Thomas Jenkins

[Thomas Jenkins]

The Basics

Name: Thomas David Jenkins

Nicknames: Dr. Pencil

Age: 43

Orientation: Bisexual

Desired Rank/Job: Humorist

Powers: None

Play By: David Rees

The Details

Hair Color: Gray/brown

Eye Color: Blue-hazel

Any Piercings? None

Any Tattoos? A small, black hexagon with a centered dot, located on the side of his left hand, halfway between his pinkie and wrist.

Any Scars? A lifetime of small scars due to accidents, bad decisions, etc.. Too many of those to mention.

General Appearance: Thomas is a gawky fellow, 6'2'' in height, who carries himself as though he never got out of that awkward adolescent stage. This is in spite of a few apparent age indicators, the most eye-catching of which is his gray hair. Though a fair amount of dark brown remains mixed in, it's easily overlooked. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, while visible, aren't especially prominent. He keeps himself clean-shaven most times but, when his beard's allowed to grow in, it shows a variety of blond and brown hairs in addition to the expected gray.


His blue-hazel eyes tend to favor blue in the absence of strong influences toward brown and/or green. These add to a peculiar sense of intensity about him, his focus on tasks exclusive and unerring. This is in contrast to their behavior with actual human beings, where his eyes tend to bounce away from others' as though repelled by some outside force. 


His clothing tends to be conservative in nature, favoring straight leg jeans and collared, button-up shirts that are often buttoned a little higher than is strictly necessary.  He does wear other things on occasion - sweaters, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. - but nothing remotely revealing unless it's as an insulating layer. He does favor dressing in layers (hoodies, vests, etc.) to owning an actual coat. 

Personality: Thomas is intense; very smart, funny and passionate by nature. When he becomes interested in something, he throws his whole self into it, often to the detriment of his personal relationships. Despite a wealth of intellectual confidence and moral conviction, he's often selfless to a point of self-sabotage, willing to help others entirely more than they might deserve, and so being pulled down along with them when they fall. His humor is hard for some to grasp, a tangled mess of honesty and absurdity to a point where it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. He tends to make poor first impressions, being that he's socially awkward and bad at small talk. He takes pleasure in mentoring others, particularly those who seem to really need guidance in their lives.

Most of Thomas's friends still live in NY. He keeps in contact with them diligently and takes every professional excuse to go see them, so the flight is on the network's dime. He's made some friends since moving here, mostly in creative communities - comedians, writers, artists, musicians and so on. Despite his marked social awkwardness, the friends he does make are quickly accepted into his life.


He's one to keep himself very busy, rarely working on just one project at a time, but he makes time to spend with friends. Friendships are very important to him, more than any other kind of relationship.


There's a broad palette of people who don't like Thomas. While he's made friends, he's also the cause of much groaning and eye-rolling in certain environments. There are people who find his humor insufferable, people who find him pretentious, people who think his work has too much profanity in it, people who aren't fans of his activist stances, on and on and on. Idiots and geniuses alike can find reason to hate him, and so can join together in a chorus of "fuck that guy." Tied into that is the fact that Thomas is easy to intimidate physically, through size and powers both, and some people are bound to take pleasure in that.


Thomas keeps his romantic past pretty close to the chest, but has said the phrase "It's so much work making all this emptiness" might serve to explain it. Neither romance nor sex are very large motivating factors in his life. He's become very insecure about his desirability as he's aged, leaving him incredibly shy and reluctant to pursue intimacy. It's something he's capable of doing, but it requires about ten times the usual number of interest markers and an age range he finds acceptable (27+, generally) for him to initiate anything. Even then, he expects rejection and is surprised by the opposite. That said, he isn't actively prudish and is likely to respond to pursuit (18+, any gender) - even if it's through turning an alarming shade of red, at first.


While mentorship isn't a formal service he provides, Thomas is one to take younger people under his wing as the necessity presents itself. His strong empathy and philosophical background allow him to nurture and encourage a wide variety of people. Naturally, those interested in pursuing things he's experienced with will gain more from the relationship than others. He'll take on almost anyone who seems to need guidance, but pays special attention to the needs of those aged 14-22 or so. He's been persistent in helping even those who seem reluctant to accept his assistance, often in the face of direct insult and push-back. These relationships may or may not develop a unique kind of intimacy, but it isn't sexual or romantic in nature - at least, not at Thomas's introduction.


