Larson DeStefano*

[Palhinuk*]

Name: Larson DeStefano
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Grade: Senior
School: Aurora High
Hobbies and Interests: Pirates and pirate related things, punk and ska music, movies (especially bad B-Movies, MST3K stuff),  pranks and engineering them, Film Club, Band (trumpet)

Appearance: Larson is a bit on the short side, coming it at 5'6" at 187 lbs.  He is a bit on the portly side, but it is easy to see there is a bit of muscle definition under his flab.  He has a bit of a belly, but keeping fairly active has kept his weight in check for the past few years.  He has short brown hair and green eyes, and his round chin and cheeks are accentuated by a stubbly beard.  His face is round, with slightly puffy cheeks, giving him a slight babyface, one of the reasons he began growing a beard in the first place.  He usually wears a t-shirts with button-up shirts over them and jeans at all times.  Larson suffers from an astigmatism, and has to wear glasses. He is a fair-skinned, and could stand to get a bit more sun.

Biography: Born on August 18, 1995, Larson was always giggling and grinning as a child.  Born to Paul and Janet DeStefano, Larson was a kid who is not afraid to look goofy in any social situation.  Always willing to play the fool, he usually was (and still is) out-going, friendly to a fault, and always ready to try and make someone smile.  He had gotten into trouble several times throughout grade school and junior high for being a general class clown, and still maintains a reputation as such to this day.  He was notorious among school staff for being a chatterbox and a prankster, ranging from classics (whoopie cushions, buckets of water on doorways) to more complex feats.  His pride and joy was rigging a fellow student's locker to play the Treasure Chest opening theme from the Legend of Zelda games whenever it opened with a tape recorder a pair of pencils and a few rubber bands.  He has slowed down on his pranks in recent years, but still manages to get someone to open up a shaken can of soda every so often.  Though Larson had always been reprimanded for his pranks, he always took his punishment in stride, feeling that a bit of work cleaning up was well worth the fun he had.  He had never done any permanent damage, so punishment was rarely more severe than cleaning up whatever mess was involved and maybe a detention for an afternoon.

Larson and his parents had always had a great connection with each other.  He admired his mother and, though he couldn't quite get his head completely around what his father did for a living, he respected him.  His father Paul was a patent lawyer and amateur boating enthusiast, and his mother Janet worked in an insurance office, while playing guitar for a cover band on the weekends.  He loved both his parents very much, always admiring his father's adventurous spirit and his mother's dedication to her music.  He and his father used to sail out on summer weekends and pretend to be pirates, always searching for "booty and plunder".  He has held onto his love of pirates through the years, both out of fondness for the past and as a way to remember his father.  

Likewise, he inherited his musical interests. and sense of humor, from his mother. She played in a punk/alternative cover band called Circle Fish that played local clubs in Seattle.  She was always a free spirit in his eyes, and always cracked jokes in even the most tense of situations.  She never told him that this was a defense mechanism of hers and, most of the time, she was terrified.  The rest of the family would go to her shows and watch her do what she loved.  This eventually led Larson to explore the musical world and find a love of punk music and, eventually, ska music as well.  

One weekend, the Paul and Janet went out to a large boating festival in Nevada at Lake Mead.  They were returning to shore on the first night when a speedboat, piloted by a drunk passenger, collided with theirs, killing them both instantly.  The initial shock of this hit Larson hard.  He withdrew from the rest of his peers for the rest of his 8th grade year, preferring to spend his time in reflection instead of interacting with anyone.  His schoolwork and attitude dropped of drastically, barely passing and moving on to his Freshman year.  But over the summer, Larson and his sister took a trip down to Lake Mead themselves for a visit.  It was here Larson realized that neither of them would want him to be this way.  They would want him to be happy and ultimately do what he loved, even after both of them were gone.  After a year or so of distancing himself from his normal self, Larson decided to keep strong for both of his parents.

During this year, Larson's sister was enduring a battle of her own.  13 years older then Larson, Jeri was already graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Digital Media, with a minor in Design Studies.  When their folks had passed, she was already working for a home decor company as a graphic designer.  Though there were plenty of legal hoops to jump through, she was eventually determined to be a fit guardian, and was awarded legal custody of Larson until he turned 18.  Her job, coupled with a decent life insurance payment from their parents, have helped sustain the two through the years.

Larson and his sister are the best of friends, making it through the rough parts of their lives by being able to lift each other's spirits.  Jeri is an almost perfect compliment to Larson's goofball persona.  While Larson cracks wise and makes jokes all day long, Jeri is always thinking and measuring herself and her reactions.  The two of them grew up playing video games together, and though Jeri has grown out of them, Larson still avidly plays any game he can get his hands on, specifically finding a love in FPSs and adventure games.

Larson has a long-time love for bad movies.  Spending far too many nights watching reruns of Mystery Science Theater 3000, he has come to love and appreciate B-Movies and monster flicks, if not for the sheer fun that comes with riffing on them.  He enjoys other films as well, joining others in the Film Club, though it takes a little bit of restraint to keep himself from riffing on other movies as well.  He is also a member of the Band, his love of ska music driving him to pick up trumpet.  He has attempted to start his own ska band with minimal success.  He also has aspirations of being a comedian, and possibly running his own comedy show/podcast online, viewing it as just another way to make even more people laugh and enjoy themselves.

In the past few years, Larson has adopted a very "come what may" attitude towards life and the world in general.  While he knows what he eventually wants to do with his life, he has come to decide that whatever obstacles are thrown his way are usually just small bumps in the long run, so there is no real use worrying too much on the here and now.  He is squeamish around serious situations, and usually looks to lighten the mood as soon as possible to varying degrees of success.  Mostly, though, Larson just wants everyone to have a good time and relax, preferring laughter and smiles over drama any day.  As such, he tends to avoid hanging out with groups and cliques that focus on gossip and popularity, viewing them, as he calls them, as "wretched hives of scum and villainy".  Larson hasn't had an real romantic endeavors, and hasn't been actively pursuing any either.  He does admit to having bi-curious tendencies, but has yet to even consider asking anyone of either sex out, mostly preferring friendships over romantic relationships anyway.

Though he does not really stick to any concrete group, he spends a lot of time with Jason Meyers, having known him for a few years.  Both natural jokesters, the two became good pals rather quickly and are often seen swapping jokes and stories back and forth when hanging out.  He also has been known to game with Travis Webster on more than a few occasions, though Larson is relatively unaware of Travis's party-boy side.  The one person Larson doesn't really gel with is Royce Chambers, however.  The few times they've interacted have always ended badly.  He views Royce as someone who takes too much too seriously.  Otherwise, Larson has a plethora of acquaintances and pals, and is never shy to introduce himself to new people and situations.

Larson is a fairly average student.  He is fairly intelligent when it comes down to it, but his non-committal attitude makes it hard to take many subjects seriously.  He is particularly weak in Math courses, barely scraping by with tutoring help from his sister.  He doesn't have plans for college at the time, though he admits that he will inevitably go somewhere for at least a few semesters and give them a trial run.

Advantages: Larson is very outgoing and personable.  Though he knows its impossible, Larson genuinely tries to make friends with everyone.  He is also to keep himself light-hearted through dark situations.
Disadvantages: He just can't take anything seriously.  Larson goofs off way too much, and even when a situation calls for serious, rational thinking, he is usually trying to think of a way to crack a joke rather than actually solve the problem at hand.