Thomas Theo Legrand II

[Thomas Legrand II]

The Basics

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Name: Thomas Theo Legrand II
Nicknames: "Tom", "The Giant" and "Your Highness"
Age: 40
Orientation: Bisexual with fairly strong preference to men
Desired Rank/Job: Hammel Janitor
Powers:
Literary Personality Mimicry
Thomas can assume the personality of any literary character in a work he has already read. He can only do this for an hour or two at maximum, and typical side effects include fatigue, headaches, a tendency to assume accents that aren't his, the persistent smell of old books andthe gradual loss of his own identity.

Play By: Mark Sheppard

The Details

Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Any Piercings? None
Any Tattoos? A fairly intricate Excalibur in thestone, across his upper back.
Any Scars? None.
General Appearance:
It's very easy to look right past Thomas. Five-foot ten, soft-spoken and usually dressed in coveralls, he hardly cuts a striking figure. He tends to have a slight, knowing smile on his lips at all times, but it isn't unkind. And if spoken to, he'll lift brows and listen and nod as appropriately. He keeps himself well-groomed. He's always very clean, clean-shaven, and keeps his hair combed, even though he's pretty sure it's balding. The only indication of his wealth is the Rolex he wears on his wrist, but everyone's pretty sure that's a fake.

At work, it's all about the coveralls--have you seen the mess the students leave these days?-- with blue as his chosen poison. Between that and the work boots, he's all business. He doesn't much like how the coveralls, the belt and the boots make him look--which is mostly short and a bit round. To be fair, he is a bit overweight, but he views it as perfectly reasonable for his age and doesn't think about it. When out of work, he isn't exactly flamboyant, but he dresses in fairly nice jackets and button down, rich colored shirts. This makes him look a little slimmer. The clothing quality is good butnot too flashy, and he prefers darker colors. However, despite his usually humble attire, he always carries himself very straight and has extremely good posture.
Personality:
The first impression everyone gets from Thomas is quiet. And he is, but not in a way that is meant to intimidate or frighten or even in a way that is shy. He just... doesn't needto talk much. He's quite happy to sit and listen, to do his work, or read, and he enjoys every activity. He 's pretty good at offering wise counsel, and his calm demeanor, grasp of bad situations, and solidity earned him the nickname of "Your Highness." It also didn't help that, as a boy, his favorite stories to read--and, due to his poor control, to reflect the personality of--involved King Arthur. They still remain his favorite to this day, and whenever faced with a particularly thorny situation or whenever he feels down, he likes to mimic King Arthur.

He's intelligent, but not ambitious at all. He never had to work for anythingin his life and it shows. Despite his high education levels, hecontinues to work as a janitor because the work is straightforward and he enjoys it. However, he doesn't view it as a lack of ambition that makes him work as a janitor. Instead, he honestly likes the work. It is simple, straightforward, allows him to think, and by the end he can point at a clean surface that was once dirty and show that he actually did something--something with a purpose.

He's generous with his funds--buying rounds for peoplehe knows--and with his time. He can have extremely close friendships. But when it comes to romance, Thomas has a hard time letting people in. It's been the downfall of many a relationship. It's not that he's uncomfortable with his sexuality, although his preferences aren't anything he admits aloud. Part of it is that he knows that, eventually, who he is won't exist, and he doesn'twant to put that on anyone else. He's very cautious and tends to look to the future in that respect. Another part is that he doesn't know how to handle getting hurt, so it is easier to keep himself closed off to others.

Your Vices

Likes:
King Arthur legends and stories
Coffee
Wine
Cleaning things
French
Old English literature
Early evenings
Rolex watches
Mystery novels
Fireplaces
Dislikes:
Vomit
Gum stuck to the underside of desks
Mud
Coffee spills
Romance novels
Video games
Movies
Private schools
Money
Loneliness
Strengths:
Arthurian Legends
Cleaning things
Giving advice
Listening
Seeing truths behind things
Planning for the future
Weaknesses:
Opening up
Talking about things other than literature, cleaning, alcohol and coffee
Serious relationships
Asking for advice
Initially distrustful of anyone who makes overtures of friendlinessfirst
Self-confidence
Fears: Losing himself
Secret: He's substantially wealthy.

Family Ties

Father: Thomas Legrand (deceased)
Mother: Mary Thompson (65)
Siblings: None
Any Other Important People:Guinevere, his cat
Gawain, his dog

History

Thomas Legrand Sr. was not a poor man, having inherited wealth from his parents and invested it into a cologne empire while he was still in his 40s. And when he married Mary Thompson, an English heiress who was substantially younger than he, their money together made them extremely wealthy. It wasn't a marriage of passion, although they did love each other. It was just reasonable. When Thomas Sr. moved to England, lookingto free himself from the French's rather restrictive tax code, he was introduced to the young Mary, who was charmed and impressed by the older Frenchman's charm and maturity. They were married not long after, to her parents approval, and soon had a son.

It wasn't that the young Thomas was neglected by his parents. Thomas Jr. could still remember lovely nights surrounded by lightsand pillows while his mother read The Sword in the Stoneto her young son. But Mary was always off to charity functions,and Thomas Sr. spent most of his time in France and other countries for his company. Thomas Jr. grew up with nannies, tutors, and when the time was right, in private school.

