Laurence Clifford

[Shiola]

Name: Laurence Clifford
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: 12th
Hobbies and Interests: HEMA, Tabletop Roleplaying Games, History, Ska Music.

Appearance: Laurence strikes an imposing figure, standing at six foot three and weighing approximately two hundred and thirty pounds. However, his ever-present slouch often makes him seem a few inches shorter than he actually is; rarely making an effort to stand out, he walks through the hallways of Mangrove Garden like someone half his size. He is overweight, though has slimmed down considerably from where he was at the beginning of his senior year, putting on a bit of muscle through regular sparring with his HEMA club.

Laurence's eyes stand out most of all of his facial features, bright and prominent; thick eyelashes almost give him the appearance of wearing eyeliner. They are light brown and he wears thick-rimmed, round glasses to make up for very mild myopia. He often cleans them with a small cloth as a nervous habit, and they otherwise sit high on his slightly hooked, prominent nose.

His curly, black hair is in a perpetual state of disarray. More out of an aversion to haircuts than anything else, he wears it nearly long enough to be considered an afro. Laurence has a similar approach to his facial hair, which he makes the minimum effort to maintain, resulting in a dark, patchy beard that is thickest at the neck. His skin is a deep tan, and largely free of blemishes or scars. Afro-Jamaican on his father's side and Sephardic Jewish on his mother's side, Laurence often finds himself passing as one or the other depending on the company. That said, he personally identifies himself as both Black and Jewish in regards to his ethnicity.

Laurence dresses practically, without much of a mind to style or aesthetic. Baggy t-shirts, hoodies, and cargo shorts are typically what he wears on any given day. Most of his personal flair comes in the form of small accessories. He wears a two-tone checkered belt, and keeps a number of small, handmade buttons on the messenger bag he takes to school. Many of them depict obscure history or D&D memes.

On Casting Day, he is wearing a pair of heavily worn grey jean shorts, bright turquoise Vans sneakers, a baggy black sweater, and a t-shirt with a vintage fantasy illustration printed across the front. The illustration depicts a party of adventurers battling a dragon, surrounded by orcs and goblins slowly closing in from the shadows. Prominent on the shirt is an elven sorceress, channeling some kind of mystical energy to protect her allies.

Biography: Laurence Issac Clifford was born on March 12th, 2003 to Donovan and Rachel Clifford. He is the middle child of the family, with an older sister named Abigail (born November 12th, 2001), and a younger sister named Gabrielle (born August 22nd, 2005).

Donovan emigrated to the United States from Jamaica nearly twenty years ago to attend medical school, and has found a good deal of success and esteem through his career in cardiology.

Laurence's mother grew up in Miami, and makes a living as a social worker. Laurence only sees his mother's family sporadically, as the marriage wasn't especially popular within her family, who despite not being especially religious, shunned the marriage outside of their close-knit Jewish community. In contrast, Donovan's brothers and sisters and their children are a nearly constant presence in Laurence's life, as is his grandmother.

Despite both parents working long hours, they make an active effort to be present in the lives of their children and are by and large very attentive parents. Comfortably upper middle class, they have made sure to utilize their hard-earned wealth to enrich the lives of their children, especially if it meant setting up extracurriculars that occupy them while both Donovan and Rachel are working.

While Abigail and Gabrielle are both quite sociable and extroverted, Laurence has always been a quiet, shy child. Sometimes mistaken for an elective mute growing up, he simply found far more comfort in books and media than he did playing with other children. Donovan kept an extensive library of literary works alongside books on history and philosophy, which a young Laurence demonstrated an impressive aptitude in trying to read. Even if he didn't completely understand the content of the books, he made an effort to ask questions where he didn't quite get something. Given the fact that he was a child who frequently had to be goaded into making conversation, his parents felt it made sense to try and encourage his bookish pursuits.

