rextremendum

God, Gatling, and Glory [Steampunk/Imperialism NRP]

Chairman you monster, get that IC post done! I need my fix of high-production-value Communism!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I am really excited for Lalia - both Thomas and Lalia are ones who care about end total good, and both are analytical, though Lalia's seems on the surface to be less rationalistic and more extemporaneous, though that may be a misreading. However, I expect there to be a good contrast to her more romantic view of the world, and her dichotomy of light and darkness in Thomas' naturalistic views of an emergent view of the world, which holds no inherent value in particular actions. I cannot wait for a long teleological vs deontological debate between the two characters.

Pro-Bending (LoK) rp

I'd love to play! This sounds pretty cool, and I rather want to play an earthbender.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Thomas' interest in the tome quickly fades - a drab treatise on obtuse geometric proofs, far less significant than the author realized. He snaps the book shut and takes a cursory look around. The garden is significantly more populated than when he began reading, and a veritable hive of activity. He regards the imperial party, all white paint and shining steel, their Highnesses standing out as the gaudiest and best-groomed of the lot. They did look the part, Thomas had to admit, and framed by the flowers rather artistically, but as though gilding on a lily, far too ostentatious for his liking. He replaced his book in his sack with a greater degree of delicacy - Thomas was not nearly wealthy enough to have the pleasure of destroying possessions on a whim, especially those belonging to his academic superiors. He glanced furtively around, looking for distraction. Thomas was getting spoiled by the Academy, where new discoveries were surrounding him, asking to be searched for. Here, in the very heart of conservative nobility, he was unused to the lack of soot, scribbled-upon paper and obscure alchemical ingredients. He wished his Teacher were here, to hold forth on some anecdote of Hortier. He wished Myrna was here to crack jokes, or even Joachim for a protracted game of Barons. They were not, though, and so Thomas perfunctorily asked himself his second-favourite question. "What do you want, what do you have, and how can you use the latter to get the former". Thomas already knew his course of action, but such exercises were useful in instilling his Teacher's much-emphasized 'Optimization'. He wanted something to do. There was time to kill, and Thomas had never been a patient man. He had a poor book, a gaggle of the aristocracy, sundry flowers, and a selection of probably very interesting people to his left. Thomas considered out of academic formality observing the flowers, but beyond their scent and color they offered him very little: botany was Henry's field, not his. In any case, the dissection of a rose petal was not exactly proper in such a situation. Thomas therefore ended the banal formality and stood, making his way slowly towards his new travelling companions. His eyes landed on a young man colored a scandalous shade of scarlet, and decided to leave him to his surely scandalous thoughts. He also spotted a young girl stood apart from the crowd, perhaps too young to approached decorously, but Thomas was curious, and she seemed a nice enough sort. He remembered her passing him as he caught his breath on the way to the castle - what better time than now to fix that poor first impression. Thomas brushed himself off, straightened his necktie, and walked over to the lady, extending a hand once near enough. "Good afternoon, miss. My name is Thomas Milliner, might I make your acquaintance? I should like to get to know my new companions, you see."

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Unsure if my IC was long or good enough - I didn't really have a lot to work with, but if you think I should add some more I can do that.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Thomas has always made a point of being early to places: people appreciate an eager attendee, and it gives him some quality time to plan ahead. This rule applies doubly when dealing with the titled: rarely does a Lord accept anything less than punctuality, and Thomas only assumes that this is a trait shared by his Emperor. The gates were open when Thomas approached the fortress: he must not have been as early as he had hoped. He is dressed sensibly - a worn -in pair of boots, comfortable, unassuming clothes, and borrowed suit of chain for safety, worn under his light semi-formal shirt. Unable to afford a horse, and not in the best shape of his life, Thomas is sweating and slightly out of breath as he approaches the gates. He catches his breath, dropping his pack on the ground. Thomas silently bemoans the necessity of bringing such a weight, but science is too important to be stopped by his laziness. Hopefully he'll be given a horse. Hopefully. With his breath having been caught, he picks his pack back up and proceeds through the gate after presenting his credentials. Thomas is suitably impressed by the gardens - he always means to go visit the Academy greenhouses, but always manages to get distracted before going. Oblivious to the Emperor and Empress, he finds a place to sit and produces a small book, courtesy of the Academy printers, and begins to read absentmindedly.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I'm just sitting here re-reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. I have all my coursework done early, which is almost unheard of for me.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I'm really excited ladies and gents - this is going to be grand.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Sana, if you get this game started today you will be my hero - I have nothing to do today, and am just sitting here wasting time

