an old friendship that first existed when the two had gone to school in Club Penguin together all those years ago.

Brant eventually retired to the Esser family's estate in Snow Jose, Eastshield, one of his family's many estates around Antarctica sometime in the 2030s, where he lived for the rest of his life. By that time, long after the presidency of Megg, Acadia had become one of the United States of Antarctica's closest friends again, and he was welcomed by the Antarctican government. Over the years, Brant received many visitors, from nostalgic Acadians longing for the time of his Presidency again to authors and journalists looking to write biographies and articles, respectively.

After a few more decades of living in Snow Jose, Brant became frailer and eventually lost the will to live, dying peacefully in 2135 at the age of 155 at the Esser estate in Snow Jose. His body was returned to Acadia, where his funeral was held, which was attended by top Acadian politicians and many Antarctic leaders as well, and was buried at the National Cemetery for his previous service in the Acadian Defense Forces. A week of mourning was declared across the entire Republic of Acadia and flags were flown at half mast to mourn his death.

Soldier
Shortly after the Colonial Antarctica War broke out, Brant joined the Acadian rebel army with a few of his friends, as a few Acadian soldiers had been sent to Penguin Town from Acadia, where there was already a rebellions, to aid the Revolutionists against the Puffish. Brant stayed with the Acadians after the war ended, following them back to Acadia, and became one of the first soldiers in the Acadian Defense Forces, which was founded in 2000.

In the Acadian Defense Forces, Brant was given the rank of Major General for his previous services and skill in military affairs, and helped lead the Acadian forces in the Snowinn Civil War, alongside General Travis Howe. Brant served in the Acadian Defense Forces until 2003, after the war ended. He was given an honorable discharge for his actions in battle and also was awarded a couple medals. As president, Brandon holds the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Acadian Defense Forces.

Lawyer
After serving in the Acadian Defense Forces in the Snowinn Civil War and was given an honorable discharge afterwards, Brandon returned to Acadia and began practicing law alongside his friend Ryan Crosby, opening a law firm called Crosby and Esser. Brandon practiced law for two years, before he was appointed the position Ambassador to Freezeland by President Greg Cleanington, in which he handed the law firm to a good friend. The law firm, which has continued to this day, albeit under different owners, continues to be extremely successful and deals with high profile cases.

Ambassador
Brant served as Ambassador to Freezeland from 2005 to 2010, after being appointed to the position by President Greg Cleanington. During this time, he greatly strengthened relations between Freezeland and Acadia, bonds of which still remain to this day, and met with King Triskelle and important Freezelandian officials. Shortly before the end of his term, he was pulled out of Acadia by President Cleanington, who sensed trouble. Brant is the only Freezelandian Ambassador who did not complete his term, being evacuated by an Acadian military helicopter days before Twilight and Shadow.

Member of Parliament
From 2010 to 2015, Brant served as a conservative Member of Parliament after beating his Liberal opponent by a landslide in the election that year. Brant also served on many parliamentary committees, including, but not limited to, the Parliamentary Committee of Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Judiciary, among others. While he was Member of Parliament, Antarctica was involved in over ten wars, most of which were major and it was during these times that Parliament had a rare unity, which helped Acadia survive that turbulent time.

President
After being elected in 2014, Brant was sworn in as President of Acadia in 2015. Although both Greg Cleanington and Dominic Smith, the his predecessors, had both worked to increase Acadia's power and influence on the Antarctic stage, Brant was determined to make Acadia a great power. Continuing the work of his predecessor Dominic Smith, Brant also continued negotiating Acadia's entry into the Western Union, which Acadia entered in April 2015, alongside Caseusopolis. Brant also worked to strengthen Acadia's alliances with other nations around Antarctica as well.

However, Brant's Presidency has also been full of controversies, and he is often considered the most controversial Acadian President. One of the first blunders of his Presidency was the Acadian invasion of Macradonia, which he convinced Parliament to support by telling them it was an opportunity for Acadia to gain another colony. He was also responsible for Acadia leaving the Free Republic Union, which he also convinced Parliament to support. However, he did help Acadia gain their largest colony by population, Myr, during his Presidency, along with other smaller colonies as well.