Despite his self-proclaimed social awkwardness, Thomas has enough confidence and charisma to lead - or at least moderate - group activities. Professionally, he's done presentations and interviews related to his work and pencil-sharpening seminars around the country (and perhaps at home!?). Socially, he makes up for his hatred of small talk by suggesting parlor games or inciting debate on a variety of subjects. His utter lack of shame, particularly when drunk, has propelled him into many a karaoke night, too.

Your Vices

Likes:

#2 pencils
The Minutemen
Music in general, though he's mostly found favoring punk, hardcore, metal and rap, and their related genres
Intellectualism
Learning and experiencing new things
Dry, salty snacks (his friends tend to give him party mix bags full of unwanted pretzels)
Riding his bike (blue, with a frame from the 70s)
Karaoke (generally bad)
Swimming
Cliff diving (small cliffs!)


Dislikes:

Mechanical pencils
Electric sharpeners
Semi-ironic appreciation of bacon
Shallow people/conversation
Anti-intellectualism (devaluing of humanities majors; dismissal of philosophical thinking as pretentious, etc.)
Excessive unfamiliar touching
Eye contact
White wine
Not being taken seriously


Strengths:

Has a philosophy PhD
Very insightful
Empathetic
Unique perspective
Funny
Competent chef
Not afraid of looking silly, stupid, etc.
Quick learner
Opinionated yet diplomatic

Weaknesses:

Poor muscle tone
Lack of fighting skills
Freaks out when threatened
Social anxiety
Selective intelligence (brilliant philosophical mind; often needs to be [re?]taught about scientific things)

Fears: 

Aggressive dogs
Loaded guns 
Sexual intimacy
Being forgotten
Losing friends
That his sister will kill someone


Secret: He was a bully in middle and high school. This isn't strictly a secret - he spoke about it on a podcast once - but he's very ashamed of it and unlikely to mention that aspect of his school experience unless it's very, very relevant.

Family Ties

Father: Gerald Jenkins (living; retired religious studies teacher)

Mother: Katherine Jenkins (living; retired university librarian)

Siblings: Susan Jenkins (older sister; meta-human capable of iron spike protrusion; retired locksmith); Cecil Jenkins (younger brother; high school guidance counselor) 

Any Other Important People: Randall Hewitt (nephew; meta-human capable of bone manipulation; English literature professor at the undergraduate level), Kevin Hewitt (nephew; auto mechanic).  He has many friends in the entertainment industry, some of whom afford him connections and exposure he wouldn't otherwise have. 

History

Thomas enjoyed a privileged upbringing in New York's Hudson Valley, born to working, Episcopalian parents. His mother was a librarian at a public college and his father taught religious studies at a nearby private school. He did well in school, placed in the local public school system rather than his father's place of employment. His parents felt that decision would result in a broader, more enriching life experience for him.


Despite always being 'off' in a way that was hard to put one's finger on, Thomas made friends easily. He had always gone through life with peculiar intensity, taking feverish interest in a variety of things and being unafraid to say whatever came to mind. That intensity afforded him a certain charisma, drawing some and violently repelling others. This is a theme that would persist throughout his life.


He was a thin child and would remain slender throughout his life. He engaged in normal childhood activities, such as tree climbing and playing hide 'n' seek, but shied from those requiring physical aggression. As such, he was never one to get into fights.


When he was six years old, his younger brother Cecil was born. He enjoyed playing with him throughout his infancy and toddler years, but became frequently annoyed by him as he grew older. Even so, he could be trusted to take care of him.


When he was eight years old, his sister's powers manifested. While he was at school and she was home, nursing new and intense menstrual pain, a large iron spike protruded from one heel. It violently pierced the tub and plumbing behind it. He was left unaware of the reason for their needing repair work and a new tub and so, it was an utter mystery to him when a recruiter came by to take her to Hammel. His parents tried to explain to him that she needed to go somewhere where she could be properly trained and cared for, but he couldn't understand why this couldn't be done at home. Their parents called Susan on a twice-weekly basis and Thomas insisted on taking up at least ten minutes of her time each call, which was sometimes more than his parents would!