While excelling far past his peers academically, Laurence struggled constantly with social interactions. Having both an early growth spurt and a weight problem, he was relentlessly bullied in primary school, with the trend continuing into the first year of high school. Often exceeding his peers in terms of his command of language, but lacking in social skills, he often misread social cues and would attempt to befriend those who had no interest in being friends with him. It became something of a sport to ostracize Laurence and push him to the margins. It was often the case that groups of friends would tell Laurence they planned to meet up with him outside of school, or during recess, only to leave him completely alone and waiting in vain for anyone to show up. The small circle of friends Laurence did have drifted away over the years, as they got involved in athletic programs and chasing after girls, two things that Laurence felt particularly shy about.

After an extremely difficult sophomore year, Rachel and Donovan elected to move Laurence into Mangrove Garden, hoping that the private institution would have a more welcoming atmosphere with more attentive staff. This proved to be the case, and Laurence slowly started to find himself over the course of his years there. Due to his late admission, Laurence got in through tuition rather than a scholarship. His parents felt more than happy to pay, given the difficulties he was having in the public school that his older sister was attending at the time.

More than anything else, Laurence loves the study of history. Particularly the intricacies of the historical record – dates, names, fine details. While his first forays were into the history of colonial rule in the Caribbean and the Age of Sail – the works his father kept on his bookshelf – Laurence found that he really enjoyed reading about the middle ages and the renaissance, enamored by tales of kingdoms rising and falling, and the conflicts that were strewn throughout.While he'd be the first to state that the image of the gallant knight was just as much a fictional archetype now as it was contemporaneously, he is nevertheless fascinated by the notion of true heroism embodied in many of the beliefs and practices of the knights of old.

Stories fascinate him, and in many ways he finds the study of historiography to be a fascinating insight into how stories are told. While he would say that his favorite time period is the late middle ages, he has an extremely broad range of background knowledge on world history, and is privately very informed when it comes to geopolitics. Disliking the kinds of discussions that usually result from engaging with contemporary topics, he keeps most of his political opinions to himself. Having grown up reading anti-colonialist literature, he's quite critical of the developed world and of the United States in particular; he views the current global paradigm as built on a shaky foundation of ruthless exploitation and cynical apathy.

The only time he enjoys talking politics is with his father, who has himself drifted closer to the center of the political spectrum over the years; they often butt heads over issues, Donovan taking the role of the pragmatist to Laurence's youthful idealism. The two have a good relationship, and Laurence finds it easy to engage with his academically gifted father on abstract topics. Still, Donovan often worries that his son isn't finding enough opportunities to socialize, something he has himself struggled with over the course of his career given that he isn't a naturally sociable person.

Laurence's mother, Rachel, makes an effort to cherish what she sees as her son's gentle and sensitive nature. This has meant that she is, by and large, somewhat overprotective of him. She goes out of her way to make sure that Laurence is keeping busy, and not spending too much time alone or idle. It was her initiative that led him to take a part-time job at a shoe store. Laurence often feels the pressure from her is unnecessary and somewhat stifling, and their relationship can be somewhat fractious as a result. Though he doesn't especially enjoy working retail, one small perk of the job is that Laurence now has a particularly impressive collection of sneakers, for a teenager.

Coming from two families who both were extensively populated by musicians, Laurence's parents encouraged him to take up a musical instrument, in the hopes that he might join a band. After consulting with an uncle who was a particularly talented guitarist, Laurence opted to pick up the bass. Laurence rather passively curated an interest in ska music, and after learning a few bass lines to songs he enjoyed, began to actively pursue music as an interest. Despite not having enough friends inclined to start a band with him, he nevertheless enjoys occasionally playing with his uncle and participates actively in bands at school. His favorite bands are the Mad Caddies, The Planet Smashers, and Streetlight Manifesto.

Naturally, he has also found a great deal of enjoyment in fantasy novels and video games, and was enamored from a young age the moment he found out what tabletop role-playing games were. As a child, Laurence always loved to play imagination games but often found he got more caught up on details than the others he'd play with. In the case of systems like D&D and Pathfinder, Laurence has found it is that fixation on details that has helped him fit in with the various groups he has joined. Skilled with words and a natural storyteller, Laurence enjoys the work of a Dungeon Master more than he enjoys the role of the player. Since he has few other extracurriculars, Laurence devotes quite a bit of time to crafting homebrew worlds and campaigns for his players, something that they all appreciate. Nevertheless, he doesn't socialize much outside of common interests, and many at school don't really know what he does outside of reading and D&D.

