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britishsteelOOC Information
IC Information
Name: Jess
Timezone: GMT-5 (ET)
Journal: n/a
Player Contact: thebelligerent (skype/plurk)
Timezone: GMT-5 (ET)
Journal: n/a
Player Contact: thebelligerent (skype/plurk)
IC Information
Name: Arthur Kirkland
Canon: Hetalia
Gender: Male
Age: Centuries old, appears mid-twenties.
History:
canon stuff.
actual stuff.
Personality: Above all, Arthur Kirkland would like for you to believe that he’s a gentleman. For some people, this may be easy enough to accept. He does have the capability to be charming (the accent doesn’t hurt, neither do his reasonably good looks). He is quite well-spoken and can make conversation on a wide variety of topics with grace and ease, possessing both the gift of gab and the listening skills to make his conversation partner feel engaged and important. He can also certainly go through the motions of being polite, meticulous about order and formality.
When it suits him.
When it doesn’t suit him, which is usually when he is dealing with people who have already either seen through his bullshit or have witnessed him “otherwise,” it’s a bit more obvious that he is much more accurately described as a cad. Outwardly, when he is not putting on airs to impress someone, he can come across as rather brusque or even disinterested. Possibly even “cranky.” There is certainly an underlying bitter cynicism there, felt even by those who would have no idea as to its origin.
For the most part, Arthur is a classic, textbook example of the INTJ personality type: ambitious, intelligent, logical, a natural leader. He is someone who can very easily see the metaphorical "big picture" and knows exactly how to use the tools, resources, and people at his disposal to get it to take shape, relying on his own cunning, judgment, and intuition when the path forward is not so clear. If this means occasionally ignoring the feelings of others because such things get in the way of his goals, well, that's a necessary evil...and over the centuries, Arthur has accumulated a list of necessary evils to rival any other nation's. He has just managed to mask this ruthless past with a genteel facade better than some of the other nations, somehow looking much more squeaky clean than those who have not quite yet learned the value of keeping up appearances or a good PR campaign. After all, everybody loves a good comeback story, how the blue collar punk rose up above his past indiscretions and bad behaviors to become the people's diplomat, a role model for the John Bull Everyman. It's a story he likes to ascribe to himself, because it's one that neatly glosses over everyone he's had to step on as he has climbed his way up the ladder, as well as justifies his rank as perhaps-not-quite-the-major-power, by implying that it's only because he's politely stepped aside and allowed someone a little more reckless to lead the charge.
It's a story he almost believes, one he has to at least partially believe to be able to live with himself and to be able to sleep at night.
His ambitions through the centuries have left him with strained relationships worldwide, and many of his past conquests, colonies, and rivals are still bitter about his willingness to use them for his own gain, even if their roles in the modern world position them as allies. He denies any wrongdoing in these situations, maintaining that any action he has taken in the past was solely for their benefit, and (particularly in the case of Alfred) that they would not be nearly what they are now were it not for his own intervention and direction.
Perhaps Arthur’s most complicated relationship is his toxic on-again off-again love affair with alcohol. In his best moments, he is a high-functioning alcoholic…in his worst, a sloppy drunk with a very low tolerance. For the Englishman, alcohol serves as a social lubricant, coping mechanism, and sleep aid…and yet somehow it doesn’t really assist him that well with any of these. He seems to rely more heavily on the bottle in periods of great stress, such as during wars, the period of time around July 4th, and also during the World Cup, but it’s gotten especially bad of late. Generally he will drink to the point of blacking out and often cannot remember the things he's done or said while intoxicated.
Although he excels at dealing with the concept OF people, he is not particularly great at dealing WITH people, oftentimes particularly dense about the emotions and thoughts of others, especially when they pertain to him. This is somewhat of a defense mechanism, as it keeps people at a distance and allows him to justify this.
Left to his own devices, he enjoys creative hobbies such as writing and music and is possibly a lot more interesting than his stodgy exterior would suggest.
Powers/Abilities: Arthur can see things other people can't, occasionally. Maybe this is really him hallucinating, but maybe not. He also has some ability to use black magic, although it doesn't always work the way he expects it to. He also has the ability to summon creatures, especially evil ones. This absolutely does not always work the way he expects it to.