As he came into himself, around the age of 12 or so, he grew keenly perceptive. Having an analytical mind, he became very good at pinpointing others' vulnerabilities. There's no saying why he used this ability to bully others, as he was raised with a strong moral constitution. That was exactly what he did, though. He was quick to zero in on what others hated most about themselves and come up with pithy barbs with which to wound them. However, this was done with a certain boyish cluelessness, rather than true malice. He failed to realize that his victims wouldn't look back on it and laugh, but were truly hurt by his treatment and considered him a special breed of asshole even after graduation.


He was not such a virulent bully that it took up much of his time, though. He maintained old friendships and made new ones, such that, despite his eccentricity, he was rarely bullied himself. He must have had a reputation for cutting others down that the school's big bullies didn't want to fuck with!


In high school, he discovered political punk rock, taking special interest in the Minutemen. This would be the first step in abandoning his religion, as he discovered that the morals and politics he'd been raised with could be expressed in a context that spoke to him in a way religion never had. Pursuant to this, he formed a number of bands with his friends of which he was usually the leader and main songwriter, despite shifting roles between singer, guitarist and drummer.


His sister remained the only meta-human with whom he'd had any contact, though he began reading of others and came to understand why she needed to be sent to Hummel. He began to call her regularly on his own, no longer comfortable with the idea of his parents listening in. He asked extensively about her classmates and experiences at the school, taking interest in the meta-human community as a whole.


Having done pretty well in school, he had a few choices of college. He wound up attending the Oberlin liberal arts college in Ohio. Lacking any particular ambitions, he majored in philosophy, as it struck him as the most appealing and broadly enriching option.


Through his experiences here, and after some wrestling, he stopped believing in God. However, he appreciates the moral environment he'd been raised in and acknowledges that the Episcopalian faith was a large part of that. For that reason, he bears no specific malice toward the faithful as a group, becoming critical and sacrilegious only when that faith is used as a weapon.



He'd been unable, previously, to decide what role, if any, God played in the creation of meta-humans. Abandoning theistic belief altogether was liberating in this way, as he did not need an explanation beyond figuring it some quirk of genetics. Never having an interest in siring children, he didn't worry too much about whether he was capable of passing on this mutation, despite having no powers himself.


As he'd known all along, his bachelor's degree in philosophy afforded him few particular privileges after graduation, and absolutely no direction. He wound up supporting himself with series of temp positions at office jobs, first in Boston, then in Brooklyn. Being both very productive and very bored, it was here that he began making comics.


It was a lot of work, and though he was a competent artist, he didn't enjoy drawing very much. He was much more interested in writing. One day, while building a presentation he cared nothing about, he found himself looking at clip art and imagining what the dull, uninspiring figures might be saying to one another. Usually it was something with a lot of profanity.


Recognizing he could create comics by adding speech bubbles and nothing else to these images was like getting a license to print money. He started out sending these to friends and coworkers, but occasionally printed them out and tried to convince comic stores to sell them. First came My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable, set at a karate dojo frequently visited by an ambulance. Eventually, he started making My New Filing Technique Is Unstoppable, for self-evident reasons.



Finding that, although his printed efforts made him little money, a lot of people seemed to enjoy the clip art comics, he decided to do something more serious with them. The first book of the acclaimed Comic Philosophy series was created as he worked a soul-sucking office job. It, and the subsequent two books in the series, was a mixture of serious philosophical material explaining a variety of philosophies and crude, profane comics pertaining to that material.


He was able to get the book published and, while it didn't explode in popularity, he made enough money on it that he no longer needed to work temp jobs. This was no luxurious lifestyle, though; he lived in an apartment with roommates. The second book proved more lucrative, inspiring him to go back to school and pursue his Ph. D, which he was able to pay for without incurring significant student loan debt.



It was during this time that his sister was undergoing a divorce. She'd had children with her husband, aged ten and thirteen. Their son had just manifested the power of bone manipulation and, though he was quickly ushered off to Hammel, her husband was uncomfortable with his child being 'mutated', to put it mildly. Passionate arguments ensued. During one of them, she produced a long, iron spike with which to intimidate him. She wound up piercing his lung with it, stumbling forward during a violent gesture and pushing the spike between his ribs.


