Post by Arthur Kirkland on Mar 10, 2010 16:41:11 GMT -5
Canon Character Application
Character name: Arthur Kirkland
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Height: 175cm (~ 5’9”)
Weight: Around 130lbs (~ 59kgs)
Appearance: Arthur is generally thought to be slightly below the average height, and although he is not underweight for his height, he has quite a scrawny build (which he vehemently refuses to believe is anything to do with his cooking). Due to growing up in a region where rain was more common than sunshine, his complexion is pale; continuous exposure to the sun tends to leave Arthur with a nasty sunburn. To prevent this, he has taken to wearing a long cloak - which is charred at its tips and held together at the neck by a large cream ribbon - and includes a hood to cover his head. It’s a royal purple in colour - with just a tinge of navy blue - at the top, which then transforms into a much lighter, almost lilac colour at the bottom. Underneath Arthur’s cloak is a fairly long, midnight blue coat which somewhat resembles a military jacket. At the bottom of the coat, as well as at the end of the sleeves, are cream ruffles. His straight-legged trousers are the same colour as his coat, and drape slightly over his polished black shoes.
Arthur is usually seen carrying a large, thickly bound red book with beautiful gold embellishments, which is said to hold his spells. He also carries around with him a bow and arrow combo for added offence, just in case his magic were to ever fail him.
His short, sandy blonde hair is kept in an unruly mess, though it is through no fault of Arthur’s – it simply refuses to be tamed, despite his best efforts. His eyes are an emerald green in colour, though often change to a much deeper, forest green when casting a summon. However, by far the most prominent feature of his face are his eyebrows, which are probably some of the largest and bushiest brows you’ll ever have the pleasure of seeing.
Personality: On the outside, Arthur tends to be very irritable and grouchy most of the time, and his short temper can be set off with even the smallest of triggers. He loves to make sarcastic or snide remarks, and appears to be quite cynical and pessimistic. Due to being a little prudish, he is very easily flustered; though he will try to hide it if the situation arises. He is opinionated, and is more than willing to voice these opinions if he disagrees with those of another. Arthur seems to revel in the many arguments which are started by him doing this (apparently, they liven things up). If the argument goes far enough, he has no problem with trying to solve it with violence, something which takes him back to the years he spent as a delinquent (though he fiercely denies such accusations).
However, scratch a little deeper, and you’ll find that Arthur isn’t quite as unkind as he might seem; it is simply that a life growing up with elder brothers who constantly bullied him gave him a sort of cold outer shell, one which he hasn’t been able to shake off. It takes a while for him to become comfortable around another person, but once he does, he is loyal to them and will always be willing to offer them a helping hand. And although it may seem that he treats his friends the same as others (constant bickering, insulting them...), deep down he does care for them, but fails at being able to show it properly. The few times he has tried, Arthur simply becomes too embarrassed and just ends up insulting them in some way. Even though he would never admit it, he enjoys the company of others; his idea of ‘splendid isolation’ is just a façade.
Arthur has never been one to pass up a good drink, and will keep drinking until he either passes out or until someone takes pity on him and takes him back to a hotel. When drunk, his vocabulary of swears could surpass that of a sailor’s. Also, he often becomes depressed, and will start grumbling about how unappreciated and lonely he is. Arthur hates people he knows seeing him like this, and will try and wave off any inappropriate or embarrassing comments he may have made during that time as the ramblings of a drunkard which were not meant to be taken seriously.
Class: Spellcaster
Likes:
+Magical creatures
+Fairytales
+Cooking
+Magic
+Music
+Tea
+Alcohol
+Punctuality
Dislikes:
-People who insult his cooking
-His brothers
-Annoying ‘gits’
-People who stare at his eyebrows
-Being alone (though, when asked, he will always deny it)
-Those who have no loyalty
-Rain
-Tardiness
Strengths:
Archery: Arthur is almost never seen without his bow and arrow combo, a gift from his father which he received when he was still very young. Whenever he had a free moment, he would practise his archery and, as such, has grown to be quite the archer. This gives him a solid alternative to magic, if ever that were to fail him.
Offence: Along with his archery, Arthur primarily uses his magic as a form of offence, rather than as a defence. Stemming from a lifelong belief, he believes offence to be the best form of defence, and so tries to attack and defeat his enemy before they even have chance to react.
Reliability: Surprising to some, Arthur is a very dependable person. If he says he will do something, then he will try his very best to keep that promise. He has a deep sense of loyalty to those who are close to him; though, this is often something he will never openly show or admit. He also believes that one of the key points to being a gentleman is to be punctual, and therefore he will always try to be on time for any and every occasion.
Weaknesses:
Cooking: Although Arthur refuses to believe it, no-one else can deny the fact that his cooking is horrific. In fact, it seems to have spawned more than a few urban legends among the towns he has cooked in. Perhaps if he ever accepted this, he could use it as a weapon.
