Oliver Lacroix

[Skraal]

Name: Oliver Lacroix
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Gambling, Working on his car, Partying

Appearance: Oliver is somewhat on the tall side of his class, standing at a lanky height and weight of 6'1", and 160 pounds, respectively. His carefully slicked back brown hair, as well as his typical outfit consisting of a black leather jacket and torn jeans all combine to provide the desired appearance of a delinquent. This together with the thin lipped, sardonic smile frequently seen on his wide face and the mad gleam that so often visible in the green eyes below his thick eyebrows leaves off the impression of a figure that the more straight-laced students at George Hunter High would prefer not to get involved with. The only part of him that conflicts with this image are the freckles across his thin, olive-skinned face, making him look slightly younger than he actually is.

On the day of the abduction, he was wearing a white t-shirt, faded blue jeans and brown sneakers. Despite the summer heat, he also brought along his customary favourite jacket, keeping it slung over his shoulder as he boarded the bus.

Biography: Oliver was born on January 30th, 2000, to John and Kate Lacroix, a mechanic and an elementary school teacher, respectively. Despite the objections of Kate's family due to the relatively short time the two had been seeing each other after meeting at a get-together with a group of mutual friends, they married shortly before Oliver was born. However, the concerns of Kate's parents were not without foundation, and conflicts of personality soon began to arise between the newly married couple, with John's carefree and impulsive nature clashing with his wife's fastidious attitude towards her daily responsibilities. The rift between the two of them grew with every passing year, eventually culminating in legal separation when Oliver, their only child, was four years old.

Oliver spent much of his early life shuffled between his two parents, frequently finding himself in the middle of various arguments between the two over custody agreements and child support. While at first saddened by this state of affairs, he soon came to accept it as his recollection of his life before the separation faded into a distant memory.

Despite his mother's best intentions, it became increasingly apparent as Oliver grew up that he took more after his father than his mother. As the years passed, the wedge between him and his mother widened as his lack of care towards school and chores left her no choice but to frequently nag him about his responsibilities, as John had clearly chosen his place as the permissive parent, treating Oliver like one of his adult friends and letting him do whatever he wanted at home. The influence of his mother was luckily strong enough to keep him from failing his classes, but just barely. His grades, both in elementary and high school frequently approached the bottom of his class and his indifferent attitude towards his assignments and classroom lectures has left few of his teachers happy to see his face when he shows up to school. On some level, Oliver appreciates his mother’s care towards him, though he unfortunately views her desire to motivate him as merely excessive nagging, with his willingness to listen to her growing weaker and weaker with every passing day. Though he doesn’t have any plans for higher education, wishing to instead work in an auto shop like his father, his lax attitude towards school puts into question whether he will even be able to graduate. This issue with his grades is another contributing factor that pushes his relationship with his mother into an even more distant one, as her desire to see him do better in school has lead to a myriad of arguments during the time he would spend at her house.*

As Oliver reached the age of 18, his parents have allowed him to choose which one he would stay with at any given time, rather than being shuffled back and forth on a schedule. As one might expect, this has lead to him spending the bulk of his time at his father's house, enjoying his father's lack of concern towards his frequent late night parties at the homes of various friends and acquaintances and not infrequent drinking. Oliver has been a regular in the party scene at George Hunter since his junior year, having established a reputation for reckless and irresponsible behavior that, while definitely a hindrance to his academic success, has nevertheless left him quite entertaining to be around, with stories of his ridiculous exploits frequently shared in gossip around the school, though many of the stories have become fairly exaggerated in the telling. Though he never drinks enough to seriously impair himself, mainly due to the fact his friends can rarely secure enough to actually achieve such a state, the loosening of his inhibitions nevertheless contributes to what he considers one of the most enjoyable part of the events, the ability to let loose and do whatever he feels like doing in a mostly appreciative environment.

