Post by Arthur Kirkland on Sept 20, 2010 15:45:04 GMT -5
Name: Matthew Williams
Country/ Code Name: Canada; former Londinium resident
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Support – Scientist/Research Officer
----If not Civilian: What ship would you like to join? Currently on a mining vessel due to reasons covered in History section.
Ship Positions: Chief Research Officer/Engineer
Likes:
Tea – Matthew has dutifully drunk it practically out of the womb due to his upbringing and residency in Londinium. He is particularly fond of the imported ones of more exotic flavors.
Books/Literature – When Matthew is not being overwhelmed by work he likes to immerse his focus in old, battered novels. Though these are rare to come by, so he must make due with the few ones that he has.
Cleanliness – Being a creature conscious of sanitary conditions, Matthew has become a little obsessive-compulsive due to the current ship that he is on being an unlikely source for cleanliness.
Intelligence – Matthew enjoys being able to carry on a civilized conversation with others. If he feels that he isn’t receiving at least sub-par intellect, he tends to lose interest quickly.
Miscellaneous – Matthew can be a very dirty young man sometimes. Le wink.
Dislikes:
Loud People – While an occasional boisterousness is welcome, a constant prattling tends to get on Matthew’s nerves.
Disorganization – If things are not in a precise, working order, it tends to throw off his routine. Matthew has trouble functioning without some consistency in his environment.
Stupidity – Matthew does not automatically consider people to have this quality. He tries to give people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Individuals with no common sense are a plague on his mood.
Religious Fanatics -- Since he was raised to think with a mind that operates in terms of logic and science, Matthew has no respect for people who believe in things that are supernatural or intangible and unproven. His dislike for them borders on derision, though he does his best not to show it.
Job Skills: Matthew’s skills in the scientific field vary. He is most skilled as an engineer, especially with creating new inventions to make life in the air easier. His experience has given him awareness in other fields, including engineering and maintenance, mechanics, mechanical designs, etc. His entry into the field of psychology was still basic at best before he left Londinium, though he was trained with some understanding of the human psyche during his time at University.
Personality and short background: (I am sorry that this turned out longer than I wanted it to. I was inspired. I sort of combined personality with history.)
Matthew Williams was born into a prominent family of mixed British/French heritage that had lived for several generations in Londinium, the two cultures sealed from a marriage between his great-grandfather (British) and great-grandmother (French). Having been raised in that blended lifestyle, Matthew had to adapt his personality to the volatile clashes of his family members, though considering the affluence of his family’s name these differences were kept private as was expected of their ranking in society. Naturally, rumors spread concerning the dysfunctional nature of the Williams family, though Matthew was so polite and gentile that no one ever entertained the notion of asking him to confirm or deny it.
From a young age, Matthew expected to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father into the field of science. His ascendants were all respected scientists operating their craft in Londinium. Matthew had been studious in school, perhaps taking himself too seriously to fully enjoy his childhood as others did. He shadowed his father to learn the delicate arts of mechanical design, metal construction, even dabbling in some alchemy that transmuted bare materials into useful chemicals for use in his inventions. Matthew entered into university at a young age, his intelligence and determination enough to earn him a degree after several dedicated years of study in the fields of science. Not having the necessary means to start his own private practice directly after graduation, Matthew took a position at the local University after his influential forefathers pulled some strings to get his foot in the door.
Matthew performed well at the university, earning himself a credible reputation for his own achievements while on the staff. He published several papers in popular Londinium scientific journals with insights on new concepts of science that were seen as insightful by many and controversial by a few of his elder, more seasoned peers. His special fields were in constructing delicate parts of machinery, more specifically tiny diodes and fused wiring, which Matthew was very skilled at due to his naturally patience and efficient mannerisms. This put him in a position of demand among several hospitals and universities seeking to utilize his sometimes unorthodox concepts, both within Londinium and outside of it as well. Matthew was humbled by the attention that his successes had earned him, though there was also some wariness that his reputation might become too great – while reputable places might have desired his skills, there was also the risk that less respectable sources might seek him out as well for their own.
He was not too afraid of this happening. Matthew was fully prepared to settle down into the stuffy, boring life of a respected scientific professional. He had begun to expand on his education, beginning to study more in depth in the field of psychology since Matthew believed that this would be an additional skill to add to his resume and perhaps give him more insight that would be a valuable tool to incorporate into his research – when a complication arose that took the young man by considerable surprise.
Being a member of prominent society, his family had made arrangements when Matthew was very young to secure for him a future bride of equal ranking. His bride-to-be was a gentle, lovely woman from a local banker’s family named Emma. Matthew had dutifully courted her as was expected of him, though neither of them were much interested in the idea of their eventual union (Emma having her heart set on another and Matthew being a lover of men). He had been astonished when Emma informed him one day that she was with child – by the very man who she loved. This would scandalize both of their families if that tidbit of knowledge became public. Matthew had accepted the news with grace but also fear and a little irritation at Emma’s carelessness, and went to a pub in Londinium to drink until a solution presented itself.