While Laurence isn't unattracted to women, he is extremely guarded and has never been comfortable approaching girls. Often, he comes up with grand gestures in his mind that he imagines demonstrating to a girl he's interested in, before figuring that he'd probably fall short of the expectation he built up. Rarely has he ever followed through. In one instance, he opted to write his thoughts on paper so that he wouldn't stammer through asking out a friend from his tabletop group; nervous and worried at the connotations associated with writing a love letter, he crumpled the note and tossed it away. Thinking he knew well enough what he wanted to say to her, he made it halfway through asking her out before backtracking rapidly and apologizing profusely for how awkward he imagined it must have been. Whether it actually was or not, Laurence was likely too mired in his own insecurities to tell for sure. The two remain friends.

For some time, Laurence wasn't really sure what he wanted to do with himself outside of the bygone eras and fictional worlds he spent so much time inhabiting. This was cause for some concern for his parents, who didn't understand why he wasn't as outwardly sociable as his siblings. Abigail is active in the student union of her university, and Gabrielle is particularly involved with her school's athletics program. While he has a good relationship with his siblings, they've always been closer with one another than with him.

Though he isn't as social as his siblings, his academic performance far outstrips either of them. Laurence does extraordinarily well academically, quietly rising in the rankings at school despite being seemingly indifferent towards them. His best subjects by far are English and History, though he places reasonably well in both high-level math courses and sciences. It is generally expected that Laurence will rank highly in any given course, and any drops in his grades tend to be reflected in courses he is the least interested in. His aptitude is one of the few things that people know him for outside of his unorthodox hobbies. Laurence keeps meticulous notes, and is often looked to for assistance by his peers when it comes time for exams. Laurence enjoys the opportunity to explain topics to others, and it is partly this experience that has informed his post-graduation plans.

While browsing for some information on how to make tabletop fighting systems more realistic, Laurence discovered the community of Historical European Martial Arts practitioners, or HEMA. The idea of learning to fight with a sword appealed to him, especially considering he struggled with finding a kind of physical activity that he'd actually be able to enjoy. While he felt extremely insecure about his weight, he always found it difficult to stick with regular exercise. Something that was more goal-oriented seemed like exactly what he needed, and so after a lengthy pitch to his parents, he managed to get started with HEMA.

After a few difficult first days, it seemed like a natural fit, something that could tie a major interest of his into a reason to get up, get moving, and meet new people. A year's worth of practicing and actively attending to his physical health meant losing thirty pounds, which has helped Laurence's confidence both at school and outside of it. Unfortunately for Laurence, he hasn't completely managed to escape some of the teasing that he experienced back in primary school. After letting it slip one day that he practiced swordfighting, word spread quickly that he was heavily involved in LARPing. While he wasn't against the idea, the negative connotations weren't lost on him as many people around school started calling him "Sir Laurence" in a mocking tone, in contrast to the familiar "Larry" he'd recieved as a nickname early on.

Still, he's managed to look forward to the next years of his life with a generally positive outlook, even if he finds it difficult to relate to many of his peers. He has yet to broach the topic with his parents, but Laurence has all but decided that he wants to go to Teacher's College following graduation, likely after a year spent travelling. While he's gotten a taste of expanding his social horizons in his final year of school, a few nights spent pondering over maps have led him to the conclusion that he would enjoy a year spent abroad. The idea of being on the road appeals to him. Laurence imagines he would be able to break up long periods of time alone with isolated opportunities to meet new people, who he'd be under no obligation to see again if things didn't work out.

His knowledge of SOTF-TV is limited, as he doesn't enjoy much contemporary entertainment. At one point he did ponder whether or not he'd enjoy of a version of SOTF-TV utilizing entirely historical weaponry and tactics, but quickly lost interest after watching some footage of a previous season and finding it generally distasteful. Picking a random clip off the internet, his initial and only exposure was the image of Cathryn Bailey being stabbed in the eye.

