Liam Peyton Toland, Jr. [District 6]

Liam Peyton Toland, Jr. [District 6] Jun 21, 2014 0:14:06 GMT -5

Post by Liam Peyton Toland, Jr. on Jun 21, 2014 0:14:06 GMT -5

24 years old
Male
College Student- Computer Science

Given Liam's profession as a student (and, eventually he hopes, a computer scientist), and a studious one at that, it's hardly a wonder that he's such a pale young man, much to the chagrin of his parents. At a respectable 6 feet, but only weighing in at around 150 pounds, Liam is rather unfortunately lanky... though it's offset by his tendency to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible (as well as a rather uncanny ability to fold himself into the smallest of chairs when a book has his attention).

By and large, Liam isn't particularly concerned with his appearance; he slicks his hair back and dresses up on occasion to humor his parents, but left to his own devices lets his hair grow long and wears whatever he feels the most comfortable in at the moment. More often than not, he can be found curled up in some chair, draped over a couch or slumped against a wall or piece of furniture, face determinedly buried in a book. Very seldom can Liam be caught without some kind of reading material.

Oddly enough, Liam sometimes elects to wear glasses despite the fact that he doesn't need them; as his friends know, they belong to the grandfather for whom he is named. He often puts them on when he's under stress or focusing; those he's close to know they're something of a security blanket for Liam and he treats them as a very valuable possession. On the flip side, with Liam's tendency to hone in on the things he's interested in, he often fiddles and fusses with them as he's reading (which makes up the majority of his waking moments).

Liam is a very reserved and introverted young man... he does keep a few people close as his friends, but otherwise prefers to interact as little as possible with his classmates, at least on a personal level. Any of his professors can tell you, Liam has no shortage of extroversion if academics are involved; he is very passionate in his studies, though sometimes so much that he comes off as a know-it-all. Not intentionally, of course, and not knowingly; Liam usually retreats back into his shell if he should happen to realize he's dominating the conversation for too long. Outside of the classroom, Liam is quiet and even still hangs onto much of his childhood shyness; his friends, at least, can say that the Liam they know (the one that opens up around them) has a wry sense of humor and a kind heart, albeit one that he doesn't always know what to do with it.

His relationship with his parents is a tense one... since there is no shortage of intelligence in District 6, Padraig and Brighid frequently try to push their son to care more about his looks and social life. Admittedly, Liam does resent their persistence and unwillingness to budge on the matter, and is stubborn enough to not only ignore their words but also to do whatever the opposite might be to make his point.

The relationship with his grandfather is a stark contrast to that of his parents; Liam Jr. absolutely idolizes the grandfather he was named for, who is a comfortably retired college professor. Thankfully, Liam Sr.'s home is a place of solace for Liam Jr., as his grandfather greatly encourages his passions for science and mathematics. Despite that he knows his grandfather wishes he'd spend a bit more time socializing with people his own age, and a bit less time studying, Jr. insists on becoming as respectable and accredited as his grandfather is in his own field first. Socializing can come later.

By extension of Liam's almost non-existent social life, his love life suffers just as much. If asked, he'll offhandedly mention a crush on a male professor's aide in his freshman year of college, but will quickly dismiss it and change the subject (provided he doesn't immediately ask why the hell anyone's asking.)

Liam Peyton Toland, Jr. was born 24 years ago to Padraig and Brighid Toland, their first and only child. He was named for his paternal grandfather, something of an oddity considering their family didn't have a tradition of inheriting names. It was fitting, though; though Liam wouldn't be able to recall to you anything in the ether of the first few years of his life, his parents and grandfather can tell many (sometimes embarrassing) stories about their son taking to his grandfather almost immediately. According to him, his first recollection of anything is being read to every day while his parents were at work.

Being from District 6 genes and upbringing, it was surprising to no one that Liam started showing his intelligence early, and the potential for a lot of it. Liam Sr., a retired college professor, likes to joke that he retired only to go back to a full-time job; that is, chasing after his grandson running every which way to explore and answering millions of questions a day that never seemed to satisfy the boy's insatiable curiosity. ("What's that? What does that do? Why? _{Why? Why? Why?}")

By the time Liam was old enough to start going to school, he had been tinkering with various electronics around the house (under the careful supervision of his grandfather, of course) and was already showing an aptitude for math. However, Mr. and Mrs. Toland weren't entirely thrilled to find out that their son was much more interested in books than in socializing. Whether it was thinking his priorities needed some adjusting or not realizing that young Liam was terribly shy and introverted, unfortunately it placed a lasting strain on parent and son's relationship. Sr., fortunately, was more understanding; Liam credits him with actually getting him out and about enough to have a few friends (the best of whom he has had for many years).

As competitive as his last years of school were to achieve the highest grades, Liam finished close to the top of his class in his science and math disciplines (not so much in the others... not to say he let them suffer, so much as they were just enough to satisfy the college). However, Liam's parents had other ideas for their son; rather than let him go to college straight out of public school, they insisted he take a year off and make himself known among families with sons and daughters his age. Liam, being used to skating by on his parents' attempts at debuting him to their social circle, was none too happy about the prospect of putting his studies on hold for the sole purpose of humoring his parents. But, with the prospect of going to college on the line, he (very) reluctantly agreed.

The following year would slowly drive more nails into the metaphorical coffin; Mr. and Mrs. Toland didn't seem to grasp (or didn't care) that for their very introverted son, dragging him to parties and events and expecting him to be sociable with strangers was an absolute nightmare for him. Sr. went to bat for him more than once, but by and large had little effect. Liam didn't last the entire year; refusing to let his grandfather take money from his retirement to send him to school, he started working menial student jobs for the college to pay his own way through. For the moment, Liam is about 5 years in college, intent on finishing a 6- or 8-year degree and aspires to either work in a research laboratory, or become a college professor like his grandfather.