Ollie
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Oliver "Ollie" Bradley |
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Intake |
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| Gender | Male |
| Year of intake | 2019 |
| Sponsor | Harmony |
| Gender at intake | Cis male |
| Date of birth | 1994 or 1995 |
| First appearance | Chapter 5 |
| Chapters with POV scenes | |
| edit this box | |
Ollie is a boy in the 2019 intake. He is sponsored by Harmony.
Ollie has a large, "chunky" build but is currently losing mass thanks to his time in the cells and on hormones. [SD 43] For a time, he was pulling his hair out to spite Harmony and had patchy bald spots afterward.
Originally one of the most aggressive captives in the basement, Frankie considers Ollie to be more like the girls she oversaw at Grandmother's Dorley -- "a guy you just grab off the street", who needs more time to adjust to the programme than most of the others in his intake. [SD 44] Ollie is the oldest member of his intake but Raph believes he acts immaturely for his age. [SD 43]
He does not seem to be a fan of Even Quarterbacks Get the Blues. [SD 44]
Pre-transition
Ollie was abused by his parents from a very young age; he recalls being struck by his mother when he was only six -- the hit left a mark, and he was confined to his room, kept from school, without tv or computer access for a week. [SD 38]
When he was young, Ollie's grandmother, "Gran", would keep Ollie at her home until she suddenly fell ill and was moved to a care facility. Ollie confides in Raph: “Gran was strong, [...] And she used to protect me. And then she couldn’t.” [SD 43] Before passing away, she told him to leave home as soon as he could. Ollie has a strong memory of holding her hand the last time he saw her, her fingers too curled to open. [SD 39]
At some point Ollie began getting into fights at school, including one at the age of fifteen, to the approval of his male classmates. [SD 38] The Hall's file on Ollie indicates he continued "constantly getting in fights" as a young adult. [SD 20]
Ollie married his "teenage sweetheart" Sonia [SD 20] and the two moved into a house together, away from his parents. They decorated the house and garden together and made plans to sit out and watch the sunrise every summer morning, but only ended up doing it a few times before the marriage fell apart. [SD 33]
At some point into their marriage, Ollie began hitting Sonia, [SD 20] who came to realize that "what she thought she saw in him wasn’t there". After the divorce, Ollie sought out Sonia and her new boyfriend at a pub; there, he hit her so hard that her head bounced off of the bar, [SD 20] and broke her new boyfriend's legs. The two never pressed charges (Harmony suspects it was due to a misplaced sense of sympathy). Less than two months later, Ollie assaulted another woman. [SD 33]
First year
At intake
Ollie is twenty-four years of age when he is abducted by Dorley Hall. [LL] In the weeks before Steph arrives in the basement, Ollie has already been tased sixteen times for repeatedly attempting to escape by stealing a taser from the sponsors. Ollie largely ignores Steph's introduction to the basement, watching TV and talking to Declan. [SD 5]
Sometime between the 14th and the 25th of October, Ollie once again tries to steal a taser and is thrown in the cells for a time. Around the same time, Raph threatens Aaron in the bathroom, accusing him of looking at his genitals; soon after, Declan throws a plate at Adam's head, bruising him "quite badly". Following these escalations, Adam, Will, Steph, and Aaron strike a defensive alliance to protect themselves against Declan, Ollie, and Raph. Following an attempted attack on Steph and Aaron in the shower annexe, Declan is sent to the cells on 25th October; Ollie and Raph became notably less hostile in his absence. [SD 9]
Ollie is presumably sexually assaulted by Karen on the 26th October, but his reaction to this is unknown.