He lamented the news to his French lover in a moment of drunken weakness (and a little dazed by their embrace at the time). Matthew thought nothing of his confession, eventually sinking into an inebriated slumber. He woke to a hangover and a nagging feeling in his heart. By the time that he had returned home, Matthew was greeted with the news that Emma had been murdered sometime during the night. This was a horrific turn of events, though it was accelerated when Matthew became a prime suspect when the truth came out about Emma’s dalliances with her other lover. Matthew, having no alibi (since he was unwilling to confess his preferences to his upstanding family), was accused of having killed his future bride in retaliation for her actions.
Matthew had two choices: Stay and face a trial that would potentially leave him imprisoned, or flee and become a fugitive-at-large. He made his decision and packed a few belongings. Matthew was astonished when his Grand-Mere revealed to him that she had already made arrangements to get the young man safely out of Londinium. He escaped quickly, taken by the Frenchmen who his Grand-Mere knew and was put on an airship. After that, it became up to Matthew to get himself into a situation where the knowledge of his ‘fugitive-at-large’ status would not allow him to be located by the authorities. Matthew began to jump from one ship to another in an effort to avoid notice.
For the last few years, Matthew has settled down on a small work ship mining resources in outlying locations. He became the ship’s only capable engineer. While it would seem unlikely that the job would be much less active than his time at the University, the crew is unfortunately not operating under the best conditions. This has put Matthew at odds with the captain of the ship on several occasions, when stress gets the better of his composed nature and his French blood comes rushing out of him in the form of harsh words. While he would enjoy being anywhere but onboard the rickety ship, it has so far served his needs well, allowing him to still practice his craft while also maintaining anonymity.
Other: Matthew has a white stuffed bear that was gifted to him by his Grand-Mere shortly before escaping Londinium. He uses it as a security blanket and an outlet for his frustrations. Sometimes he has been caught speaking to the thing as if it could respond to him. Matthew also has a pair of eyeglasses that he had to acquire after many nights of straining to see by the poor quality of light aboard the ship that he is on. There are tiny rods on the edges of the glasses that, when triggered, can magnify his vision tenfold – a function that he uses regularly when performing maintenance on the ship's more delicate machinery.
RP sample:
Matthew stirred from sleep, a mewling noise of protest leaking out of his throat as his eyes were greeted with the glaring light of the sun. He opened them carefully, violet peeking out underneath a veil of lashes as the young man frowned in the direction of the offending window. Jean-Paul was seated on the sill of the window smoking, the trails of it sucked out through the pane of glass that he had opened. Matthew’s delicate features twisted as he reluctantly forced himself to sit up. He left his glasses sitting on the nightstand beside the bed, both hands coming up to first rub at his face before he tangled his fingers in the tousled gold of his hair. “What time is it?”
“Still early.” Jean-Paul informed him tersely, his French accent heavy. Ah, he was in a foul mood again? Matthew’s brain had barely woken up enough to deal with his lover’s fickle attitudes.
Luckily, Matthew had a few tricks that always worked for him. One, in fact, that would be particularly effective considering the fact that he currently had no shirt on. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, feeling a sliver of pain in his back that would need to be contended with for the rest of the day (but was well worth it), as Matthew crawled across the mattress and rumpled sheets to where his lover was perched nearby. The faint trace of a smirk crossed his lips as he stretched a hand out in order to deftly snatch the cigarette away from Jean-Paul. “You know that this is a filthy habit, right? Utterly terrible for your health.”
His playfulness earned him a less sullen glance from the other man, as Jean-Paul warmed up to the teasing in Matthew’s eyes and the unconscious sensuality of his expression. “Oui, Doctor Williams. Though that is the least of my nasty habits, non?”
“Oui.” Matthew rolled backwards as Jean-Paul tried to retrieve his cigarette, so that he could lie on the mattress, as Matthew brought the cigarette up to his own lips. “Though I am a creature with bad habits as well. That makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it?” He wasn’t really waiting for an answer. His bare foot lifted when Jean-Paul began to slide off the sill, Matthew pressing the balls of his toes against the Frenchman’s chest to keep him at bay, keeping up with his teasing of the other man.
He knew that he’d been successful when Jean-Paul smiled at him and took hold of his foot in a gentle grip. While the Frenchman tried to engage him by tickling at the underside of Matthew’s sole, Matthew let the cigarette dangle between two fingers as he became absorbed in thought, curling the tip of his thumb against the corner of his mouth as the young man’s violet eyes stared vacantly into space. It was an unwise move. Jean-Paul’s warming mood was spoiled when it seemed that Matthew’s interest was lost, dropping the foot from his hands. “Quoi? Are you bored already? Or is it that you are thinking of your blushing bride, eh?”
Matthew’s eyes focused, flashing on his lover with annoyance. “Don’t be stupid. Je vous adore. Je t’aime. I’m just preoccupied with work. I have a thesis that I am working on and it’s swollen up all of my spare brain activity. Stop being so sensitive.” He tilted his head to the side until unruly waves of hair went sliding over a bare shoulder, arching an eyebrow at Jean-Paul. “Now stop pouting and go make me some breakfast.”
OOC Information
Name: Stream.
Timezone: Pacific Standard Time
Aim/msn/skype/email: FlyCanadaFly: AIM, flycanadafly@gmail.com: MSN/mail