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Name: Thomas Milliner Age: 22 Gender: Male Personality: Thomas is a rationalist, or at least he tries to be. Instilled in him at a young age, he attempts to make decisions through utilitarian ethics, informed by his constantly-improving understanding of the world. An optimist at heart, Thomas always attempts to make the most of a bad situation, and has a great deal of faith in humanity to achieve great things and scrape the heavens by their own ingenuity. An affable, if occasionally awkward man, he tries to be as friendly as possible to others, and looks to do all in him power to improve he lives of others. Despite this, Thomas is clearly not one to trust others easily, and hates to burden others with problems facing only him. Thomas is obviously more comfortable in the company of books than in the company of people, and has a sharp distaste for the dogmatic or simple-minded members of society. Creativity, awareness and self-improvement are Thomas’ driving principles, dreaming of improving all of humanity through the greatest power of all: knowledge. A frequent criticism leveled at Thomas is “manipulative”, and it is not unwarranted. Thomas attempts to optimize the world, and though the personality above is his true self, he is more than willing to put on a persona to improve his life or the lives of others. Thomas also tends to over-estimate the value of himself in his mental calculations, and though consciously trying to remedy this overestimation, he occasionally rationalizes his own selfish desires through improper estimations of utilitarian value. Role: Adjunct-Professor of Meta-Magical Research at the Imperial Academy of Caradia, Thomas is knowledgeable in Natural Philosophy of all stripes, most focused on physics, medicine and the science of magic. His powers over magical phenomenon is limited, using what little power he has as accurately as he can for any challenges he cannot overcome by him intellect. Thomas is not ignorant of the less-reputable skills of thievery and lawlessness, and uses them as him morality dictates, usually in the pursuit of additional books, his personal addiction. Thomas is not a combatant, and his initial reaction to danger is to flee, but when such courses of action are impossible he meets danger with him limited, though highly accurate powers of tele- and pyro- kinesis [Thomas always wanted to throw fire like in the books, but never had the power for it. He contents himself with being able to make things rather hot, or rather cold, and move them around a fair bit] History: Thomas was born to loving parents in the town of [WIP]. Him father was an engineer under the employ of the ruling lord, and him mother tended to a flower garden and sold carnations on the street in front of him house. An adventurous youth, Thomas had difficulty stopping himself from trying to learn. He read all him father’s books until he understood them [a project years in the making, despite Thomas’ predisposition to mathematics]. Punctuating this arduous task, Thomas would frequently find himself in trouble exploring places he should not be, and accessing things he should not be accessing. Thomas is no prodigy in the realm of physical activity, but he learned how to not be seen, how to look out for danger, and more importantly the finer points of picking locks and palming purses from him seedier acquaintances in [WIP]. After being schooled by his father for the first decade of his life, he applied to and was accepted into the Imperial Academy. He managed to earn a small scholarship, but is still thankful to his parents for accepting the daunting costs for him to attend. Spurred on by him parents’ sacrifice and him natural disposition to learning, he threw himself into study with reckless abandon. Magic caught his eye, but with minimal talent for it, he did his best to equip himself with the arcane before moving onto the esoteric fields of study. Physics and Medicine caught his attention next, as well as a continued academic study of the causes and specifications of magical phenomenon. For almost a decade and a half Thomas learned from the college, earning a wage as a scholar and assistant teacher within a few years to offset the costs put upon him family. He is not particularly respected, still being young in the realm of academia and only having reached the rank of Adjunct-Professor. He dreams of making big contributions, and being immortalized either physically through magical research, or figuratively in a grand statue, one of the many portraying great minds that dot the Academy.