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[singillatim application] i am gall, i am heartburn
bitter would have me taste. my taste was me;
PLAYER INFO
Player Name: Beth
• Player Contact:
• Player Age: 32
• Permissions: Here.
CHARACTER INFO
• Character Name: Thomas Richardson
• Character Age: 35
• Character Canon: Apostle (2018)
• Canon Point: End of the film
• Character History: Thomas is the oldest son of a wealthy English businessman, brother to one sister, Jennifer. His childhood was likely typical for a boy of his class and affluence, save for his father's greater than average violence towards his children, which Thomas grew up attempting to shelter his sister from.
As an adult, Thomas chose to follow the calling of priesthood, an unusual choice for someone in his position. Even more unusually, he went through the intensive process of language study and religious preparation to become a missionary to China. This foray ended during the Boxer Rebellion, when Thomas was gathered up with other British colonialists and marked with the cross he'd sought to foist on others.
After this, Thomas experienced a profound crisis of faith that led him to leave the priesthood and disappear into the grips of a laudanum addiction, allowing all of those who knew him to believe he was dead. He spent five or so years as an anonymous addict, a time period in which he nurtured the anger he had previously suppressed.
The rest of Thomas' relevant backstory can be found here in the plot summary of his canon source material.
• Character Personality: Provide information about their personality, both negative and positive aspects — with three of each. Give examples of how they've behaved this way. You do not need to provide an essay, but please submit enough to give a feel for the character.
— Tenacious: Thomas pursues his goals with single-minded intensity and dogged commitment. By force of will, he propels himself forward through obstacles that he has no business overcoming. Trudging through a tunnel of gore, going through laudanum withdrawals, having his hand ground in a meat mangler, being pursued by a bloody and strange god - all things Thomas obstinately refuses to let impede his path to rescuing his sister.
— Cunning: Thomas is a quick, cool thinker, improvising his way through dire situations with little preparation and few resources. He has a knack for observing systems, relationships, and people and using what he observes to his advantage. He picks up on needing to swap his marked invitation for an unmarked one to avoid being identified as an intruder, and capitalizes on discovering a secret teen relationship to recruit an unwilling ally in his mission.
— Devoted: Above almost all else, Thomas has a deep capacity for devotion. This can be seen in his dedication to his sister Jennifer, his former devoutness as a priest, and in the transformational experience he has with the deity of Erisdan. Thomas has a driving urge to make himself subject to something, and whatever he chooses (or whatever chooses him), he surrenders himself to fully.
— Callous: Disillusionment and pain have rendered Thomas insensitive to all but a select few. While there are exceptions, as a rule Thomas demonstrates indifference to the distress of others. He's willing to blackmail a teenage boy into assisting him with a potentially dangerous task and encouraging that boy to turn on members of his own community with little regard for the consequences he might face, and he doesn't hesitate to tear down his one willing ally's beliefs and faith in her father in order to drive home a point he wishes to make.
— Reckless: Thomas' sense of self-preservation is a slippery thing. While he aims to survive (at least for the sake of accomplishing his goals), he frequently takes enormous risks that put him in immediate danger of discovery or harm. Skulking around a hostile village after dark, stopping a knife wielding assassin with nothing but his hands, and diving into a flooded underground gutter are just a few of the decisions Thomas seems to think nothing of making on the fly.
— Desolate: Almost the inverse of Thomas' devotion is his desolation. Thomas feels a profound betrayal at his realization that the God he'd dedicated his life to is insensible to the suffering of his worshippers, and that betrayal manifests as scorn, fury, and despair. Compounded by the torments he experienced, this is the cause of Thomas' retreat into self-medication, self-loathing, and self-abnegation. In his own words, the only thing left that matters to him is his sister.
• Character Skills:
• Fighting
• Hunting (primarily birds)
• Fishing
• Evasion and stealth
• Basic day labouring
• Assorted 1905 life skills and ability to do without modern conveniences
• Character Inventory:
— ITEM ONE: A locket with a picture of his sister Jennifer inside
— ITEM TWO: A straight razor
— ITEM THREE: A rose petal
• Important Notes: This almost definitely won't come up due to depowering, but Thomas did seem to go through a type of apotheosis into an island-earth-god at the end of the film. He's better now.
• Writing Samples:
— SAMPLE ONE: Here
— SAMPLE TWO: Here