Keepsakes/Mementos: A battered leather jacket with studs, spikes, and various other hardware that survived both the punk movement and the new wave of British heavy metal. Tea. Rum. Unicorns (and lions, but mostly unicorns...). Record collection (...yes, actual records) of British music that spans from the Beatles to Oasis...then CDs of everything that came after.
Sample:This had happened time and time again, through the centuries.
That’s why it never seemed to surprise Arthur Kirkland when it happened yet again.
And that’s why it hadn’t seemed to surprise him when it happened this particular fucking time.
So somebody had gone off and done something the UN didn’t like. Maybe somebody had some weapons somebody else didn’t want them to have. So there had been some posturing, some aggression. Some trade cut off. Bombs. Troops mobilizing. Things like that always happened when it came to wars, so it hadn’t seemed like that big of a deal, really… Just one more instance of history repeating itself, one more case of people being people again and doing the same things they’d always done. Except…
-----------------------
A shitty knockoff flatscreen was the only consistent light source in the otherwise dark atmosphere of the pub. It was being run off a gas generator since the power had gone out, but who knew how much gas was left in the damned thing or if they would be able to get any more once it ran out. The number of clientele that frequented this particular pub had increased quite a bit tonight, doors barred and windows boarded to keep patrons safe from the rioting outside whenever the lights went out.
They’d been going out almost nightly for the last few weeks.
Usually the television here would be showing the latest football match, but since the riots had started, and really, since the latest war had begun, it was fixed on the news.
Everyone wanted to know how long it would be.
Even though wars had been going on for longer than even Arthur had been alive as a nation, something about this one was different. Or maybe war was the same as always, it was just the people that were different. Whatever had united them in the past against a common foe, whatever had drawn them together to stand as one…
It just wasn’t there anymore.
There had been political unrest. The government stood divided. Rebel terrorist groups had sprung up, threatening to stop the United Kingdom’s involvement in the war, to save its people. Things had been escalating…
An anchorwoman was on the screen now, closed captioning flashing across the bottom of the screen. They didn’t need it, really, since everybody in the pub had gone silent as stones, listening to her words in shock.
…have infiltrated the palace…”
Arthur stood up suddenly, knocking over his chair. He wasn’t sure what he could do, but sitting here drinking like an old man wasn’t the right thing.
He pushed his way to the door, threw off the barricade and stepped out into the darkened street. He didn’t see the first man step out from the alley. He didn’t see the second one or the third one, either, especially after the crowbar had crushed his skull and his body drenched in gasoline and set on fire. He might have appreciated the symbolism or irony of this, if it hadn't killed him.
Wars had happened time and time again, through the centuries. Except this time it had been different. Somehow, it had been different. And Arthur, who was never surprised by any of this, was somehow completely blindsided.
Mindset: Arthur is mostly in denial about his death. Mostly. As a nation that had been an empire for centuries and then a major power in the modern world, and for somebody who spent the better part of it all convinced that he was invincible, it is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow that after all this time, he could die. Death is just NOT for him. That's for other people. However, in darker moments, his cynicism can get the best of him, and he will start to consider that maybe it could be true. After all, you can't stay on top forever, and he's not as young or hungry as he used to be, and today's politically correct approach to world diplomacy dictates that many of the tactics he had used to claw his way to the top are now "barbaric" or "ethics violations." We can't just go around colonizing anymore when we want someone's resources for ourselves...the UN frowns on that. Without the pressing responsibilities of being alive and representing his people, it will be easy for him to slip deeper into chemical dependency and substance abuse, which ironically will make his denial of the whole thing that much stronger, especially if influenced by others who believe the same thing.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Arthur has a rather interesting relationship with the occult, as a practitioner of black magic. Things and occurrences considered "strange" by most people don't really faze him. In life, he often saw apparitions and "magical" creatures that nobody else could see, though whether these creatures are real or just a holdover effect from too much opium or absinthe in key periods of his life has been a hotly debated topic, whispered in the back room at world meetings for decades. Therefore, glitches will be easily explained away as occurrences of magic, no worse than anything else he has experienced, really.
