So far Ive been jabbed by one person, I’ll get to the rest of you to see if I think young Toby has bashed his head against any of you before. Just want to reread everything a third time before I start rambling ideas.
Platinum hair that dulls to silver in moonlight is meticulously styled atop a head that rises to a height of 5’3”. The frame that such a head belongs to is one of wire and lithe muscle; skinny and lightweight for his size, but physically active and just on the appropriate side of healthy. His skin is sensitive to the sun, and thusly he burns easily without protection- a true curse to someone who enjoys camping and hiking the Applachias. His face and eyes are expressive; the phrase ‘windows to the soul’ is particularly true with him, and despite his best efforts he often wears his heart on his sleeve. His eyes are a stunning crystal blue.
Of particular note is that the concept of modern fashion has utterly abandoned Toby on the side of the road; the most casual he seems to go is semi-formal attire, unless for the express purpose of physical labor or outdoor recreation. Formal vests, collared shirts, ties, dress pants, ballroom shoes, and the like are his standard go-to apparel and it is obvious he takes great care in manicure and appearance.
Personality Tobias is an introspective individual, to a fault. He spends most of his time locked up in his own head trying to think about two or four things at once, and when he is focused on a single task he will spend far too much time overthinking all but the simplest of tasks. He is clever and smart, but it comes with the burden of self-doubt and double-think to try and produce the best outcome possible. He is a people pleaser, and a Nice Guy, in that he derives his own sense of self worth from the validation of others. He is genuinely a kind person, but he forces it sometimes in moments where he truly should establish some kind of boundary for himself. Giving to a dangerous degree when it comes to his time and energy. Additionally, he is under immense pressure to perform and is very self critical of his own perceived failures and shortcomings.
But despite these worming doubts and flaws, he is a sociable and extroverted individual who, without the social relationships he will eventually burn himself out to maintain, would go insane locked up in his dorm room trying to write.
Background The once wide-spread and diverse Malkinson clan has dwindled and withered over the last two centuries. A family name that once spread two continents did not survive the triple catastrophe of three major wars. The first schism of the Malkinson clan was a three-way split during the United States Civil War; the 'True' Malkinsons kept the name in the North, whereas their southron counterparts adopted a new name in the Kinsingtons and the European branch distanced itself from their warring kin and broke contact in full. After the family's disastrous separation in the civil war, the Malkinsons further faced decimation through the two successive world wars where it is presumed that the European branch was eradicated in its entirety during the Holocaust.
A singular adult remained in the continental united states at the end of the second world war who claimed the name Malkinson in true lineage. A woman of remarkable stubbornness and world-sense by the name of Lorelei, who despite the setback of losing father, two uncles, and husband in the succession of wars did not balk at the task of raising her two children alone.
The daughter showed talent as a Witch, which Lorelei encouraged and supported heartily. Tobias' Aunt Naomi's education was informal at first, apprenticed to a small-town witch in Maryland. She soon eclipsed his teachings and was enrolled into Sanctuary Hills University due to Lorelei's preference for its historic prestige and purpose. Naomi Malkinson graduated summa cum laude for her class, a Doctorate of Medicine under her belt and a minor in the Magical Arts. Her Thesis paper was titled On the theory of repairing internal scar tissue resulting from the inhalation of superheated smoke through the use of modern medicine alongside Grimmwalden's Spectro-Occulosis to pinpoint critical areas of treatment.
The son, however, took a different path. His upbringing was harder, the loss of father and uncles taking an immense toll on the young boy. The young Amos Malkinson grew bitter, angry, and battled against his mother's guiding hand at every turn. The successes of his sister and her perceived status as 'favorite' filled him with envy, and the unresolved grief he carried hardened into the pure stuff of hatred. Amos ran away from home as a teenaged boy, and Lorelei considered him disowned. The specifics of what happened to Amos are a mystery, but after nearly a decade of absence he returned in the early 1970's a different man. He was somber, quiet, introspective to a fault, a coward who flinched at every provocation, and who seemed to fear liquor with a fervor that bred gossip.