Declan is reintroduced to the basement on November 9th; Monica complains that he has learned "nothing" from his time in the cells. As tensions in the common area spike, Steph listens in on Declan, Ollie, and Raph boasting and joking with each other about past exploits and overhears Declan describing, laughingly, a time he raped a former girlfriend. Incensed, Steph impulsively vaults over the couch and punches him in the face, knocking him to the floor. [SD 13] Before the situation can escalate, Declan is immediately tased and returned to a cell. [SD 14] Later that day, he is washed out out of the programme. [SD 15]
"Spooked" following Declan's removal from the basement and outnumbered by the others, Ollie and Raph become even more passive. Ollie spends most of his time either alone in his room, or huddled with Raph in the common room. He participates in the "Feminism 101" lectures beginning on the 14th of November, but has no notable reaction to them. [SD 16]
By the 22nd of November, Will, convinced Declan has been killed, begins conspiring with Ollie and Raph. Led by Will, the three stage a surprise attack against the sponsors on November 27th, where Leigh slams Maria's head into the concrete floor, seriously injuring her. The three are tased before they can do anything more; Ollie is the last of the three to be dragged to the cells by the Peckinville soldiers. [SD 17]
By the time disclosure is administered on November 30th, the basement is being kept in a "split-population" configuration with Leigh, Raph, and Ollie living out of the cells on a separate schedule from the other basementees. [SD 19] Ollie has a violent reaction to disclosure, shouting, upturning his cell, and kicking at the glass door before falling asleep from exhaustion. [SD 20]
Self-harm
By the 5th of December, Tabitha believes Ollie to be the "worst" of the remaining intake; the sponsors have resorted to force-feeding him and Will believes that he throws himself at the walls of his cell, leaving him gaunt and covered in bruises. [SD 21] Harmony, Ollie's sponsor, seems unable to make progress with him and is seen storming out of the Hall to blow off steam at the campus gym. [SD 21]
Raph and Ollie are eventually reintroduced back into the full intake on Christmas Eve; by this time they are both deeply antagonistic towards each other. While Raph has begun to adopt a "realist" attitude towards his fate in the programme, Ollie's attitude remains unchanged. Steph notices that he has been pulling his hair out while in the cells, leaving his head covered in sores and bald spots. Returning to the common area for the first time, Ollie is bewildered by Steph's transition progress and relationship with Aaron and immediately becomes belligerent, insulting and arguing with nearly everyone in the room when they try to talk sense into him. When Aaron needles him about his impending feminization, Ollie kicks over a stool in a rage but is swiftly impeded by the sponsors, who hold him at taserpoint. Aunt Bea, over the intercom, threatens to wash Ollie out and instructs the sponsors to take him to his room. Before he can be escorted out, Ollie makes an attempt at stealing Jane's taser, and is immediately tased. Bea has him sent back to his cell for a week. [SD 30]
On the 26th of December, Will is taken to secretly watch a conversation between Ollie and Harmony. Ollie aggressively demands that he wants to see the sun; after being plied with the promise of a burger and chips, he opens up slightly, revealing that he misses the mornings spent with Sonia, his ex-wife, watching the sunrise on their deck together. Harmony then confronts him with the violence he committed against Sonia and her new boyfriend, as well another woman afterward. Ollie hardens up again and Aunt Bea interjects over the intercom, stating that Ollie abused Sonia because she took his power from him; Ollie lashes out again and Aunt Bea responds by switching off the light in Ollie's cells, disabling his tablet, and further restricting his food and water. Will realizes he was allowed to witness the interaction in order to better see himself and the progress he has made from the sponsors' perspectives. [SD 33]
Suicide attempt
By the 30th of December, Ollie's light and entertainment (and presumably regular mealtimes) are restored, but his behavior remains unchanged. By January 2nd, he is allowed out of the cells but is restricted to his room when not actively supervised. Tabitha confides in Will that, were she Ollie's sponsor, she thinks she would try and find the boy he was was "before he made himself hard and stupid"; Harmony is instead trying to make him stop justifying his "bullshit" first. Tabitha is not sure which approach is more effective. [SD 35]
Over the next few days, Ollie spends his time starting arguments with the other members of the intake; Raph reports he has been poking at his arm with plastic cutlery. On the 5th, he throws a bread roll at Harmony and is returned to his cell, only to be let out after five hours due to a staffing shortage (a result of the Stenordale escapees returning earlier in the day). Returning to the common area, Ollie is notably withdrawn, sitting motionless and silent in the lunch room; Steph, attempting to offer an olive branch, brings him some food and tries to talk to him, but Ollie gets up and leaves for his room. Worried, Steph reports his behavior to Jane, who texts Harmony, who is currently sleeping; Harmony plans to bring Ollie some food in a few hours. [SD 37]