Even then, the younger Thomas was considered to be a little odd. While other rich boys flaunted their wealth and enjoyed the popularity it offered them, Thomas was likely to stare at them with large, serious brown eyes and say that all are equal no matter how much money they have. It also didn't help that he was teased. In a school where students were taught French and other languages from a youngage, it didn't take long for the students to figure out that "Legrand" meant "the large" and to use it to make fun of the undersized boy. Thomas used to come home and cry into his pillow until his father caught him doing it, and pulled him up to tell him sternly that crying wasn't what men did. So Thomas Jr. became more insular. He became a bookworm and excelled in school, although none of his instructors were ever quite sure if he actually tried.

Things might have continued that way for some time had itnot been for the day when Mary returned home late at night to find her twelve-year-old son standing on the table with a foil from over the fireplace, declaring that he was Lancelot du Lac andhe would duel anyone who dared to defile his lady's honor. His alarmed mother promptly called the family doctor who, once Thomas Jr. could be convinced to release the fencing foil and come down the stairs, ran a blood test that found Thomas to be a meta. The recruiters came soon after, and for the first time, Thomas Jr. found himself in Kocher, an environment where not everyone was wealthy, and he could start with a clean slate.

Of course, starting with a clean slate doesn't always mean things end well. Thomas was bullied less, but his odd habits, quietness, and wariness of anyone asking after his family meant he didn't have too many friends during his six years at Kocher It also didn't help that the Arthurian legends that had been his favorite as a child resulted in him more frequently being a knight errant than a young boy. King Arthur, in particular, was his favorite. King Arthur was afraid of very little, and he could handle anything that came at him. Thomas liked this idea very much, and could often befound mimicking King Arthur until his trainer convinced him that to use his power too frequently would cause more damage than good. But this was when he began to be called "Your Highness," and it wasn't always in jest.

When he was eighteen, he declared that he wanted to go study Arthurian literature in Wales. His parents, hoping it was a phase but also approving of their usually aimless son wanting an education, encouraged this and sent him off. He stayed there for eight years, attaining his Ph.D. While he studied, Thomas also acquired a job as a janitor for the school, as his parents wanted him to have some kind of job experiencebefore he graduated (a janitor wasn't what they had in mind at all, but they settled for it as he showed no interest in other work). He found, to his surprise, that he liked it. It was simple, it allowed him to daydream, and by the end of it, Thomas trulyfelt he had accomplished something--something he doubted he would find in his father's company. Even if there was more to cleanthe next day, with all his careful work undone by the work of careless students, Thomas would return to the work with the dedication and care he applied to most things. It also helped that, while there, he worked with a young American named Nathan. Nathanwas fair-haired, light eyed, thin and tall. Thomas hadn't ever really considered relationships before--he'd asked girls to dances, but that had been the extent of his interest in any sort of romance--but he found himself daydreaming about Nathan a lot. Tohis surprise, he later found Nathan was interested in him too. The two courted for some time, even living with each other. Whenthe two graduated (Thomas with a largely useless Ph.D in Arthurian literature), Nathan asked him to come and live with him in America. Thomas agreed. It took some time to persuade his father of this, but he eventually persuaded him by convincing him that he could open a branch of the cologne business in America.

Nathan was the reason for any success of the business in America. He had a head for it and some knowledge of the legal system, as his father was a lawyer. Thomas's head was always elsewhere, but he could put on a good face for it--seeming interested and charming even when he'd spent the entire night before perusing over old English texts. Neither told their parents about the relationship--to the Legrands, Nathan was an old coworker of their sons who was now his employee. To Nathan's parents, Thomas was the oddand quiet man who was offering Nathan a job. The relationship was stable, yes, but never passionate. And when Thomas's father died several years later, a debate between the two of them began.Nathan wanted Thomas to keep the business. Thomas had no interest. Nathan accused Thomas of having no ambition, which was accurate. Thomas wasn't the accusing type, but did point out that Nathan seemed more interested in his money than them. The two brokeup. Thomas sold his shares in the company, and Nathan bought his own chain of clothing stores.


Thomas never really settled after that. The rest of his inheritance was put into a trust fund that gave him a monthly sum, enough for him to be comfortable for most of his life. Most of it, however, was reserved for the near future--a time when Thomas knew he would be incapacitated dueto his ability. Thomas didn't have to work, but he found himself restless. One time his rambles led him to Pilot Ridge, and to Hammel--the American equivalent of Kosher. Out of an impulse, heapplied for the janitor position. He was incredibly overqualified in education and in experience (although he did manage to point out that most of his experience didn't exactly count, as he'dbeen more of a figurehead), but he eventually talked them around by pointing out that he knew the kinds of messes Hammel students would make and wouldn't be bothered by it, and that he'd hardly ever ask for a pay raise or complain about hours. He has beenthere for around 4 years now, and still enjoys his position. And if his house is a little larger than his salary technically allows... well, there are some benefits to having money.

Roleplay Example

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Lugia. She had a lot of babies. The end.

What About You?

Name: Lugia
Age: Legal!
Experience: About halfas long as I've been alive.
How Did You Find Us? It's been 3 years. Like I know.
Ready To Play? Always.

[Dryope *]

ACCEPTED!
I don't know how you keep up. Is it Pokemon magic?