Timothy Holmes

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Name: Timothy Holmes

Species: Human / Kanima

Born: 1896

Citizenship: United Kingdom

Sex: Male

Height: 5'9"

Hair colour: Dirty blond

Eye colour: Hazel brown

Occupation: Former soldier in the British Armed Forces

Status: Deserter / Missing in combat

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Timothy is a kind lad to a default, a trait certainly not inherited from either of his parents but rather from his nursemaid, a kind, sincere woman. He is also quick-witted and highly intelligent, showing his smarts in day-to-day life. Timothy even works well during stressful situations to solve a problem, though he would never admit to such. He has an inferiority complex hammered into his skull by his father. As a result, Timothy is timid, especially towards those the young man views above himself, either in social standings or stature, which is pretty much everyone. He’s not a coward, though. Timothy got in the thick like any other man when the bullets started flying during the war. He shows himself even at times to be heroic, braving immense danger for the sake of others. He is also rather pragmatic and quick to adapt to change.

While possessing some positive qualities, one could argue that he is also, at times, sly and dishonest. He might lie to get what he wants and twist the truth, so others do not look upon him disfavourably. And being an Edwardian Era man ‘awakened’ into the 21st Century, he possesses some outdated views on things such as women, race, etc. Nothing that a bit of education cannot fix, however.

Timothy was born in Elbridge, Surrey, and is the firstborn son of Robert Xavier Holmes, a recently wealthy businessman standing at the forefront of the industrial revolution by founding one of the first canning factories in London. His mother, named Amelia, was a former seamstress who, now that the family had finally found fortune was allowed a place more 'dignified for a woman', i.e. the home. As for siblings, Timothy had two older sisters growing up with him, Elizabeth and Gwyneth.

To say that Timothy's childhood was happy...well, that would be a lie, but to say that it was miserable, that would be exaggerating things by a fair bit. It was simply...complicated. It was well enough for the standards of the time.

His father, now a respected man in high society, was absent for a large portion of his early years. And whenever he was at home, he would preach to Timothy the importance of being a man. E.g., he was not allowed to be with his sister and play with dolls as he wanted and was instead encouraged and indeed forced to engage in activities 'fitting for a boy'. And because of his interests, Timothy was put down his entire childhood and forced to do things he found no enjoyment in. Despite this, there were times when he was happy, like when he painted alongside his mother or went against his father's wishes and played with dolls anyway, alongside his sisters.

Eventually, there came the time to put away the playthings and enter into his early teenage years, upon which he felt very different from the rest of his peers. Because while they were becoming entranced by the girls, talking and musing to each other about who they fancied, he remained utterly uninterested in the opposite sex. And he did not know what was wrong with him. He thought, though at first, that it was just a matter of time, that he simply had to grow a little bit more emotionally. And so, to not lose his group of friends, he feigned interest while waiting for that spark of lust to kick in. As time passed, however, around the time when he was 17, he did find an attraction, though to his shock...it was not towards the opposite gender. He was confused by these new, strange feelings as he looked at his mates in a different light. It wasn't instantly, of course, but eventually, he realised that he had found an interest in the same sex. He liked men, and he was terrified of that revelation. If his friends somehow found out or his family found out, they'd all turn on him and hate him, almost perhaps as much as he now hated himself for feeling this way.

They couldn't find out about his homosexuality. He'd find a way to cure himself, to cleanse himself of sin. This he promised to himself.

And because of this internalised hatred, he shed his own kind self for a more stern, more 'manly' persona. A pretty much 180 change in personality. But of course, he didn't 'grow out of it, and he didn't find a 'cure'. And eventually, the temptation to give in to his emotions became too strong, and he had sex with an older man, a complete stranger.

Later overcome with guilt over what was considered in the eyes of the public as 'sinful', Timothy sought the confidential ear and holy counsel of Father Murdoch, the church priest to which his family had always attended.

Timothy confided in him, and Father Murdoch listened, saying unto Timothy, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Timothy asked then if he should also be punished for what he had done.

"God have mercy on sinners. After all, he who is without sin may cast the first stone." Said back the preacher.

Timothy left, having found no sense of comfort in the house of God.

Sometime later, Timothy's father confronted him and revealed that he knew of his son's homosexuality, no doubt because Father Murdoch broke his vow of silence and revealed this. And to say that Robert was furious would be an understatement. Poor Timothy was not only verbally abused but beaten around the house, all while his mother looked on and did nothing. After all, a woman could do nothing, even if she had wanted to.

A month later, he was shipped off to fight in the Great War. He was supposed to have already been in it and would have had it not been for his father previously bribing the doctor to deem Timothy 'unfit for service' because of some made-up condition that would prevent him from combat. This was done to keep his one and only heir alive. But his father now had the doctor revoke his statement, a misdiagnosis, so Timothy could be shipped off to war to die. An excellent way to get rid of an unworthy heir and a degenerate sinful son.

The Kanima is a creature of vengeance that is not born out of the hard shell of an egg, nor birthed out of the warm comfort of a mother's womb. No, the Kanima is created in a number of different ways. It is, in some ways, an abomination.

It can be 'born' when magic meant to transform the body goes wrong, like the bite of a werewolf or even that of a vampire. Specific rituals and spells are also said to be able to cause this aberration.

But no matter the intended outcome, something goes terribly wrong, and the transformation is corrupted. This is because of the transformed persons' inherent feeling that they lack a personal identity.
As a result, the kanima doesn't know what or who it is. It is confused by its own reflection. The creature intentionally seeks out a Master, one to become enslaved by and form a bond with. It is a creature of vengeance, so it will naturally only come to accept a master who has revenge at heart.

Though there is one condition that the Master is obligated to follow, the Kanima is not to be ordered to claim the life of an innocent. If this rule is violated, the master will slowly transform into a Kanima, and the two creatures will part ways, each seeking a new master. Lastly, the Kanima cannot become what it was meant to be until it has regained its identity and resolved whatever issue that created it.

For the most part, the person who is a Kanima will appear normal. However, at certain particularly stressful times, or when the master so chooses, the person will start to transform into a monster, partially or fully. When a kanima is fully transformed, it becomes reptilian in appearance, with snake-like eyes, razor-sharp claws and teeth, and a dark-green scaley hide that acts like armour. Finally, it possesses a long and powerful prehensile tail which it uses for combat and balance. In this form, it can climb vertical walls similar to a lizard and is frighteningly strong. It can heal from injuries that would kill most living beings, such as an arrow to the skull. It can even regrow lost limbs within a matter of hours. A Kanima's claws also secrete a potent neurotoxic venom that renders their victims paralysed for an extended period of time. Often this is administered via a slash to the back of the neck, though it can also spread simply by being in direct contact with the venom itself.

The Master is the one controlling the creature.

The Master can telepathically communicate with the creature, and he or she can sense their servant from miles away and speak through the Kanima itself.

The supernatural bond between the master and servant grows stronger over time, influencing the kanima's behaviour. This means that the phobias, thoughts, and even the personality of the Master, will eventually be duplicated by the Kanima. A poor imitation, as the Kanima itself, is not capable of speech without the master speaking directly through it.

Notes of notice;

I have been writing for 10+ years. I may be picky about who I write with.

I suffer from bipolar disorder, which sometimes affects the quality of the replies or the time it takes for me to reply.

My main account is Dracula, and I welcome those characters who may not vibe with Timothy to try there.