Horrified that she'd crossed that line, she called an ambulance immediately. Ben's life was saved, but the marriage could not be salvaged. She solemnly signed the divorce papers and took over parenting duties, with visitation rights for Ben. After all, if their younger son also turned out to be a meta-human, she could be better trusted to have his best interests at heart. The same could not be said for his father.


Thomas had never feared his sister before, as their parents had raised them to value non-violent solutions to problems. They were not taught that violence was wholly unacceptable, just that it was an absolute last resort. He knew that this kind of message had only been further instilled in her at Hammel. He had always trusted her, because he'd never felt any compulsion toward violence himself and assumed she was the same. 


Yet when she called and tearfully admitted what she'd done, he did understand why some feared meta-humans like her. Anyone could become violent under pressure, despite all manner of training and moral opposition. If someone like him freaked out, it was unlikely to end in tragedy, being that he wasn't very dangerous to begin with. But her? What if something more dire happened in the future? 



He did his research and encouraged her to see a therapist over the course of their calls, thinking that there was no better way to prevent future incidents. Though his occasional visits to see her and his nephew didn't end, he no longer felt completely safe in her presence. This filled him with guilt, but so far, he hasn't been able to fully shake his fear of her. Throughout this incident, he did his best to continue working and living as normal. 



When 9/11 happened, he was living in Brooklyn and working on the third Comic Philosophy book. Though he was lucky enough to lose no one in the attack, he was as shaken by it as anyone. To say that he did not appreciate the response to these attacks would be an understatement. He was fiercely skeptical of the war effort and of the blind patriotism that followed the attacks.


Finding that no one seemed to be writing about these issues in a satisfying way, he took it upon himself to fill that gap. Thus was Get Your War On born, an utterly brutal satire and critique of the issues following 9/11.


He shared these comics with his friends via a private link on his website but, quickly, they were being shared all over the internet. Some time after the release of Comic Philosophy 3, the comics really gained traction. He was able to make a living as a paid political cartoonist.


This was, initially, amazing, a testament to the freedoms enjoyed by US citizens. He made enough money to buy himself a modest house in the Hudson Valley, where he'd grown up. He met and married his wife during this time. As the Bush presidency went on, though, it became incredibly exhausting. Doing it was no longer optional; he was obligated to read through all kinds of journals and, somehow, make the most hideous stories funny. It was taxing on his emotional and mental wellbeing and he definitely hadn't signed up for two terms!



During this time, his younger nephew entered adolescence and showed no signs of manifesting a power. His older nephew had done well at Hammel, earning good grades and learning to control his powers. He used to help the boy with general education courses, leading to him excelling in English and literature particularly. He would later pursue a teaching degree, then a doctorate, in English literature, becoming a professor at an undergraduate liberal arts college.


He threw a party the day the final strip of Get Your War On ran, finally free of something he no longer found rewarding. Problem was, he hadn't thought of a backup plan. His books, while initially popular, didn't have much endurance in the market and were largely out of print just a few years after their publication. If he didn't find a new source of income soon, he was going to lose everything. He already felt like he was losing plenty, the quality of his marriage dwindling until it was finally euthanized, at his wife's insistence.


He survived mostly through the generosity of friends and family, as well as some creative credit maneuvering. A prominent news site commissioned an animated version of GYWO through the election cycle, but this was more of a project than a real job; it didn't pay enough to actually support him.


At his friends' suggestion, he began working for the US census as an enumerator. One of the first things done, after being hired, was sharpening the #2 pencils needed to fill out the forms. He hadn't done this since childhood and felt a swell of pleasant nostalgia. Realizing that he actually enjoyed sharpening pencils, he wondered if he could actually get paid to do it.


Thus was his artisanal pencil sharpening business born. He'd made a number of friends in various creative industries during his years as a satirical cartoonist, and these friends afforded his business exposure he wouldn't have gotten otherwise. They made him promotional materials, they set up events and promoted his business on social media.


Somewhere during his census work, he came down with a really terrible-looking case of shingles, so all parties agreed that that was the end of that job. He actually made more money sharpening pencils than anyone had expected, but did need the help of friends and loved ones to support himself, and took on a room mate so he could continue paying the mortgage.