Back in his room, Ollie sits on his bed, which he has stripped of its bedsheets and pillowcase, and records his thoughts into a digital dictaphone -- Harmony has recently been making him keep a diary in exchange for food and light privileges. Recounting his memories of the day, and his experience in the basement, he spirals into increasingly depressive and bitter thoughts, reliving the end of his relationship with Sonia and mulling over the uselessness of his instinct to escalate situations with violence and the ruin it has brought him. Ollie reveals that he both believes himself incapable of the change the others in the basement have shown, and that he does not believe that he can be broken. He finishes the diary entry with a message to Harmony: “You can take my food. You can take my light. You can take my body. You can even take my fucking balls, like you said. But I have something I can take from you, Harmony.” After this, he reassembles his bed and takes his electric shaver from his drawer - which he has smashed to pieces to access its blade. He then gets under his sheets and attempts to kill himself by cutting his wrists. [SD 38]
In the security room, Indira notices Ollie has put his bed back together and reports the unusual behaviour to Jane, who goes to check on him with Lisa. Jane discovers Ollie bleeding out into his bedsheets, and calls for help. Frankie, watching from the security room, convinces Indira to let her help and rushes down to Ollie's room where she uses the shaver blade to fashion makeshift bandages from the bedsheets. With Lisa and Jane's help, Frankie bandages and tourniquets his arms as Dr. Rahman arrives to take him to Peckinville's medical portakabin outside the Hall. His life flashing before his eyes as he loses consciousness, Ollie confuses Frankie and Dr. Rahman for his grandmother and one of his primary school teachers. [SD 38]
Christine, hearing of the news from Pippa, relives traumatic memories from her time in the basement when she worried that Paige might make a suicide attempt. Concerned, Christine, Pippa, and Valérie watch the drama unfold from the feed on Christine's laptop. Valérie surmises that help has arrived in time; Ollie will live. Harmony arrives in the dining hall, distraught, having seen the news on the Consensus sponsor channel; she is intercepted by Monica and Pamela and collapses. The basmentees see Ollie carried out on a stretcher; soon after, Tabitha breaks the news to them. The news causes Bethany to spiral, revisiting her own suicide attempt following a brutal encounter while at boarding school, which she confides to Steph. Edy breaks the news to Adam separately. [SD 38]
Later that night, in the medical portakabin, Ollie returns to consciousness. He engages in friendly conversation with Trevor, believing him to be a trans man. He disinterestedly asks Trevor to call the police on Dorley, and is unperturbed when he declines. Perplexed, Trevor limply suggests he should try to "enjoy the ride", to which Ollie replies flatly that he intends to "make them fight for it", though he seems to acknowledge the inevitable outcome. A shaken Harmony then enters the room to inform the two that she will be standing watch over them overnight, and opens the curtains, so that Ollie will get to see the sunrise in the morning. [SD 38]
Trevor notices Ollie smile to himself as Harmony leaves; satisfied, Ollie remarks that he has noticed a scar on her wrist that she covers with a watch strap. [SD 38]
Over the next few days, Frankie befriends Ollie while visiting with Trevor in the portakabin. On the sixth, having revealed to Frankie that she reminded him of somebody that he used to know (his Gran), Frankie, in turn, tells Ollie that he reminds her of somebody she used to know: a 24-year-old man prone to violence who drank away all his money, started a fight he couldn't win, and was later found dead in a canal. The story visibly spooks Ollie, who sits in silence for most of the rest of the day. Later, Frankie counsels him on how to stop justifying his own bad decisions to himself and sense the difference between what he needs and what he wants; she advises him to listen to Harmony if he wants to learn how to stop his self-destructive behavior. Harmony holds his hand and points out how their hands are similar sizes. Ollie, still unaware of the full details of the programme, doesn't understand; when Harmony steps out for a moment, Frankie explains that Harmony was making herself vulnerable and sharing a secret with him. In return, Ollie tells Harmony the story of how he held his Gran's hand in the nursing home before she passed away. [SD 39]
Return to the basement