That his death happened at all will be the worst of his insecurities. Any of this can be easily magnified when he's intoxicated...which will probably be often.
Canon: Hetalia
Gender: Male
Age: Centuries old, appears mid-twenties.
History:
canon stuff.
actual stuff.
Personality: Above all, Arthur Kirkland would like for you to believe that he’s a gentleman. For some people, this may be easy enough to accept. He does have the capability to be charming (the accent doesn’t hurt, neither do his reasonably good looks). He is quite well-spoken and can make conversation on a wide variety of topics with grace and ease, possessing both the gift of gab and the listening skills to make his conversation partner feel engaged and important. He can also certainly go through the motions of being polite, meticulous about order and formality.
When it suits him.
When it doesn’t suit him, which is usually when he is dealing with people who have already either seen through his bullshit or have witnessed him “otherwise,” it’s a bit more obvious that he is much more accurately described as a cad. Outwardly, when he is not putting on airs to impress someone, he can come across as rather brusque or even disinterested. Possibly even “cranky.” There is certainly an underlying bitter cynicism there, felt even by those who would have no idea as to its origin.
For the most part, Arthur is a classic, textbook example of the INTJ personality type: ambitious, intelligent, logical, a natural leader. He is someone who can very easily see the metaphorical "big picture" and knows exactly how to use the tools, resources, and people at his disposal to get it to take shape, relying on his own cunning, judgment, and intuition when the path forward is not so clear. If this means occasionally ignoring the feelings of others because such things get in the way of his goals, well, that's a necessary evil...and over the centuries, Arthur has accumulated a list of necessary evils to rival any other nation's. He has just managed to mask this ruthless past with a genteel facade better than some of the other nations, somehow looking much more squeaky clean than those who have not quite yet learned the value of keeping up appearances or a good PR campaign. After all, everybody loves a good comeback story, how the blue collar punk rose up above his past indiscretions and bad behaviors to become the people's diplomat, a role model for the John Bull Everyman. It's a story he likes to ascribe to himself, because it's one that neatly glosses over everyone he's had to step on as he has climbed his way up the ladder, as well as justifies his rank as perhaps-not-quite-the-major-power, by implying that it's only because he's politely stepped aside and allowed someone a little more reckless to lead the charge.
It's a story he almost believes, one he has to at least partially believe to be able to live with himself and to be able to sleep at night.
His ambitions through the centuries have left him with strained relationships worldwide, and many of his past conquests, colonies, and rivals are still bitter about his willingness to use them for his own gain, even if their roles in the modern world position them as allies. He denies any wrongdoing in these situations, maintaining that any action he has taken in the past was solely for their benefit, and (particularly in the case of Alfred) that they would not be nearly what they are now were it not for his own intervention and direction.
Perhaps Arthur’s most complicated relationship is his toxic on-again off-again love affair with alcohol. In his best moments, he is a high-functioning alcoholic…in his worst, a sloppy drunk with a very low tolerance. For the Englishman, alcohol serves as a social lubricant, coping mechanism, and sleep aid…and yet somehow it doesn’t really assist him that well with any of these. He seems to rely more heavily on the bottle in periods of great stress, such as during wars, the period of time around July 4th, and also during the World Cup, but it’s gotten especially bad of late. Generally he will drink to the point of blacking out and often cannot remember the things he's done or said while intoxicated.
Although he excels at dealing with the concept OF people, he is not particularly great at dealing WITH people, oftentimes particularly dense about the emotions and thoughts of others, especially when they pertain to him. This is somewhat of a defense mechanism, as it keeps people at a distance and allows him to justify this.
Left to his own devices, he enjoys creative hobbies such as writing and music and is possibly a lot more interesting than his stodgy exterior would suggest.
Powers/Abilities: Arthur can see things other people can't, occasionally. Maybe this is really him hallucinating, but maybe not. He also has some ability to use black magic, although it doesn't always work the way he expects it to. He also has the ability to summon creatures, especially evil ones. This absolutely does not always work the way he expects it to.
