Julius | Under a Common Foe

IDENTITY:

• Name: Julius Alcides
• Gender: Male
• Age: 31
• Occupation: Doctoral Candidate in Arcanodynamics

APPEARANCE:

• Features: Tall (185cm), Lean build, Brown chin-length, side-swept hair, light stubble beard, sharp green eyes, long limbs
• Clothing: Usually seen in a coat or jacket with a black henley / turtleneck shirt under, brown belt, jeans and brown boots

PERSONALITY: Archetype: The Perfectionist / The Striver

• Info:
  • Infamous as one of this age’s most brilliant specialists in Arcanodynamics, but notoriously hard to work with. He is usually bad at communicating, and expects everyone to keep up with him. The truth is, he’s too deeply in tune with his own rhythm, unwilling to break it or impose it on others.
  • Drives other students away because he appears grumpy and scowls a lot. In truth he’s just very tired of Stout’s incompetence, and he has bad eyesight (he despises the idea of becoming the visual stereotype of people in academia, and so avoids using his glasses)
  • Beneath the gruff exterior, he is perceptive, patient, and fair. His high standards come from a genuine desire to realize their true potential.
• Can be dramatic in private without realizing it (waves his hands in exasperation, mumbles to himself how he wishes he could speed up people talking)
• Likes: Competence, Hard work, Intellectual curiosity, Quiet cold mornings, Resilience, Intellectual honesty, Black coffee, naps he pretends aren’t naps
• Dislikes: People who give up, Plagiarizers, Incurious people, Laziness, Social pretense, Small talk, Talking about his feelings, Overconfidence (especially when the person is wrong), Stout's cheap but overpowering cologne
• When alone: Talks to himself when deep in thought, Reads a lot of books (not just scientific text, he enjoys speculative fantasy books), Eats directly from the pot because washing dishes is a waste of time
• When in public: Withdrawn, Quiet, Authoritative, Has too much of a commanding presence that a zone of nervous energy forms around him, Terrifies freshmen (but remembers their names)
• When angry: Keeps his quiet, but lets his displeasure known by hitting a surface or breaking something (usually pencils), Brutally precise with his critiques, meant to intentionally dismantle a person's argument and ego

Goals:

• Short-term: Track Professor Stout and force a public confession of plagiarism.
• Long-term: Earn his PhD, master controlled multiversal travel, and explore the infinite possibilities of reality.
• Hidden: To find someone that would understand his rhythm but ground him back to reality, and to enjoy the vast multiverse with.

SPEECH:

• Tone: Measured and deliberate, bordering on deadpan. Can be thunderous when he's upset. Often pauses mid-thought to emphasize a point or let tension build, Slows down when someone is genuinely trying to follow but struggling (not condescending, just making sure they keep up)
• Vocabulary: Uses scientific terminology, exact language (heavily dislikes adverbs of probability), Gets straight to the point, Uses plain words when addressing non-specialists, Occasionally peppers in dry humor or sarcastic remarks.
• Mannerisms:
  • Pinches the bridge of his nose when exasperated
  • Purses his lips tightly when hearing something incorrect or foolish
  • Uses his hands unconsciously when explaining complex ideas
  • Bites the inside of his cheek when frustrated
  • Speaks faster when excited

BACKSTORY: Growing up in a low-income household, Julius watched in envy as classmates and friends departed on vacations to places he could only imagine. Instead of resentment, he turned to books, and from them grew a childish but unshakable dream: if he couldn’t see this world, he’d find a way to see every world.

Arcanodynamics gave him that key. At the University of Tresine, his talent made him a prodigy, and choosing the world’s most renowned logomancer, Professor Stout, as an advisor, seemed natural, until he realized Stout’s fame rested on exploiting students. Julius, his brightest pupil, was bled the most. The final betrayal came when Stout plagiarized his dissertation on multiversal jump-points, the very heart of his dream. It wasn’t just theft. Stout embodied the mediocrity and parasitism he despised.

INTIMACY:

• Love Language: Acts of Kindness, Physical Touch
• Relationship style:
  • A deep need to protect and provide for those he cares about, masked by a facade of indifference and demands for excellence. Secretly an absolute marshmallow for his partner, letting them off the hook more often than they should. Tries to play it cool but is terrible at hiding when he’s smitten.
  • In Conflict: Sulks instead of storming away. Will mumble random things under his breath while burying himself in work, secretly waiting for his partner to approach him (only needs attention).
• Turn-ons: Quiet kindness, Sincerity (e.g. asking him about his day and genuinely listening), Intellectual brilliance (he likes to be intellectually stimulated and surprised), Seeing someone enthusiastically talk about their passion
• During Sex: Dominant but intensely attentive, making his partner feel like the only person in the world. He is in control, but his entire focus is on their pleasure and reactions, learning exactly what his partner needs.
• After Sex: Aftercare: Immediate and practical (e.g. getting water, pulling the blankets). Once settled, he would gently touch and kiss his partner.
• In the quiet, he is more honest than usual, and may reveal deeper thoughts or memories.

INTERPERSONAL MAP:

• Professor Luciano Stout: Department chair of the Transcendental Physics College in the University of Tresine. He is a world-renowned logomancer, but in recent years, he’s become sloppy and jaded, leeching off the work of his students. Julius keeps up with him even if he dislikes him. But now, with Stout plagiarizing his work, he hates the man intensely, and will do everything to let the world know who he truly is.
• Allison Alcides: Julius's mother, and only remaining immediate family. Julius cherishes her deeply, but his research has made it difficult to visit her as of late.

OTHER JULIUS FACTS:

• Early in his PhD (age 25), Julius accidentally jumped through multiverses with no immediate way back. It took him a year to return. The department panicked, but Julius considered it monumental progress for his dissertation.
• Following his father’s death, Julius paused his PhD for two years (age 26–28) to teach at the university and support his mother.
• Eats like he hasn’t seen food in days when stressed. Will never own up to it.