He did not return alone. Tobias Malkinson, aged four at the time, as well as his infant sister Aviva were introduced to the matronly figure of Lorelei Malkinson. Thusly, they were immediately loved and brought into the fold. Raised more by his grandmother than his own father, who was relegated to the job of Groundskeeper on the Malkinson Estate and rarely took active role in either of his children's lives, Tobias was brought up by a firm hand that had become whimsical with age rather than cruel. Lorelei doted upon the infant Aviva with rekindled motherly care, and guided Tobias firmly down a different course than his father.
The library of the Malkinson estate became Tobias' true home, and Lorelei spent much time with him discussing and carefully curating his interest in literature. By the time of his formal highschool education, Tobias excelled beyond his peers and earned recognition and scholarship for his displayed knack for the Classical Studies. Holding his aunt Naomi to be a role model, he turned his attention towards Sanctuary Hills to follow in her footsteps. However, two things happened in the years leading up to this decision that irrevocably altered Tobias' path in life.
The first is that his sister had an accident in her freshman year Introductions to Magical Theory class. Her burns were severe. Naomi Malkinson flew back to oversee Aviva's treatment and surgery herself. Aviva will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair, the cause of the issue appearing to be neurological rather than physiological, and her body still carries heavy burn scarring despite multiple magical treatments.
The second is that his father started drinking again. The accident caused Amos to stay out later and later, and soon Tobias discovered the figure of his father slumped over unconscious on the garden paths of the Malkinson Manor. When he roused the man, Amos began speaking in a weeping voice with bloodshot eyes to Toby. His slurred, whispered, speech revealed to Tobias the long-buried truth about what had happened to the mother he never knew.
Tobias promised not to pursue an advanced education in magic, and promised not to tell Aviva what had been revealed.
And so it was that when Tobias Malkinson arrived for his first year's enrollment at Sanctuary Hills, he began the path of Liberal Arts, majoring in Philosophy and Classical Literature whilst pursuing a minor in Creative Writing. Such an educational path is a slow moving one, intense in its workload, but Tobias has maintained it well. More importantly, he has fallen utterly in love with the Appalachian mountains and the cozy, small-time, feeling of the Sanctuary Hills area. When not frantically scrambling about the campus, frantically writing and sleeping in Dormitory One, or frantically trying to maintain his social life, Tobias can be found either volunteering at the Mary Parker Memorial Library or working part time in Sanctuary Hills at Phil's Coffeehouse.
Magic Specialty N/A
Val - Toby finds in Val a foil and friend. Val's laid back and care-free demeanor are something Toby is privately jealous of, but enjoys immensely and finds relaxing to be around. The bluntness and open honesty of his demeanor are a shock to the well-mannered and studiously raised Toby. Val is someone who is usually able to get Toby out of his shell in more relaxed atmospheres, but as with anyone Toby reserves a certain amount of social armor to hide his own insecurities and project his selfless demeanor. Whenever he hears of Val scoring gigs and making recordings, he seems to grow even more impassioned for his own long-delayed project.
Georgia Patricia Keen V - Toby met Georgia when he first came to Sanctuary Hills. The 1946 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith that Grandmother Lorelei had given him as a highschool graduation gift had broken down— over fourty years sitting in a garage with no maintenance will do that to a luxury car. Thankfully Toby arrived in town safe and well, and the two met after he had to have the vehicle towed. He seems keenly aware that her soul isn't truly in her work; he has made it his goal to always try to pick her mind for her own cleverness whenever he's got a philosophical conundrum or wants an outside opinion on practical things. This means that he writes her letters (like the anachronistic madman he is) or pops in to say hello frequently even without car issues.
Rose Blossomdew - Toby has likely run into Rose while volunteering at the library. She would find that his voracious appetite for all literature extends into her own area of interests— but that he, strangely, refuses to practice the magic himself or admit that he has a fascination with magic at all. He would, conversely, absolutely encourage and try to get her talking about her own interests on the subject, and any discussions he engaged with her on this front would have been fronted as 'for the sake of my writing'. At first blush, I don't have anything more in mind than 'they've met in passing, and he chats with her at the library'.