Irritability: Arthur is very easily irritated, making him snappy and hard to be around. If he is pushed far enough – which isn’t very far at all, given his short temper – it could easily escalate into a full-blown outburst.
Close Combat/Defence: Although able to decently defend himself with a sword or other close-range weapons, Arthur has had little to no training in such weapons, and is unable to actually attack with them (not to mention that he finds them cumbersome to carry around). Arthur has never been able to pack much of a punch, either, and is unable to cast spells safely when fighting at short distances. So, he tries to avoid this kind of fighting, and much prefers long range combat.
History: Arthur spent most of his early childhood growing up in a small cottage, just on the outskirts of a rural town, with his parents and his older siblings. Both of his parents worked in the nearby town, trying to scrape together enough money to look after their children, and they would often disappear for days (though they would always make sure their children knew of this). And so, during these times where their parents were away, Arthur was left in the ‘care’ of his older brothers, all of who enjoyed tormenting or bullying him in some way. They would tease him, pinch him, break his toys – and, sometimes, they would join in the taunting of the other young children who did not believe the Fae he talked to were real (and they were, dammit!). Over time, Arthur developed a tolerance to these sorts of things, shielding himself away from both his brothers and other people. However, this worried his parents, who both felt that this couldn’t be healthy for the boy. So, they decided to send him off to live with his uncle, who lived in much larger, social town which they hoped would bring Arthur back out of his little shell.
His uncle was a Spellcaster, and although it wasn’t his parents intention for Arthur to become an apprentice, that is what happened. It took a while at first, but he found out that he got along well with his uncle, who would also take time out of his day to talk to the Fae. For hours upon hours, Arthur would watch as his uncle practised his spells and created new ones, completely enthralled. Eventually, Arthur gained the confidence to ask his uncle if he could learn some of those spells, and his uncle happily took the boy on as an apprentice.
After years of hard training, he eventually became skilled enough to shed his apprentice clothes. As a kind of ‘graduation’ gift, his uncle gave him a beautiful red book, embellished in gold leaf, which contained all the spells and chants a Spellcaster would ever need. At 18, and after a long goodbye, Arthur left the care of his uncle and ventured into the world on his own.
At first, he found it hard to find any work, let alone any stable work, and was forced to wander the land, stealing from the towns he passed through. He slept among the stars, with only a winged, green, rabbit-like creature to keep him company. Eventually, however, he found a good opportunity in providing help for travelling individuals and parties who did not have any effective means of offensive, and in time he started to generate enough money to not be forced to steal his food and supplies; though, he still prefers to roam.
Sample Post: The tall, brunette male who stood before him looked Arthur up and down, uncertainty glistening in those grey eyes as his fist tightened – ever so slightly – around the bag of coins in his palm. Arthur just glared at him in response. Sure, he’d been hired to protect the guy from any danger around these parts. And yes, he’d admit that, however unusual it was, there had been absolutely no trouble. But, Arthur still risked his neck agreeing to the job, because after all, it was a rough part of the woods. And, well... there was no denying he got the guy safely to his destination – though why anyone would want to come to this dingy little place was completely beyond Arthur.
When the man made no move to either pay him or walk away, Arthur brought his arms up and crossed them across his chest, tapping his foot lightly against the dirt floor below. His client still did not move, still, and Arthur was beginning to grow impatient. “Look, mate, I’ll admit you didn’t exactly get your money’s worth, but at least I took the bloody job, especially when no-one else would.” The brunette looked as if he was considering this, but he still hesitated. Arthur let out a noise which was closer to a growl than a sigh, trying his best to keep his anger in check.
“Okay, fine, look at it this way. You’re free to walk away and not pay me, but if you ever want to go back that way, rest assured that I won’t be offering my assistance. No-one else will, either, and then you’ll be stuck. You could always try and get back yourself, but...” – he paused for a second, watching as his customer’s face pale significantly, before giving a small shrug and continuing – “...believe me, flukes like that don’t happen twice, you know.” And, before he knew it, the bag of coins was thrust into his hands. He received a half-hearted glare from the brunette before he turned and walked away.
Arthur held up the bag and gave it a small shake. The noise it made was pitiful, to say the least. He tutted in disappointment – this wasn’t nearly as much as they’d agreed on (and certainly not enough to get drunk off). He had half the mind to throw it at the retreating back in front of him, but instead settled to just shouting “GIT!” at the top of his lungs and pocketed the small amount with a huff.
“Seriously, I’m going to have to start asking for advance payments...” he mumbled, rubbing his temple in annoyance. Arthur sighed and straightened up, before spinning on his heel and deciding to head for the nearest tavern. It was only enough to buy him a drink or two and something to eat, but – he reasoned with a small smirk – he could always just do a runner.
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