thomas VALKER

[THOMAS VALKER]

thomas VALKER

hollywood god*

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»the basics

NAME:

Thomas Clay Valker

NICK NAMES:

Tom is rare. Some call him TC.

CLASS:

god

REINCARNATE:

Hermes; god of flight, thieves, medicine and travel

AGE:

Twenty two

GRADE:

Not currently in school. He's 'taking a break' from education.

ORIENTATION:

Straight as a board.

FACE CLAIM:

Aldis Hodge

»the image

EYE COLOR:

Brown

HAIR:

Very short, black hair. He keeps it cut because it tends to curl like mad when it's allowed to grow. Thomas once tried the whole 'afro' look but quickly realized it was far too much trouble.

HEIGHT:

5'11"

WEIGHT:

148

CLOTHING STYLE:

Thomas goes mainly for 'inconspicuous', though that's not saying a whole lot in Hollywood. He could run through the streets dressed as a clown and no one would give a second glance. Even so, the man doesn't like to be too noticed. He mainly goes for the classic 'blue jeans and t-shirt' look, often throwing a coat over the whole thing no matter how hot the weather is. Thomas never likes being hindered by his own clothes and avoids suits like the plague.

»the story

FAMILY:

Ryan Valker - Father, 52
Celia Valker - Mother, 49
Rene Cistrin - Sister, 24
Carson Cistrin - Nephew, 6 months
Camo - Tabby cat Thomas adopted, about 5

HOMETOWN:

Pheonix Arizona

PERSONALITY:

A Joker~~ It's extremely rare to see Thomas without a smirk. No matter if the conversation is suppose to be serious, the man never seems to go more than ten minutes without a joke. He adores making people squirm at points, but he knows where the line is drawn and is careful never to go over it...or at least, never too far over it. Those who know him have learned to put up with the endless amusement he seems to get from simple things like someone tripping. Though he is able to take life seriously, Thomas just chooses not to. It's much easier to laugh at the misfortunes than to moan about them.
A Grudging Help~~ Thomas can't be called an unkind man. He will help people who really need it, but he never tries to go out of the way to be a 'Good Samaritan' or anything. He doesn't like being hindered by helping, and sometimes gets annoyed with himself when he feels compelled to. Sometimes he feels like there's another part of him that stubbornly insists on giving tourists directions or helping someone with a flat tire. It's almost like he switches personalities when such things happen; Thomas is all too friendly and cooperative for a while, but once he is on his own again, he'll wonder why he ever bothered.
A Stubborn Rebel~~ Alright, so he's not the kind that goes and punches the mayor or something, but Thomas has never been good with authority. He was kicked out of school twice for 'disrespecting' the principal, and it hasn't gotten any better over time. His father was the only person he would ever really obey on the spot. Other than that, there will be fairly lengthy arguments and protests before he ever does what he's told, if that even manages to happen. He's extremely independent and never likes to rely to closely on one person. It takes a whole lot to get the man to ask for help. Thomas isn't without friends, but none of them are extremely close. He prefers to solve his own problems rather than have someone else show him how incompetent he is.

PAST:

Thomas grew up in Pheonix, the dry, hot, boring capital of Nowhere. True, there were plenty of things to do in the city, but the boy could never seem to get interested in any of them. That, and the fact that he was kicked out of almost every club he joined led to a rather boring childhood. He wasn't interested in sports, like people thing young boys should be. Thomas would spend much of his time on the computer; coding, designing and all sorts of things that totally confused his parents. He didn't have an extremely huge group of friends, but enough to keep him out of therapy. Growing up, Thomas was often caught stealing various things; nothing big enough to get extreme punishment, mainly things like music, essays and his sister's stuff. His parents assumed it was just his rebellious side showing, never guessing that something more powerful was directing their son. After all, who on Earth would blame a habit of stealing on the god of thieves?

Through high school, Thomas learned the art of never doing enough to actually be arrested. "It's a thin line," he'd always say. "And it takes some skill to know where it is. It takes self-control to never cross it." His friends were sometimes awed by how easily the boy got away with things. He could manage to steal anything from the stores and only got caught twice, when some friends had tagged along. (He's still banned from those stores to this day.) Somehow he always managed decent marks at school. There wasn't any sort of honors diploma waiting when Thomas graduated, but the teachers grudgingly admitted he was clever. A bit too clever, sometimes. He'd manage to sneak into every game and dance without paying and squeeze out of detention any time he got caught. His principal once admitted "It's difficult to stay mad at the kid, really. He seems so well-meaning until he goes and does the same thing over again with an even better plan. It's like he has someone we can't see helping."

Thomas moved to California right when he turned eighteen. He had never minded the desert too much, but he had always wanted to live somewhere with a coastline. Hollywood seemed like the perfect opportunity to give his 'skills' a challenge. Though his mother keeps telling the man to get back to school, he's avoiding education very stubbornly. Five years, he insists, is not nearly enough time to recover from the twelve years he spent in school. He’ll often go back to Arizona for a few days at a time to visit his parents, as well as his new nephew. Thomas always enjoys the trips, but he’s perfectly content living on the coast.

