Here is the information and backstory Iāve put together so far for him.
Occupation: Butcher, Smuggler, Undertaker/Corpse disposal for hire.
Likes: Dogs, cooking, (more information in progress)
Dislikes: Impatience, greed, animal cruelty, maliciousness, violence without cause or reason.
Positive Traits: Sociable, open-minded, determined, optimistic.
Negative Traits: Ā deceiving, cunning, morally questionable.
Clothing: Thomasās work can get very messy, so he dresses for practicality, not style. His usual outfit consists of worker boots, jeans, (sometimes overalls if he runs out of clean pairs) a button down plaid shirt (or dark colored union suit) with a leather trench coat and butcherāsĀ apron over it all.Ā
The darker the colors the better, because theyāre better at concealing blood stains or patchwork.
Weapons: Butchers knives, cleavers and saws, and a sawed off shotgun. Usually, most of these items are kept on his person at all times.
Pets: Thomas owns two Shire horses that help pull his wagon and cargo. One is Oz, who is a brown bay shire, and the other is Pepper, who is white with black speckles.Ā
Thomas also has an American bulldog dog named Rosie, who accompanies him everywhere he goes. (See below.) Sheās fiercely protective of Thomas and acts as a guard dog for him. But, sheās a gentle dog when no danger is present.
Relationships: The majority of Thomasās family live in Glasgow, Scotland, but some his cousins are scattered about (Donegal) Ireland as well. He has business partners and casual friends around town in Strawberry and Valentine.Ā
His favorite customer is a sullen blonde cowboy by the name of Mr. MorganĀ who comes by often with carcasses of all sorts to trade, in various conditions. In exchange Thomas gives him his best tips for stagecoaches and houses of interest, he doesnāt have a need for them himself.Ā āMr. Morganā has accidentally introduced himself under different names, but Thomas hasnāt mentioned it and frankly doesnāt care.Ā
Thomas left his home country at 25 to pursue adventure and dreams of starting a family. But those were put to a halt when he arrived and was immediately robbed of his money and most of his belongings by a group of bandits hanging around the docks. The encounter taught Thomas that surviving the good and honest way often wouldnāt lead to survival at all, and some laws would need to be bent if he wanted to make his way.Ā
50 questions about your OC: (Featuring Thomas) Answered
*Note, some answers are repeated here.*
2. What gender are they? Ā
3. What is their romantic/sexual orientation? Ā
5. What do they look like? Ā
(Face claim examples provided above.)
6. What are their defining features? Ā
Thomasās bright hair is the first thing people notice, and after that, his size. Both of these features make it difficult for him to blend into a crowd, so to speak. He has a round face, and his neutral expression appears as a gentle smile. He has distinct freckles scattered over his face and body, and sports a thick beard and mustache.
7. Does their name have a meaning? Ā
According to various websites, the name Thomas meansĀ ātwinā and the surnameĀ āOāReillyā meansĀ āsociable.ā However, the meaning of his name is not significant to his character.
8. What family do they have? Ā
Thomasās family is alive and well back in Europe. His parents remain in their hometown of Glasgow where their cattle farm is located. A few (3) of his brothers remained at home to help support the family and run the farm while the rest (1 brother, two sisters) left to immigrate elsewhere and pursue their own adventures.Ā
9. Do they have a good relationship with their family?Ā
Thomas had a good relationship with his family when he left home and came to America. He makes an effort to keep in touch with his parents (Alden at the post office helps him write and send letters to them,) but being thousands of miles and an ocean apart, itās difficult. Their relationship with Thomas is distant, but friendly.Ā
11. Where do they live? Ā
Shepards Rise Cabin, a shack slightly Northeast of Strawberry.Ā
12. Is it a safe place? Ā
Yes. Thomas has fixed it up over the years, and for the most part itās out of the way from prying eyes.Ā
13. Are they poor, middle-class or wealthy? Ā
14. Do they look up to anyone? Ā
No, he has respect for a handful of people but doesnāt look up to anyone right now.
15. Who is their best friend? Ā
Thomas needs to be social for his work. He needs the connections, needs to keep strong relationships and appearances so he can keep his business going. But outside of that, Thomas doesnāt have personal companions, except for one. Heās made unexpected friends with a spitfire little girl who tried to rob him. He let her go and after more failed attempts at robbing him, and an incident where she was injured very badly, the kid stuck around. She never stays longer than a few hours, but she makes a point to visit him every other week or so. They look out for each other in their own strange way and have been for the past year. The time they spend together is meaningful, Thomas almost thinks itās familial.Ā
The kid doesnāt like to talk about herself much, but introduced herself as Ruth.
