Fingers Smith

OOC Info
Username/Nickname: Keiju
How did you find out about StC? Some old flyer stapled to a telephone pole
Have you read our rules, and do you agree to abide by them? Yep

Character Info:
Canon/Original: Original
First Name(s): Fingers (He knows this to be his name, by virtue of hearing it constantly in reference to him by his mother.)
Surname: Smith (This is the surname given him by the Marine Society.)
Nicknames: None
Age: Eleven
Sex: Male
Place of Birth: Somewhere close to the Thames
Occupation: Ship's Boy, Third Class
Family: He barely remembers his parents. His only true family, as he sees it, are the other boys aboard ship.
Description: Fingers is naturally small and skinny, despite his penchant for eating nearly everything that isn't bolted down. On more than one occasion he has been caned for sneaking food from the wardroom tray before the steward takes it in to serve the officers. His size is something he uses to his fullest advantage in his constant efforts to sneak out of work. Quick-footed and nimble, the boy can move around the deck and rigging with nearly as much competence as a topman.

In the quarterbills, Fingers is listed as being under the supervision of the ship's gunner. Such employment is, by nature, dirty and the boy's general state readily reflects this. His clothes are stained liberally with powder, blacklead, and tallow, as are his hands, face, and feet. His wild curly mess of blond hair tends to attract sticky messes like tallow and there is a semi-permanent dusting of dry powder on his scalp, which makes his head constantly itchy. To bathe, however, is an utterly repulsive idea to him and he balks even at washing his heart-shaped face or his slim fingers.

Above all else, Fingers loves a good skylark. He will do almost anything to be part of one and thinks nothing of skiving out of work to join in a good bit of fun on deck. In the way of young boys, he considers life not enjoyable unless there is fun to be had. Everything is a game to him and serious thought is as foreign to his mind as is French.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
- Always game to help another boy out, especially in the name of a joke
- Works steadily if constantly monitored
- Usually able to keep secrets or confidences
- Sometimes speaks his mind too freely
- Known for avoiding work when he doesn't feel like working - which is often
- Has no sense of hygiene, even for a sailor

Background: Fingers' first clear memory is of the sight of the Thames. He grew up close to the river and lived under the strict care of a woman he nominally remembers as being called his mother. At some point during his youth, this woman vanished from his life. She was replaced by a leather-voiced man who took Fingers away from the dirty rooms that he knew as home.

The man took him to a large building where several other boys, similar to his own age, were waiting. Fingers soon found himself in possession of a canvas bag heavy with clothes and essentials, and was told he was soon to join a fine profession. He did not know then what this meant.

In the books of his first ship, a seventy-four, his age was given as ten, though this is probably an overestimate. By his own reckoning, Fingers was not quite yet nine when he went to sea for the first time. This is when he bothers to consider the matter, anyway.

He came to join Terpsichore when the frigate was in dock for repairs, after perhaps two years of service in his first ship. It is a setting he finds much more enjoyable, owing in no small part to the affable nature of the crew.

Anything Else: Nope!
Writing Sample/Past Roleplay: Pass
Code: Admin Edit

Accepted. Of course. :p