Personality
Brant is somewhat of a serious person, finding it very hard to take jokes, which has caused him to be trolled several times. This made him somewhat unpopular during his school years, and is something his political rivals, and sometimes friends, tease him about. Additionally Brant is somewhat stubborn and persistent, and has, on many occasions, refused to heed the advice of others. Headstrong and ambitious, with a certain tendency of questioning norms or authority, this has accounted for both many failures and successes throughout his life and political career.

However, Brant can also be quick to forgive others, and is, on certain occasions, caring to an extent. On the contrary, Brant can also be very unforgiving to some of those who cross him, often holding grudges for years. He is also known to lash out at others at times, then come to regret it later. This behavior of having sides is often mocked by his rivals as "bipolar" and is often used to claim he is unfit for a certain political office. Brant also has some insecurities as well, but tries to hide them, lest the Acadian media find out, as it would hurt his political career.

He can also be very controlling, seeing as how he instituted multiple pieces of legislation that made Acadia a much more repressive country that it already was, and often silenced his political opponents. His actions finally came into attention in Antarctica when he ordered the arrest of his middle school rival, sparking an international crisis which almost led to Acadia being suspended from the Western Union. In a later memoir, he admitted that he felt little control over his life in his adolescent years, and that becoming the leader of Acadia was the first real control he had felt.

Brant is still bitter from being bullied in high school, often questioning then why some people were destined to be bullies while others were destined to be bullied. Despite being possibly the most powerful person in the Republic of Acadia, Brant still desires revenge on his former high school bullies, and even tried to make school bullying punishable by labor camp in Acadia until he was told by his advisers that the move would receive a lot of backlash. However, after becoming President, he ordered the arrest of two of his high school bullies who happened to be in Acadia at the time.

Strengths
Due to being a High Penguin, Brant has the traits of a High Penguin, including more endurance and the ability to recover from most injuries. He also has some High Penguin magic, which sometimes helps him. Additionally, Brant is also adept at the use of weapons, including a very accurate aim when using a gun. Brant is also somewhat good at Card-Jitsu, having practiced it in his childhood. Additionally, Brant is able to speak five languages fluently, English, both the Standard and Acadian dialects of French, German, Serbian, and Romanian, and also some Latin as well.

Weaknesses
Despite being skilled at Card-Jitsu and having High Penguin traits to aid him, Brant is somewhat of a bad fighter when it comes to fighting without any weapons. He is also not very athletic, which often gave his rival Hockey Manlet a better chance than him in middle school. Yet with age and some practice, mostly with his time in the military, Brant is more athletic than he was as a child. When he does have a weapon however, Brant is very skilled in fighting, and is known for his good aim when it comes to firearms, along with some swordsmanship skills as well.

Good

 * Ryan Crosby - Brant and Ryan have been friends since middle school. Since then, the two have done most things together, such as when they joined the Revolutionists together in the Colonial Antarctica War. Brant arranged for Ryan's release after he was captured in the Colonial Antarctica War, though he wasn't aware Ryan was among them. After the war, Brant and Ryan opened a law firm together. The two also ran in the 2015 Acadia Elections, with Ryan as Brant's running mate. Currently Ryan Crosby is Brant's Vice President.
 * Penquino - Despite only have met a few times, mostly during either Brant or Penquino's political visits to the other's nation, the two have remained in contact and maintain a good, though sometimes uneasy, friendship. At times Brant admires Penquino's progress, from an ordinary citizen to one of Shops' political elite, citing him in some speeches.
 * Wikipenguino45 - Since Wikipenguino has served as a representative of Tropicalis on many occasions, Brant and Wikipenguino have met many times, mostly during formal gatherings. Though they haven't seen each other in person a lot, the two maintain a friendship through email and social media. Brant is also good friends with Wikipenguino's father, the President of Tropicalis.
 * Penstubal - Penstubal is one of Brant Esser's closest friends outside of Acadia and the two meet quite often, usually discuss their own lives and fun things they have to talk about rather than politics, business or anything really important.