The pencil sharpening business got enough publicity that he was encouraged to write a book on the subject, which he found he was happy to do. It was thoroughly researched and, where research wasn't possible, thoroughly descriptive. He'd been collecting old how-to manuals for some time, and based the book's style on a ship fitter's manual from the 50s, peppering it with strange humor. Without any competition, it became the book on sharpening pencils.


It sold moderately well and was advertised on a few cable channels late at night. He went on a promotional tour for the book, hosting pencil-sharpening seminars that were, sometimes, curiously well-attended. Of course, he'd maintained an internet presence ever since Get Your War On, so he had a certain number of fans who'd followed him ever since. This probably explained why he was able to make a living this way.


That same philosophy of examining things normally taken for granted informs his presently-running TV show, Going Deep. The episode on making ice was shot and shopped around, then the rest were created after the network agreed to pick it up.


It proved divisive, as the pencil sharpening business proved divisive. He was either an idiot or a genius, depending on who you asked. It wasn't controversial to a point of getting very great ratings, though, despite the best efforts of his moderately more successful friends.



About a year ago, prior to filming the show's second season, he moved to Pilot Ridge. Knowing that Hammel is located here, he figured it would be a good idea to live closer to meta-humans, in hopes of better understanding his sister and nephew. There have been no further incidents with Susan, and no incidents with his nephew Randall whatsoever, but he still can't put the possibility out of his mind. He's bought a modestly sized home in Meadowwood, with two above-ground floors and a basement.


With the potential for a third season in limbo, Thomas has been focusing on a variety of other projects.

Roleplay Example

"You can watch, if you want," Thomas offered in a soft, neutral tone of voice, managing to sound hopeful and unconcerned at the time. It contrasted weirdly with the hardcore music fighting out of a blue tooth tower speaker on one side of his table, definitely audible among the din of the market, but not turned up loud enough to be conspicuous.



Something about the way he said those words rubbed the young twenty-something at his booth the wrong way, because the guy shook his head and rubbed his forearm, stammering, "N-no, that's alright," and averting his eyes as he reconsidered his purchase. He'd already shoved ten bucks in Tommy's chosen vessel, though. It looked like one of those huge plastic tubs of party mix, label carefully removed and a wide slit cut into the top. He didn't feel like he could take it back, especially since Dr. Jenkins had been charging forty dollars for the same thing just a couple months earlier. Well, he wasn't getting a certificate or a mounting board, but the pencil and shavings would be his, and that was something!


Clearly, Thomas was a wizard for convincing people ten dollars was a good deal for a sharpened #2 pencil in a tube. The fact that he could make the creative experience sound suggestive was on another level. There was no outward indication that he was joking. In fact, he had never looked so serious about anything in his life. To the learned eye, that level of seriousness meant he was definitely fucking with people but, well, despite the TV show and everything, he wasn't a household name. He had friends here, but not so many that most people got what was going on. Hell, sometimes people who thought they 'got it' didn't, not really. Overall, Thomas could be a controversial figure for this reason alone, before anyone got into any of his other work.


"OK, suit yourself," Thomas shrugged. "If you don't care to see what your money's paying for, I won't stop you. I'll be done in twenty minutes." He'd probably be done sooner, but he wanted to give himself a little wiggle room to account for distractions or maybe even catastrophes.



Without further fanfare, he shook a pencil from an open box to his right, setting the box down and lowering his illuminated lenses over his eyes. After flicking the rows of lights surrounding the lenses on, he put his head down and got to work. Securing the pencil in his right hand, he picked up a small antique knife with a smooth rosewood handle in his left and began applying it to the pencil's cedar shaft. He pushed the dull edge of the blade down the pencil with his thumb, carefully rotating it in his hand as the sharp edge cut closer and closer to the graphite core. He seemed totally zen, in spite of the screaming coming out of the speaker next to him. Hell, that seemed to contribute to it; he was humming along, softly.



As promised, his customer walked off and left him to his work.

What About You?

Name: Somniloquist/Som

Age: 29

Experience: 15+ years via chat and IM; a few scattered months on forums

How Did You Find Us? Sean contacted me on RPG-D!

Ready To Play? Absolutely!

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