PRESENT:

It would be difficult to call Thomas 'successful' while keeping a straight face. Once he moved to Hollywood, he got a decent job; a waiter at a rather fancy restaurant. He was good at the job, too. The man was always extremely polite to the customers, always helping with whatever they needed. (It was his stupid urge to help again, he would complain later. As if he couldn't stop it.) However, it was his problem with authority that got rid of that job. Shouting matches with the manger usually aren't an extremely good idea if one wishes to keep a position. Now, he can't seem to keep any one employer for more than a few months. The latest post has lasted three weeks, which he's rather proud of. It's not very exciting work (a receptionist at a construction company) but it pays decently and keeps him busy. After only two weeks in the city, Thomas realized that the minimum wage jobs were not enough to keep his rent paid. He's found other methods easily enough; he now gets the majority of his profit from eBay. Every time he goes into a store for groceries or the like, he'll just 'happen' to walk out with a few more items than he paid for. They usually get a decent amount of money online, and he still has yet to get caught for one of those endeavors.

One of the only things Thomas is really close to is his cat. He always says it moved in with him a year after he got the apartment and has just decided to stay. In reality, he found the feline wandering the streets outside of his office (at the time) and, once again suddenly desiring to help the 'traveler', he brought it home. The man's intentions were to take care of it until someone could take it off his hands, but somehow the cat stuck. He named it Camo, after its uncanny ability to sneak up on Thomas no matter where he was. It's an impressive feat for anyone, considering the man's excellent sense of hearing and constant paranoia.

Thomas is totally unaware of the god inside him. Even as Hermes began to awaken, his behavior didn't change to drastically. He once wondered what it was that suddenly allowed him to never get caught in a theft, but he quickly decided that it was just practice in such a hard city. The man has always been annoyed by his apparent 'need' to help people. He once commented "It's like my weird side has a preference. It seems to center around tourists or anyone walking anywhere. It's like the thing only appreciates travelers." Typically, he had never paid any attention to the lessons on Greek mythology they went over his freshmen year. Hermes often finds amusement in that, considering the signs are extremely obvious, if only he had anything to connect them to.

»the extra

LIKES:

• Cats
  
• Tacos
  
• Easy thefts
  
• The Matrix movies
  
• Bluetooth
  
• Dry heat
  
• Computers
  
• Sarcasm
  
• Having the last word
  
• The coast
  

DISLIKES:

• No cell service
  
• Humidity
  
• Dogs
  
• Football fanatics
  
• Chick flicks
  
• Getting caught (at anything)
  
• Authority
  
• His 'strange side'
  
• Being underestimated
  
• Always being compelled to help
  

OTHER INFO:

• Thomas is left handed
  
• He is pro at Guitar Hero
  
• He somehow stays in good shape, even though he's totally against extensive effort.
  
• He is sometimes concerned that he might become a bad influence to his nephew.
  

»the writer

NAME:

Sarah (Waggy)

AGE:

Fifteen

GENDER:

Femalez

RP EXPERIENCE:

Waggy's been roleplaying for about seven years; I started back on Neopets with my sister reading over my shoulder and telling me to fix things. Once I found Proboards sites and Neo started dying, I migrated to forums.

HOW YOU FOUND STS:

Becket had a board on Neo. 83 Referred me from there.

RP SAMPLE:

Well, this one was done...he could tell that much.
Thomas stood as still as he could, hands clasped behind his back. Apparently they didn't trust people who moved a whole lot, and eye contact was practically forbidden. This was his fifth lecture in the last month, and by the look on the other man's face, it was obvious that it was his last.
"Did you hear me, Mr. Valker?"
Raising his gaze slightly to look at the manger's left shoulder, he blinked. The nametag was always distracting. It was as if he polished it every hour, just so people could see the name perfectly clearly as it blinded them in passing. Samuel Netherton, what kind of name was that anway...? "Sir?"
"I said," Samuel repeated impatiently, one hand running over his face. "You seem to have a problem with authority, Mr. Valker. You're an excellent worker, but every single time someone gives you an order..." He trailed off, as if letting Thomas remember the instances on his own. Thomas scowled slightly, glaring at the ground.
"I don't especially like people telling me to fix something when it doesn't need fixing...sir." Just because he had thrown a pen at a guy, everyone needed to get all huffy about it...
"Thomas, you blatantly ignored five different errors in the report, you can't just..." Samuel sighed, glancing up at the ceiling as if asking for help. "Look, I'm afraid we don't have any other option--"
"I'm fired, right?" Thomas interjected, looking the manager in the eyes for the first time since the meeting began.
"I...well, I was planning on being a bit more sensitive than that, but yes. If it were a one-time thing, Mr. Valker, it wouldn't be such a big deal...but four times in one week?" Thomas simply nodded, giving half a shrug.
"Alright then. I'll get my last check and be out by noon." Samuel blinked as if shocked that the news was being taken so calmly. It was if he were use to this sort of thing. "Thank you for the job in the first place, Samuel. It must have been some record, lasting two months." The man shot his former boss a grin, one that had always made Samuel rather wary. It was the kind of look that made you want to keep a firm hand on your wallet, and he suddenly had a vague idea as to where his missing paper shredder had gone...Any words were lost, however, as Thomas turned on his heel and strode out the door with one last cheery wave. "I'll tell Camo you said hello. He always seemed to like getting hair on your suits."
Thomas gave a slight snort as he weaved his way through the cubicles. He had already cleared out his personal stuff; there was never much, as he never expected to last very long. The other employees watched him pass with undisguised curiosity until he turned to one woman, his face suddenly grave.
"I'd be careful," the man said in a rather carried whisper. "I don't think I'm the only one he had his eye on." It took effort not to laugh at her expression, and Thomas patted her on the back as if he were trying to give some comfort. "It's been a pleasure working with you." He strode off again, only stopping at the main office to have them write out his pay for the last three days. Camo would be glad to see him, at least. A dead bird probably waited for him at home, along with a nice bowl of Ramen noodles and the classified ads...

[Penelope]