Laurence has a bad reaction to the sight of blood, as it actively makes him nauseated. At twelve, he openly wondered how a roast goat at a family gathering went from being a live animal to being food. Naturally he looked up a video of a goat being slaughtered and processed, which he found particularly traumatizing. Ever since he has found it especially difficult to stomach the sight of blood, or to shut out the sounds of suffering, either human or animal, on an emotional level.

Part of the reason examples of heroism throughout history appeal to him is his aversion to witnessing pain and distress, and he fears finding himself in a dire situation like SOTF-TV - Laurence privately believes that his inability to stomach violence makes him something of a coward.

Advantages: Laurence is a large person, and not easily pushed around physically. While he isn't in excellent shape, he has become more accustomed to physical exertion through his hobbies, and isn't reticent to fight if he absolutely has to. Furthermore, he is considered to be particularly intelligent and apt when it comes to problem-solving, though his intellect is far better suited to a library than a battlefield. His knowledge of HEMA may come in handy if he finds himself in a confrontation with melee weapons, though whether it would help or hinder him if he has anything other than a sword is an open question. Lastly, Laurence is by and large seen in a positive light by his classmates and has few real enemies among the student body.
Disadvantages: Despite his efforts to improve his physical well-being, Laurence is still not someone who possesses a great deal of stamina or physical aptitude beyond his size, and isn't accustomed to physical conflict in any serious degree. Additionally, his general introversion has made it difficult for him to forge particularly deep friendships, which may prove to be a major disadvantage in the course of the game. More notably, Laurence is especially conflict-averse, and hates the prospect of imposing himself or his beliefs on others. Generally speaking, he has a hard time dealing with violence outside of an academic or fantasy context, and reacts poorly to the sight of blood. Despite having a general awareness of the nature of SOTF-TV, he has deliberately avoided looking at footage and will likely be unprepared for the reality of the game itself.

[MurderWeasel]

Heya, Shiola! Laurence is looking pretty solid, but is DENIED pending a few adjustments.

First off, we technically have a small formatting error—can the skipped line between the Advantages and Disadvantages sections be deleted, please?

Can I get a slightly more detailed description of Laurence's build? Right now it's a little hard to say if he's heavy because he's overweight, because he's super built, or some combination thereof, and while it becomes a lot more clear later in the bio I think it'd be nice to have that info here too. Also, can I get a couple more specific details of his facial features? What does his nose look like? What shape are his eyes? How are his teeth? Are his glasses round, or square-framed?

Can I get Laurence's ethnicity made explicit?

What type of shoes was Laurence wearing on Casting Day? Also, it'd be cool to hear what the illustration on his shirt specifically depicted.

As the students for TV3 are taken in April 2021, Laurence would actually still be 17 given his stated birthday.

What sort of bullying did Laurence face? Did his parents or teachers ever try to do anything about it? How did he react to it?

I assume Laurence entered Mangrove Garden through tuition rather than testing in on scholarship, just due to his late admission, but I'd like to see it made explicit.

What sort of private political opinions does Laurence have?

The sentence noting Laurence's favorite bands can probably be combined with the paragraph before it, since it mostly just continues the thought.

On the rare occasion Laurence has followed through on making romantic overtures, how did things turn out?

I'd like to get just a few more little details on Laurence. Can I get one unique defining feature of his relationship with each of his parents? I'd also like to hear how he acts around school. Does he do especially well in certain classes? Is there anywhere he struggles? Where does he land in the class rankings? Is he planning to go to college (by this time of year, if he is going and isn't taking a gap year, he's probably even gotten a few acceptance letters)? What are his hopes for the future?

Can I hear just a tiny bit more about Laurence's aversion to blood and violence? His distaste for SOTF may be a good spot to put this (and his greater-than-usual ignorance of the game may also merit mention as a disadvantage).

Post when you've got that taken care of, and we'll give Laurence another look. Thanks!

[Shiola]

Edits made.

[MurderWeasel]

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