Charlie Ewing
née Charlton Lawrence Almond II
née Charlton Lawrence Almond II
Race: Galdori
Birthday: Roalis 14, 2697
Age: 22
FC: Player Art
Birthday: Roalis 14, 2697
Age: 22
FC: Player Art
Place of Origin: Vienda
Current Location: Old Rose Harbor
Occupation: Mechanic and Ne’er-Do-Well
Player Name: Cap O’Rushes
Current Location: Old Rose Harbor
Occupation: Mechanic and Ne’er-Do-Well
Player Name: Cap O’Rushes
Physical Description
Charlie is not a tall man, not even by Anaxi galdori standards--he stands at just 5’3”, his build firmly on the delicate side. So, too, is his face--all pretty, sharp cheekbones, refined features and thin mouth usually hooked in a derisive smile. Charlie’s skin has never once seen a freckle or blemish, not even in the two years he’s spent in the Harbor. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and probably also jealous. His hair is dark, getting a little bit long and charmingly unruly, and his eyes are bright, clear blue. His teeth are just a little bit crooked, which he would argue just adds to his charm.
Ask him about his tattoo--he will gladly tell you all about it.
Personality
Charlie is, to put it bluntly, a mess. He’s a bundle of cutting remarks and smiles that turn more to sneers. He can be very charming if he wants to, especially with a drink or two in him, although he tends to rely heavily on his face to do the charming for him. He’s vain, arrogant, stubborn and very few who saw him now would think that he had once been heir to a family like the Almonds. He is fast and easy with his affections, not refusing anyone but not holding on to anyone either. He drinks too much, smokes too much, and can’t hold on to his money.
And still somewhere far, far underneath all of that is a brittle, lonely young man who loves his sister and his pet bird and his machines. Somewhere. If you look really, really hard. It's just that if nobody thinks he's worth much, why not just live down to their worst expectations? At least it might be a little fun.
As for his opinions on the so-called lower races, Charlie has no specific problem with any of them. He is dubious, even, of the general Anaxi view that passives are eternal children--this may be in part because he himself has the magical aptitude of a potato and has reached adulthood just fine, thanks. He still comforts himself with what he thinks is his innate galdori superiority and is far from a sympathizer.
Backstory
Charlie spent most of his childhood with his sister Laureline in the care of a human nanny. Their parents, while not unkind, were too busy with their very important grown-up lives to have much time for children. In their youth, Charlie and Laur were very close. The nanny eventually gave them books to read on their own, rather than face their constant ridicule. This is when Charlie became exposed to mechanics-- steamboats, aeroships, factory machines. They were very "boyish" topics, appropriate for his age.
Charlie left for Brunnhold two years before his sister Laur. He managed to squeak by with a very low initiation exam score, just high enough to not be considered passive but low enough to be, well, pathetic. After his sister entered Brunnhold, they regained their former closeness... for about a year. After a year, however, Charlie began to drift away under the excuse of not wanting to be seen associating with his "baby sister". They never did become close again as they were when they were small.
Charlie’s lack of magical aptitude proved persistent, much to his parents’ eternal disappointment. Neither, really, did Charlie prove to be particularly strong in most of his secular studies if they had no mechanical application. In fact, as time went on, Charlie’s school performance only worsened, as he spent far more of his time drinking and trying to impress his peers than he did studying. It wasn’t for lack of trying--his parents spend an inordinate sum of money on tutors, each one in turn throwing their hands up in defeat. As it became clear that no improvement in behavior or grades was forthcoming, Cerise and Edgar consoled themselves with the thought that Laureline was proving herself to be as clever as Charlie was foolish.
All of this would probably have been of little remark--Charlton Almond was hardly the first idiot son to be born to a wealthy house--if it weren’t for the matter of the scandal. Nothing was ever proven, of course, and what could be was quietly smoothed over with the kind of peace and quiet only money could buy. But Charlie never quite recovered, nor did his reputation. Where before he had been a good-natured sort of brat, the last year of his schooling saw him determined to live down to everyone’s worst expectations. He managed to graduate, if only barely, and promptly moved to Old Rose Harbor.
After moving to the Rose, he also changed his name in a futile effort to pretend he was something he wasn’t--Charlie Ewing, self-made man. He rented himself a flat far below the standards to which he had grown accustomed, and comforted himself that it was only temporary. One day he would be his own man, Charlie Ewing, and would never have to think about Charlton Almond ever again. He just needs to find the right job, or have one of the things he tinkers with actually, well, function. So far, this hasn’t quite worked out for him, as any work he can find he drinks away.
Aptitude Skills
Mental
Average
Average
Physical
Average
Average
Social
Good
Good
Focus Skills
Career and Income
Housing and Inventory
Goals
Short-Term:
- Make a more steady income
- Pretend his past doesn’t exist
- Be left alone to his own devices with his machines and his bird, Tippy
- Dazzle the world with his genius that must be in there, somewhere