His father, a social drinker himself during his younger years, doesn’t see his son’s behavior as a problem, just a young person having some fun. Of course, he doesn’t know the full extent of what happens at those parties, but never really cares to ask either. Oliver’s mother definitely disproves of him spending significant time out late at night with friends, though he has been smart enough to avoid much drinking on nights where he would have to come back to her place. She is mercifully unaware of the rumours circulating around Oliver’s school due to the fact that she teaches at an elementary school in the neighbouring district to George Hunter, with Oliver only feeding into GHHS because his father lives in that district. Nevertheless, what she does notice is enough to cause her a significant amount of anxiety, only exacerbated by the increasingly strained relationship with her son caused by him spending the majority of his time at his father’s house.

Another habit that Oliver has picked up from his father is John's love of cars. Shortly after he received his driver's license, his parents, in a rare act of cooperation, gifted him with an old model car, which he drives around any chance he gets. He also spends a considerable amount of time tinkering with and customizing his car using his father’s tools, perhaps one of the few constructive things he does with his free time.

Discovered during both his partying experience and frequent poker games with his father's friends is Oliver's third and final love, gambling. Though his father’s friends rarely end up betting much money, if at all, the experience has given Oliver a strong taste for the game, and a desire to take things much farther than he can at home. He loves the thrill that he gets from games of chance, and will never turn down a bet. The fact that he hasn't yet gotten himself into serious financial trouble with his frequent wagers further contributes to his feelings of invincibility, though it is rare when he finds himself in a state of neither owing someone money nor attempting to collect a debt from someone else. Though he has a special love for poker, he has also taught himself to play a variety of card and dice games, and is quick to pick up the rules for a new game once it catches his interest.

He is generally well-liked around school, though his social circle doesn't interact with many of the more responsible students in the community. Regardless, he is fairly relaxed with who he associates with, holding no prejudices and being pretty accepting of others' differences. Those that owe him money, on the other hand, find that he is shockingly persistent in collecting what he believes is his, and has cause more than a little bad blood between him and those whose reluctance to pay their debts hinders his ability to pay his own.

Advantages: Oliver is fairly popular amongst his classmates, and will likely not have trouble finding allies. In addition, his relative fearlessness compared to his fellow students will keep him from hesitating or panicking during dangerous situations.
Disadvantages: Oliver is extremely impulsive and reckless, which could lead to him endangering himself and others through poor decision making. He’s also made a few enemies among other gamblers at school who may desire to settle old scores on the island.

[Latin For Dragula]

Hey Skraal, I'll be looking at Oliver today. He's DENIED on this pass; let's dig into why.

How did custody break down between Oliver's parents? It's not entirely clear what his living situation is prior to the modern day, other than he spends some time with both parents. I'd like to see the details of their split expanded on in the first part of his profile, and how it's changed as he's grown into an adult in the second part. In Tennessee a child may express preference as early as the age of 12, and given how much Oliver and his mother disagree it seems likely it would have come up before he turned 18.

There's an asterisk hanging at the end of the third paragraph of his profile that should be removed.

I want to dig into the details of how he keeps his drinking from his mother a little more, but we'll put a pin in that until after the living situation is cleared up.

You mention Oliver wants to work at an auto shop like his father; has he done any work at his father's shop? It's recommended that mechanics enroll in a vocational program after graduation to at least an associate degree level, and modern cars require a decent understanding of electronics for proper maintenance. Has he put any thought into programs like this?

In his advantages you reference a reputation for fearlessness, but I'm confused where this comes from; similarly it's unclear why he's known for being reckless around the school. I'd like to see some specific examples of his "ridiculous exploits" before I can believe he'll be fearless under the stress of the island. The same goes for his first disadvantage. Right now the most reckless thing he does is drink at parties, and he's able to restrain that enough that his mother never finds out, so he doesn't read as especially reckless.

That's all I have on this pass. Post once you've gone through these notes and I'll give him another look!

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This character biography has had no alterations for more than two weeks and has been put in the abandoned characters forum. This profile is eligible for resubmission by the handler upon alterations requested by the staff.