Lou

LOOKS▪ Lou wears his dark hair as a mess. It's sloppy with split-ends and shaped almost like a mullet that had grown out a little longer than previously intended. His sense of fashion is dark with splashes of reds and warmer colors, but sometimes he'll branch out in hues one wouldn't think would fit him. Several piercings dot his face and ears, including a few in each ear from lobe to cartilage, his left nostril, right eyebrow, and snakebites. All the darkness in his clothes and hair makes his gray eyes pop, a splash of brightness behind dark bangs.

MENTAL▪ Lou is prone to sinking too much time in video games. He has a somewhat addictive personality when it comes to things like this, and has to be careful or his entire weekend may pass before he realizes. He does endure some measure of depression, but handles it well most days. When it's too bad, he'll take a couple sleeping pills to "sleep through it." He bottles up his feelings and scarcely lets anyone in, clinging to a toxic concept of masculinity and overcompensating for several things (height, buried sexuality, etc.) with a short-fused attitude.

LIKES▪ His favorite food is cheap Chinese, but despite an unhealthy lifestyle, he greatly enjoys hikes and walks. He loves watching documentaries but rarely retains information, and will often watch the same one three or four times before he realizes he's seen it before. He's only somewhat of an internet gremlin, finding horrible copypastas hilarious and old Vine references equally as amusing.

DISLIKES▪ Personal space is incredibly important to the guy. If people invade it, he tends to get prickly and defensive. He's also not fond of dealing with drunken antics unless he himself is drunk, and the same goes with most other substances. Sour foods and snacks make his face twist and stomach turn, and for whatever reason, he abhors prissy individuals.

POSITIVE▪ Lou loves fiercely. The friends he creates he cherishes immensely, and he will go to the end of the world for them. He's the first person to drop everything to help them with whatever they may need, whether it's something small or as big as hiding a damn body. (Maybe. That's debatable.) He is loyal and protective and wants to see those he cares about succeed.

NEGATIVE▪ Temperamental. Lou is heavily short-fused and apt to violence if provoked enough. He's not an abusive person, but he is incredibly easy to rile up and goad into acting out. His loyalty and protective nature can also work against him, as he will selflessly put himself in danger if it means helping those he cares for. He's easily distracted, easy to crush, and desperate to prove his masculinity. He's a mess.

Egbert Louvel was born in Helena, Montana where he spent most of his life. He was an only child to Marianne and Michael Louvel, and had a primarily normal childhood. There was some financial struggle here and there, but nothing that threatened their comfort. For the most part, everything was fine. His mother worked as a part-time receptionist for a local auto insurance agency and his father was a manager at his friend's restaurant. He grew up in a conservative household, but though the religion didn't stick, many of his parents' beliefs ingrained themselves in his mind.

Any interest in anything outside of the cliche Boy's Things he was supposed to like was looked at with an expression of frustration and disgust or misunderstanding. Although not entirely malicious with their upbringing, their refusal to let their son explore toys that weren't strictly masculine or school activities that didn't fall in sports left a deep mark on the way he thought. He grew up a little sexist, thinking that men were strong and providers and women were frail and born to nurture. These were very biblical ways of thinking, but stuck with him because that simply was the way it was in his household.

From an outside perspective, he seemed to have developed an almost incel-like bitterness toward women, but in truth, he was frustrated that he didn't find them attractive. He tried to seek relationships to force himself to feel that attraction, but wound up hurting a handful of girls in his late high school career, earning him a reputation for being a little distant and uncaring. There was some teasing for years beforehand, suggesting that since he hadn't had any kind of girlfriend at that time, he must be gay. He got into a lot of fights at school over this, but as the years continued, he almost desperately sought for those relationships.

He felt he was supposed to hate gay men, that they were gross or wrong somehow, and to be assumed as such was a huge slight. But as years progressed and he left school, he grew a little more flexible in his opinions on other people. He no longer cared so much if men were into eachother as long as they didn't flirt with him, a defense mechanism so as not to have his masculinity threatened. He had a strained relationship with his parents as they often pushed for grandchildren and partners and found it strange that he never really could keep a girlfriend, but their relationship is still in tact. He calls them occasionally.

He left home at 18 and moved to Spokane, Washington with a friend he met online. This temporarily strained his relationship with his parents even more than it already was, but seeing as though he was safe, they didn't seem to mind. A year or so later, he and his friend moved to Hollow Peak. During the next six months, they had a huge falling out when Lou's internalized homophobia was brought out the night his friend had his partner over. He knew he was bi but had only seen him with women, and found it easy not to dwell on or worry over. The homophobic discomfort he displayed was enough to drive a wedge between them, and the weeks that followed were quiet and uncomfortable. Without warning, his once-friend left their shared apartment to move in with his boyfriend, leaving Lou alone.

He downsized quickly to a small studio apartment and has been working as a waiter at a local steakhouse to cover the bills.