Keepsakes/Mementos: A battered leather jacket with studs, spikes, and various other hardware that survived both the punk movement and the new wave of British heavy metal. Tea. Rum. Unicorns (and lions, but mostly unicorns...). Record collection (...yes, actual records) of British music that spans from the Beatles to Oasis...then CDs of everything that came after.
Sample:This had happened time and time again, through the centuries.
That’s why it never seemed to surprise Arthur Kirkland when it happened yet again.
And that’s why it hadn’t seemed to surprise him when it happened this particular fucking time.
So somebody had gone off and done something the UN didn’t like. Maybe somebody had some weapons somebody else didn’t want them to have. So there had been some posturing, some aggression. Some trade cut off. Bombs. Troops mobilizing. Things like that always happened when it came to wars, so it hadn’t seemed like that big of a deal, really… Just one more instance of history repeating itself, one more case of people being people again and doing the same things they’d always done. Except…
-----------------------
A shitty knockoff flatscreen was the only consistent light source in the otherwise dark atmosphere of the pub. It was being run off a gas generator since the power had gone out, but who knew how much gas was left in the damned thing or if they would be able to get any more once it ran out. The number of clientele that frequented this particular pub had increased quite a bit tonight, doors barred and windows boarded to keep patrons safe from the rioting outside whenever the lights went out.
They’d been going out almost nightly for the last few weeks.
Usually the television here would be showing the latest football match, but since the riots had started, and really, since the latest war had begun, it was fixed on the news.
Everyone wanted to know how long it would be.
Even though wars had been going on for longer than even Arthur had been alive as a nation, something about this one was different. Or maybe war was the same as always, it was just the people that were different. Whatever had united them in the past against a common foe, whatever had drawn them together to stand as one…
It just wasn’t there anymore.
There had been political unrest. The government stood divided. Rebel terrorist groups had sprung up, threatening to stop the United Kingdom’s involvement in the war, to save its people. Things had been escalating…
An anchorwoman was on the screen now, closed captioning flashing across the bottom of the screen. They didn’t need it, really, since everybody in the pub had gone silent as stones, listening to her words in shock.
…have infiltrated the palace…”
Arthur stood up suddenly, knocking over his chair. He wasn’t sure what he could do, but sitting here drinking like an old man wasn’t the right thing.
He pushed his way to the door, threw off the barricade and stepped out into the darkened street. He didn’t see the first man step out from the alley. He didn’t see the second one or the third one, either, especially after the crowbar had crushed his skull and his body drenched in gasoline and set on fire. He might have appreciated the symbolism or irony of this, if it hadn't killed him.
Wars had happened time and time again, through the centuries. Except this time it had been different. Somehow, it had been different. And Arthur, who was never surprised by any of this, was somehow completely blindsided.
Mindset: Arthur is mostly in denial about his death. Mostly. As a nation that had been an empire for centuries and then a major power in the modern world, and for somebody who spent the better part of it all convinced that he was invincible, it is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow that after all this time, he could die. Death is just NOT for him. That's for other people. However, in darker moments, his cynicism can get the best of him, and he will start to consider that maybe it could be true. After all, you can't stay on top forever, and he's not as young or hungry as he used to be, and today's politically correct approach to world diplomacy dictates that many of the tactics he had used to claw his way to the top are now "barbaric" or "ethics violations." We can't just go around colonizing anymore when we want someone's resources for ourselves...the UN frowns on that. Without the pressing responsibilities of being alive and representing his people, it will be easy for him to slip deeper into chemical dependency and substance abuse, which ironically will make his denial of the whole thing that much stronger, especially if influenced by others who believe the same thing.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Arthur has a rather interesting relationship with the occult, as a practitioner of black magic. Things and occurrences considered "strange" by most people don't really faze him. In life, he often saw apparitions and "magical" creatures that nobody else could see, though whether these creatures are real or just a holdover effect from too much opium or absinthe in key periods of his life has been a hotly debated topic, whispered in the back room at world meetings for decades. Therefore, glitches will be easily explained away as occurrences of magic, no worse than anything else he has experienced, really.
That his death happened at all will be the worst of his insecurities. Any of this can be easily magnified when he's intoxicated...which will probably be often.