Ollie is returned to the basement on January 11th and has noticeably improved in both mood and compliance to the programme. Awaiting his escort in the portakabin, Ollie decides that he needs to thank Harmony for showing him the sun again. While he was recovering, Harmony cried over him, apologizing and thanking him for surviving; Ollie finds he is no longer able to summon the will to hurt her again. On the way back into the Hall, he considers trying to escape but, acknowledging that he has already ruined his old life, recognizes that he now has a chance to start over in the basement. Contemplating Trevor's situation, he finds himself unable to relate to having such strong attachment towards his own gender -- being a man only mattered to him because of what it meant to other people. Reflecting, Ollie admits that everyone at the Hall have been right all along. [SD 39]
Ollie is given full disclosure on the 12th of January and reacts with a mix of bewilderment and curiosity, but does not get violent. The others look on, amused. Ollie is later invited to join Raph, Martin, Will (now going by Leigh), and their sponsors for a movie night. [SD 40]
By the 13th of January, Ollie and Raph are back on civil speaking terms, though the two still harbor a strong resentment towards each other. Later that day, the Hall goes into lockdown following bodies being found at Stendordale Manor. In the emotional aftermath, Ollie is unnerved and confused, and asks after Frankie's wellbeing. Ollie is present as Raph has a moment of self-actualization regarding the self-inflicted homophobic "rule" of masculinity that the basementees are beginning to abandon; when Ollie interjects to ask about the equivalent "girl rules", Harmony informs him he still needs "all the crap" removed from his brain before he can worry about "the good stuff". [SD 42]
Early the next morning, Raph accidentally wakes Ollie up on his way to the bathroom, and the two end up in the bathroom together. After Raph admonishes him for not washing his hands, Ollie confides to Raph that he's worried about Frankie, believing her to be at risk of arrest due to her involvement with the Hall and Stenordale Manor, and fearing that she might die in prison. Ollie reveals that Frankie reminds him of his Gran (who passed away after being put in a home). As Ollie ruminates over his troubled childhood, Raph is shocked when he states he hopes his parents die, having previously had the impression that Ollie "idolized" his father. Raph counsels him on learning to "just enjoy people" and making the most of the time you have with them, which Ollie seems to begrudgingly take to heart. [SD 43]
On the 17th of January, Frankie goes to Maria for permission to see Ollie, who has continued asking Harmony after her. Initially against the idea, Maria relents, allowing Frankie to visit him under Harmony's supervision and threat of death, should she misbehave. Harmony takes him to the cells to meet with Frankie; Frankie convinces her to step out and give them some time alone. Harmony and Frankie have watched the security footage from his encounter with Raph and, discussing his state in private, are both worried that he may yet still wash out; empty and directionless, Frankie considers Ollie to be near a breaking point. Internally, Ollie is not yet resigned to his fate and remains conflicted about his own decision to go along with the programme. [SD 43]
In the cell, Frankie carefully manipulates Ollie, first reassuring him that she will not be captured and will die rather than face prison. She promises him that the programme will not be the end of him; he has not yet crossed the line to his new, future self. As the conversation turns to her time at Grandmother's Dorley, Frankie realizes Ollie is looking for a "map" of the person he will be when he leaves; Frankie tells Ollie the story of Kelly, "a right bastard kid" who became "a perfect, innocent, beautiful flower". In the telling, Frankie also details Kelly's death and her connection to Elle Lambert and the modern version of the Hall. [SD 43] Frankie believes Ollie responds positively to Kelly's story. [SD 46] By the 21st of January, Frankie has permission to visit Ollie "semi-regularly". [SD 44]
When Steph enters the basement following her makeover on the 28th, Ollie gets up and leaves. Later, Harmony vents her frustration to Frankie, who reassures her she is doing fine. Harmony asks her to speak with Ollie again and Frankie agrees, this time preparing a fabricated story in order to teach him how to play chess. [SD 46]
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Pre-transition associates
Sonia - Ollie's "teenage sweetheart" and ex-wife. [SD 20] When Sonia left Ollie, he retaliated by beating her and her new boyfriend. [SD 33] Ollie recalls Sonia would talk to him to help him sleep on restless nights. [SD 38]
Gran - Ollie's grandmother. A source of shelter in his childhood, she passed away when he was still young. Ollie recalls: "Gran was… good to me. Better’n Mum and Dad.” [SD 43]
Parents - Ollie recalls being beaten and abused from a very young age and being told to "take it like a man". [SD 38] Ollie tells Raph, “Didn’t get it before. Couldn’t… Couldn’t see. But Mum was a cunt and Dad was a bastard. Hope I never see them again. Hope they die.” [SD 43]
| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| 2019 intake | Adam (Edy), Bethany (Maria), Diana (Monica), Leigh (Tabitha), Martin (Pamela), Ollie (Harmony), Raph (Jane), Stephanie (Pippa) |