Neutral

 * Hockey Manlet - Though Brant doesn't hate Hockey Manlet, the two have shared a rivalry stemming back from middle school, when Brant had a major crush on Hockey's girlfriend. This rivalry has sometimes erupted into occasional fights, though it has mostly been just both trying to make each others' lives miserable. Hockey Manlet has ran in every election against Brant, and was briefly President-elect of Acadia due to an error.
 * Chill57181 - Since Brant and Chill are President of Acadia and Vice President of Shops Island, respectively, the two have met on diplomatic business on a few occasions. It took Brant some time to adapt to Chill's sense of humor at first, finding him hard to take him seriously, though the two are now on better relations than before.
 * Swiss Ninja - The two briefly went to school together when they used to live in Penguin Town and were somewhat friends, but parted ways during the Antarctic Revolution as Swiss Ninja went looking for new lands while Brant Esser joined the rebels. Snowzerland was one of Brant's first state visits when he became president, however, and some Acadians compare Brant to Swiss Ninja to show how Esser is a dictator.

Bad

 * Darktan - Brant previously despised Darktan for his cruelty that caused the suffering of thousands of people around Antarctica for years, but accepted his reformed self as Theangol Anator after the Pie War and his hate towards to subside. However, Esser continues to hate his evil clone Darktan II for his cruelty and destruction and has tried to find him to bring him to justice.
 * Bolsheevic Penguinsky - Being the leader of Acadia's most hated enemy, Penguinsky is hated by nearly all Acadians, and especially Brant, due to his hatred of communism, and has condemned him and his country in countless speeches. The East Pengolian people and Penguinsky also hate Esser and Acadia equally as well and the two leaders have never communicated with each other.
 * EDFan12345 - Brant hates EDFan for his treatment of High Penguins in his country and aggression towards Francterre, an Acadian ally, along with Ed Island's attack on Acadia during the Ed-Snowinn War. In 2018, EDFan was declared a persona non grata in Acadia, and Acadia additionally severed all ties with Ed Island and placed sanctions on the country for Ed Island's treatment of High Penguins.

Trivia

 * He is a High Penguin.
 * His family name, Esser, signifies that one of his ancestors may have been a cartwright.
 * While it is rumored that he is related to the Hochstadts, no evidence has been found so far.
 * He shares Lavender's hatred of communism.
 * He earned the nickname "Ranty Brant" after he made a strongly-worded speech against the USA and Free Republic Union after the 2016 US Presidential Election, which his critics say was just a long rant because his best friend's brother, Joseph Crosby, didn't become President or Vice President of the USA.
 * Esser is considered the most controversial Acadian President due to the fact that he introduced multiple reforms during his Presidency that many consider to be authoritarian and also that he's been in multiple scandals.
 * In private, Brant often boasts about how he has Acadia "in his flippers", and how it's an unspoken fact that his family completely controls the nation. Regardless of how true this is, if the public heard these statements Brant would likely be thrown out of power by the people for being a monarchist like the Puffish.
 * Brant can be a strict parent, especially to his oldest daughter Maddie, but despite being the leader of Acadia and having access to numerous intelligence agencies in the country, he isn't aware of the rebellious things she does when he doesn't notice.
 * It is rumored that he had all of his former high school bullies who were living in Acadia arrested and sent to a labor camp.

Quotes

 * See Also: Brant Esser/Cheeps


 * "East Pengolia is the embodiment of evil."
 * "One person with no brain is simply a person with no brain, many people with no brain are a nuisance and danger to society."
 * "You never truly miss something until it's gone."
 * (to Melon) "I loved you once. I would've done almost anything for you then. Through the boyfriends and hard times, I loved you. And now we both have spouses. Things have changed a lot haven't they? Sometimes I wonder how things could've gone differently..."
 * "Ed Island doesn't deserve to have a state of its own."
 * "Only when we vanquish communism, which threatens our freedoms and liberties, from the face of Antarctica, can we truly live in a free society."
 * "MADELEINE LOUISE ESSER DO ÇA AGAIN ET ICH VAIS HAVE TU PERSONALLY DRAFTED DANS DER AKADISCH LÉGION ÉTRANGÈRE"