Aoife Fitzgerald - Toby, being a liberal arts student, likely has had little professional reason to seek out or engage Aoife. Her reputation on campus is known to him, of course, and any interactions they have had would have been either in passing or in relation to their mutual creative writing interests. If they have any further relationship at all, it likely hinges on this aspect; Upon hearing about her (official) published works, he would have voraciously hunted them down and questioned her on her methodology and literary style, as well as ventured to ask for help in things like developing his pitch and cover letter. Perhaps, somewhere in the rabbit-hole of Message Boards and BBS fanfiction zones, they've interacted without even being aware that it's the other? If so, then she may even know of the fantastical occult writings of the Mystical_Malkontent.
Samantha "Sam" Igorina Semenova - Sam was probably the second person he met when arriving at Sanctuary Hills. He would have needed furniture. However, I do not believe they would have interacted intimately or frequently unless they crossed paths in the town itself while he was working at the coffeeshop or awaiting repairs on his car. A possible angle would be his fascination with her magic; if she was willing to talk about, experiment, or otherwise just show it off he would have gladly observed and spent time with her on that subject.
Aviva Malkinson, aged 17-going-on-18 - Tobias religiously maintains a relationship with his younger sister. They choose to write letters to one another rather than using any other means of communication out of a mutual fascination with the written word. He replies to her letters immediately, and awaits her next ones with immense eagerness and excitement.
Philomena Hios - Tobias works part time for her, helping out around the coffeehouse for pocket money— And, more importantly, vital and necessary constant access to potent caffeinated concoctions. Toby is certain that without Phil and her coffeehouse, he would have died in his first year at the university.
Lea Arnaud, Magical Arts major (Specializing in practical evocative arts) - Toby's ex-girlfriend and he maintain a cool distance. From Toby's side, he desperately hopes his wild and frantic desire to avoid her at all costs isn't as obvious as he feels it is. He met the young Magician-To-Be in a philosophy lecture, and they hit it off initially. However, over time, his inability to establish boundaries permitted her to take advantage of him and the relationship developed a deep toxicity until the prodigal witch broke it off with him after an argument about magic finally pushed them both over the edge. It's been a year, but Toby is still awkward around her, and honestly isn't over her yet. The only positive from the relationship was that whilst burning the candle at both ends to try and keep the demanding woman satisfied, his muse was hyperactive and the misery of the relationship stirred his writing to the most progress it had ever experienced. Objectively, they were bad for each other- but don't tell them that, they both need some growing up.
Magical Faculty of SHU - Following in the footsteps of his prodigious aunt in enrollment at the university, but electing not to pursue a magical study has him under pressure from some of the faculty of the school who think he would excel under such programs and believe they have his best interests at heart.
hey that's an awesome idea, I'll be sure to drop some info about the now-named Tobias Malkinson soon so we can get collaborations going. I got swept up this week in local warhammer events at the game store, shame on me.
Ah, 1994. Message boards, BBS—Oh, god, BBS—, intra-nets, so few websites one could shake a stick at them with enough time and energy, dial-up, fax machines, dot-matrix printers, cassette tapes, boomboxes, VCR players and VHS tapes, the advent of the DVD, phone lines disconnecting internet service providers, AOL, Yahoo, no Google, Amazon being founded. What a time to be alive.
One could only send email if they shared a provider or mutually paid for a third party program. What a time.
Edit: as for the subject of this aspiring novelist, jokes aside, you can’t have early 90’s/late 80’s influenced fantasy writing without leather boots on the cover. I already have my muse working overtime.
The energy of the room is mildly infectious, my muse is stirring on some such nonsense of character conceptualization. I’ll flip some coins and drop some ideas in the next day or so, once I have a chance to sit down outside work and catch up on other guild obligations first.
Alycia is fairly docile, but personally charmed by Rulania and Ralek. So feel free to embellish your post with her as well @Taka. Of the NPCs so far, only Weasel seems particularly annoyed with the circumstances.
my mindset on that stuff is 'because it's not easy to do' and 'there's potentially very bad drawbacks for doing it wrong or badly'. Part of a setting idea like this is to just accept the premise and suspend the disbelief and allow it to exist for its own sake, methinks.
Guardian Angel Haruki,
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kalanggam,
Lurking Krog,
rush99999,
Sister Sable,
Lunamaria Hawke,
Alisdragon911,
Hibachi90,
DraconicDespair