16. Do they have any enemies? Ā
Thomas isnāt enemies with anyone specific, just competing businesses and bandits that target his livelihood.Ā
17. Who is the person they hate most in the world? Ā
He tries not to hold long term grudges, he knows it wonāt do him any good. (Nemisis not yet established.)
18. Do they have any love/hate relationships? Ā
Thomas loves Ruth in a parental way even though heād never admit it to her. However.. he also hates her because she never passes up the chance to play a prank on him, steal oddly specific items from his house and terrorize his chickens.
19. Have they ever fallen in love? Ā
Yes, over his 38 years of life he has fallen in love in the past.
20. Who is the person they love the most in the world?Ā
His dog Rosie, but the human he loves most is Ruth. Sheās the daughter he never had, or never will have.
21. Does that person love them back? Ā
22. Have they ever hurt or lost anyone?Ā
Yes, Thomas has made and lost friends during his time in America. Heās lost them to sickness, to injuries, and to bullets shot by others. (I will elaborate more on this in the future.)
23. Are they a good shoulder to cry on? Ā
Yes. Thomas is softer than he appears to be and will extend his kindness to help someone in distress. Heās a good listener and a better hugger.
24. Are they well liked? Ā
Yes. Thomas is social, agreeable, and just hardass enough that heās respected and liked in both of his circles. Itās what helps keep him free of suspicion from the law and the townsfolk. Outside of work heās softer and more inclined to go out of his way to perform simple acts of kindness.
25. How do they handle being complimented? Ā
Ā Heāll think itās cute and will return a few compliments of his own. He doesnāt give up on compliment wars, you will never have the last word.
26. Are they an affectionate person? Ā
Yes! Currently Thomas does not have a partner but in relationships heās very expressive of his affection.
27. Are they very driven? Ā
Yes, heās a hard worker and determined.
28. Are they very political? Ā
29. What kind of state is the world that they live in?Ā
30. What are the world leaders like? Ā
Iāll skip this question for now.
31. Does the character worry about their place in society? Ā
He used to worry about it more often when he was younger and wanted to travel the world. His original reason for beginning to smuggle in the first place was so he could survive and eventually achieve his dreams. He wanted to climb to the top. But as he grew older, that dream faded, and heās since given up on it. Now, he works to survive and create a stable life for himself in New Hanover.
32. If they could change one thing, what would it be?Ā
If he could wish upon a star heād wish for forgiveness for the things heās doneĀ and a peaceful retirement.
33. Do they like themselves? Ā
Thomas is satisfied with his appearance, and he thinks your average joe couldnāt pull off what he did. But he often self reflects on what heās become, and it worries him.
34. Are they a good person? Ā
That is a debatable subject.
His morality is something to be questioned. Heās in a gray area.
35. Are they very forgiving?
Yes, but he doesnāt forget easily.
36. Do they believe in destiny? Ā
He used to when he was younger and still dreaming. Now, he doesnāt.
37. Are they trustworthy? Ā Ā
It depends on who you are to him.
38. Are they a good liar? Ā
Yes, heās kept up his lies and double life and hasnāt been caught for the past 13 years.
39. How do they react to criticism? Ā
If the criticism is constructive, he welcomes it. If not, it doesnāt bother him, like water off a ducks back.
40. What is their moral alignment? Ā
Morally gray. Heāll commit murder and other crimes for his job, and heās not above shady dealings if it means buisness for him. He assess his situations first, and heās not going to rob or incite violence against anyone without reason.
He can! Thomasās size puts him at several advantages in brawling, which heās quite good at. Heās a better physical fighter than he is a sharpshooter.Ā
42. Would they ever purposefully hurt someone? Ā
This depends on the circumstances, but for the most part yes.Ā Heās hurt people in his line of work and heād do it again.
43. Have they ever been seriously injured?Ā
Yes, heās gotten into brawls, been shot and fallen into other unfortunate situations that landed him in critical condition.
44. Do they know first aid? Ā
45. Do they have any other survival skills?Ā
Farming, hunting, and construction.
46. Are they a fast learner? Ā
47. How intelligent are they? Ā
Thomas canāt read or write well, so when he writes or receives letters he requests help from Alden. Heās smart in a social setting, knows how to read people and talk himself out or into a situation. Thomas is equipped with common sense and trusts his gut, itās kept him alive for this long. Heās not Einstein but heās not a fool either.
48. What is the school system like? Ā
Butcher, Smuggler, Undertaker (For hire.)
50. Do they enjoy their job? Ā
It wasnāt his dream, but heās good at his jobs and it keeps him afloat, so heās going to keep it up for as long as he can. However a part of him still longs for something else.