Mr Book
From Changeling Venue
| Seeming | Elemental Manikin |
|---|---|
| Court | No Court |
| Freehold | Oakhurst Gardens |
| Player | Ben Snyder |
Contents |
Overview
Real Name: William Readman (Alias)
Titles: The Notary Knight, Jack of Words
Apparent Age: Late 20s
Location: Muncie, Indiana
Freehold: Oakhurst Gardens
Seeming: Elemental
Kith: Manikin
Court: No Court
Entitlement: College of Worms
Concept: The Third Party, A Man of His Word
Mask: William looks like a rather unassuming young man, perhaps the guy sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, the college kid behind the university library counter, or the man on the street waiting for the bus. His clothing is generally casual conservative: khakis and button-downs, though everything seems a bit ruffled or slept-in. His hair is a bit disheveled and his glasses are often sliding down his nose or hanging at an odd angle. He always has a book in his hands.
Mein: Mr. Book lives up to his moniker as one would expect. The smell of new books precedes him and the smell of old books follows. His most notable feature is the fine, pale writing that seems to lie just beneath his pale skin. Those few individuals to whom he would offer a handshake would notice the dry, crisp feel of fresh, new parchment. Lines of verse seem to run along his arms, hands and face, often appearing to writhe like plucked musical strings or blades of grass blowing in the wind. Likewise, his clothing looks aged like old paper, lines of poetry and prose running the length of the cloth, often adding themselves from the words of people speaking nearby. When he walks, paper seems to be kicked up and blown into the wind at his passing. His dressy-casual look turns more formal when viewed by the fae, giving him the look of something between a modern professor or a Victorian librarian. A pair of spectacles have been placed carefully upon his nose, the glass between the frames horribly cracked.
Relevant Mechanics: Mr. Book receives a +1 bonus to all Social rolls when dealing with members of the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter courts.
Character Livejournal: La Salle Blanche
Radio Free Fae Program: Lost in Translation
Known Information
(The following is information that Mr. Book has shared with other Changelings over the years and is fairly well-known.)
Basic Timeline:
1960 - Born
1975 - Taken
1995 - Returned
1996 - Formally joins Oakhurst Freehold
2001 - Helps a young Changeling named Speedy G get back on her feet.
Current Activities: Mr. Book spends his days working to protect and support the freehold of Muncie, Indiana; Oakhurst Gardens. He is well known and respected as an impartial and practical negotiator between the courts, but many have noted that he tends to favor the dealings of his own freehold, which is to be expected. He serves as an unofficial ambassador of Oakhurst Gardens to the other freeholds in the area, mostly because he is one of the few Muncie Changelings that chooses to venture far from home. Mr. Book is also revered for his skill as an oneiropomp, specifically his ability in dreamweaving. He is one of the oldest fae inhabitants of Muncie, despite the fact that he has only been in the city for a little over a decade. He keeps meticulous records of the history of Muncie and its inhabitants, including pledges and promises made and broken. No one knows more about the city of Muncie and the area known as Oakhurst.
Mr. Book has also earned a modicum of fame as a member of the College of Worms, a free-lance Jack of the Changeling Air Rapid Delivery Service, and the host of the Radio Free Fae program Lost in Translation. Though his membership in these organizations is well-known, his exact activities within each one are generally known only by the other members of each organization.
Merit Details: Mr. Book owns a small store called Odds and Ends not far from Oakhurst Gardens. He specializes in hard-to-find items such as books, antiques and other oddities. Mr. Book also works independently for several public and university libraries in the area, finding and acquiring rare books and other items.
Background: Mr. Book has little knowledge of his life before his abduction and only remembers bits and pieces of his durance in Arcadia. All he remembers of his childhood are some happy memories, flashes of scents and sensations, and his name, Will. He remembers a library that towered to the clouds, springing up from the Hedge, its stacks and corridors shadowed, cold and musty. He never knew his keeper's name; mostly because his keeper never mentioned it and the young Will was never allowed to speak. Mr. Book usually refers to his keeper (when he mentions him at all) simply as The Librarian. Will's role in the library was to act as a sort of index. The Librarian would use him as a living book, flaying back his skin every night in a torturous procedure that allowed The Librarian to write out whatever madness was required to keep tabs on the chaos of the library. Whenever The Librarian needed a particular book or needed to look something up on his "index" he would scream, "Book!" That became Will's name for the years he remained in Arcadia. Mr. Book remembers the events of his escape vaguely, at best. He recalls the smell of hot coffee and the warmth of a fire. He followed the warmth and the smell down a long corridor where the most ancient books were kept. After that, he simply remembers standing in the rain, peering through a coffee shop window in downtown Muncie. He has been in the Muncie area much longer than many of the other Changelings, returning from the Hedge when he was still rather young. He was able to stay out of the system by marginalizing himself from society as much as possible. Mr. Book has helped to keep Oakhurst a stronghold against the Gentry since his return using the skills he learned during his durance and his time in Oakhurst.
Associations
Oakhurst Gardens
College of Worms
Changeling Air Rapid Delivery Service
Radio Free Fae
Lost in Translation
Associates
Briar Rose
Chef Bruce Kingsley
Christopher Winters
Clara
Duncan Rime
Ellora Phyfe
Francis Hudson
Hedwidge
Kincaid
Metalfinger
Ruby Kirkbride
Simon Grey
Sliver
Speedy G
Zahn
Character Inspirations
Mr. Book - Dark City (Namesake)
Agent Paper - Read or Die (Abilities)
The Marquis de Sade - Quills (Costume)
Soundtrack
Whose eyes am I behind?
I don’t recognize anything that I see.
Whose skin is this design?
I don’t want this to be the way that you see me.
Train - Ordinary
What kind of world do you want?
Think anything,
Let's start at the start,
Build a masterpiece.
Be careful what you wish for.
History starts now...
Five for Fighting - World
Während sich andere plagen und nichts passiert,
sind wir zur rechten Zeit am rechten Ort
und alles ist arrangiert.
Ich bin dankbar dafür,
weil ich jeden Tag mit meinen Brüdern und Schwestern
das echte Leben spür.
Xavier Naidoo - Was wir alleine nicht schaffen
Quotes
"Just sign here. Initial here, here...and here..." - Mr. Book finishing a deal
"He's a good ear when you need one. And whaddya know? he has two." - Speedy G
Rumors
- Mr. Book has a regular business relationship with Francis Hudson
- He keeps his best kept secrets in the pages of his left hand.
- Mr. Book has a fetch that smells like rotting meat and lures changelings into the hedge.
- Mr. Book must be the soft back version because he has no spine.
