"Because there was a hunger in me to see everything and do everything. I wanted to be everyone I saw. I wasn’t enough for me."
— Sidney Sheldon, Bloodline
Oliver Edward McKagan
Preferred Name:
Oliver, although he grew up with the childhood name Ollie and can't seem to shake it from friend's/family's vocabulary
Age:
18
Birthday:
September 25th
Sexuality:
Heterosexual
Occupation:
He runs a popular celebrity gossip blog and makes a few thousand dollars a month off of ad-clicks. Besides that, he's a university student.
Oliver is the product of a one-night-stand between Michael "Duff" McKagan, Guns N' Roses bassist, and Charlotte Bradley, one of his fans. His father was an alcohol and drug addicted rock star who had wanted nothing more than free sex when he welcomed Charlotte into his dressing room that night. He certainly didn't want a kid and nine months later when the paternity test proved that Oliver was his, he still didn't want him. It was an expected outcome and Charlotte had really only pursued the test to get child support out of the millionaire, not someone to co-parent with.
Although she had fled her rural childhood for the bright lights of Los Angeles, when it was clear that her singing career was never going to take off, she was forced to move to a small, poorer neighborhood near the California/Mexico border. It was around this time when she had Oliver, and although she had enough money for their grungy apartment and food, that was all that they had for the first few years. When the child support started to kick in, one would imagine that they would have at least been able to buy a small house or at least afford more than just the basics, but little changed. The money fueled Charlotte's crack addiction, which she was surprisingly able to hide pretty well from Oliver. He was never neglected or abused and although he and his mother never had much, they got by. He did well in school, especially compared to the other students in the poorly-funded district, and spent most of his afternoons while his mother worked or hung out with sketchy friends playing video games, reading comic books or attempting science experiments.
He was around twelve when his mother was arrested. She had picked him up from school and had a few of her friends in the car, who she claimed worked with her. She was pulled over a few blocks from the school for a broken brake light and when the cops searched her, the car and the passengers, a ton of drugs, as well as two guns, were found between the group. To make matters worse, she was high at the time. She was charged with child endangerment, DUI, and a long list of charges related to the drugs and weapons, since she was driving and legally in possession of everything in the vehicle. Although she was only sentenced to three years in prison, she lost custody of Oliver. Had his father not remarried Jeanine, he probably would have been dumped into foster care. However, his father's wife heard the situation and quickly persuaded Michael to take Oliver in.
Coming from the life he lived, moving to Beverly Hills and an insanely luxurious life his father's family was living was an easy and welcomed transition. He knew who his father was for all of his life and never really questioned why he hadn't met the man. His mother never spoke of him, and since a lot of the kids he associated with were also being raised by single parents, it never really occurred to him that he should be offended that his father didn't want him. Due to this, he never really resented his father for being absent for most of his life. They never developed that genuine father-son bond, but Michael has definitely become a solid role model for Oliver and they're close enough to make their relationship work. He warmed up to his stepmother fairly quickly, but still keeps in touch with his mother on a regular basis. Even though he's now an adult and could move back in with her if he wanted, he wouldn't. She's still addicted to drugs and he prefers just visiting her once or twice a month to maintain the relationship, but not invest himself or become succumbed by her toxic lifestyle.
It was helpful that his father had a lot of connections in their area, since Oliver struggled to make friends with many of the kids he went to school with. He wasn't athletic, preppy or cool enough to fit in with most people but found his niche with the help of his father's friends' children. When he was thirteen, before he really felt comfortable with his place socially, he started a blog, "Undercover 323", with the 323 representing Hollywood's area code. It started off as just a fun project for himself, since no one really read it. However, after catching his step-brother and actress Eiza Gonzalez making out in their driveway, he snapped a photo and posted it to the site. Within a day, the blog had hundreds of thousands of hits and Oliver realized that he had enough connections to make the blog a success, even if it meant a little bit of dirty work. Although he does frequently post about his family and friends, he makes sure that his tracks are hidden so as of now, no one has a clue that he's the one behind the website. He makes an effort not to post anything too personal or scandalous about the people close to him, but regardless, he's still sure that they wouldn't be happy to know that he's been sharing any of their secrets.
Secret(s):
The celebrity gossip blog that he runs is anonymous, so no one knows that he's the one sharing their secrets.
Comical | Smart | Attentive | Reliable
Character Flaws:
Awkward | Doubtful | Eccentric | Unorganized
Personality:
Based off of his appearance alone, Oliver is often dubbed a nerd or weirdo and although he dislikes the terms, they aren't completely inaccurate. He's very intelligent and is technologically-savvy, but he's proud of the traits rather than embarrassed by them. His childhood was spent playing video games, reading comic books, doing science experiments in his kitchen and learning how to build robots, and he was the kid in high school who was paid to do everyone else's homework. So, he certainly does have that "geeky" stereotype in him but he thinks it paid off more than anyone gives him credit for. Being brushed off and never really involved in the party lifestyle allowed him to sit on the sideline and watch other people. He's become observant and attentive and especially when it comes to getting gossip for his blog, he always seems to be the first person to know about secrets or news.
A lot of his schoolmates found him to be quiet but people who actually know him know that he's quite the opposite. The term "eccentric" describes him well since he's shamelessly loud, amusing and theatrical. He's the person who'll roll down the convertible top and sing a "High School Musical" song at the top of his lungs on Hollywood Boulevard or make a scene in public to get a laugh out of his friends or cheer someone up. He doesn't get embarrassed easily but the thing that can fluster him more than anything else are girls that he's attracted to. His bold personality crumble into stammers and stutters and he's never been able to actually tell any of his romantic interests that he's into them without making a fool out of himself or being rejected before he even finishes. Because of this, he always tries to keep the mood light and hope that someone will set him up, or miraculously, the girl will make the first move.
The fact that he shares a lot of personal information about his friends and family on his blog isn't the sign of a great friend, but there are lines that Oliver knows not to cross. If he considers you to be a real friend, he would never post anything to hurt you and most of the time when he's posting about those he cares about, it's in a positive manner. He's reliable and genuinely caring, so he's always open to give advice or try to cheer someone up, no matter if it's three in the morning or three in the afternoon. Although he doesn't use the term because he's a decent enough person to know that girls don't owe him sex, he is usually the guy who ends up in the "friend zone". People find him to be a great companion and someone to have fun with, but not attractive or appealing enough to fall into a romantic or even sexual category.
Likes:
Journalism | Blogging | Tacos | Film festivals | Guitar | Video games | Ice pops | Small parties | Nature/hiking | Trivia | Socializing
Dislikes:
How awkward he can be | Being overlooked | Maple syrup | Pretzels | Contact sports | Hot dogs | Birds | Wearing contacts | The smell of gasoline
Fears:
He doesn't want anyone finding out that he's behind his gossip blog, since he frequently posts about people he knows, and even his friends.
Although he's used to rejection, he does fear that he's never going to be taken seriously and will actually end up alone.
Aspirations:
He's going to school for journalism, so as of now, he just wants to make friends in the fall and graduate college. He doesn't have any set goals for a career but wants to keep his blog going for as long as possible.
5'9
Weight:
140 lbs
Hair color:
Brown
Eye color:
Brown
Other:
He's almost always wearing his glasses. They're prescription glasses and he has horrible vision without them, but prefers them to contacts.