Post by England on Jan 6, 2011 4:49:05 GMT
The Baffled King Composing Hallelujah
hallelujah[/center]
Name --- Arthur Kirkland
Arthur –Nation --- England & The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandCeltic – BearKirkland –
Irish Gaelic – Stone
Old German – Thor, the eagle
Old English – NobleOld English – Church Land
Aliases ---
National;
England – Mostly used by his brothers and/or those close to him. Very common though.Personal;
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Official name. HATES being called this due to its length.
Great Britain – Common.
Britain – Common.
Britannia – Since he's neither a Roman nor a woman refrain.
Engla Land – Outdated heavily.
United Kingdom – Common.
Briton – Outdated.
Great Britain – Common.
Albion – A poetic name for him. Outdated but still applicable.
Perfidious Albion – Priorly used by old enemies. Now more of a mocking name.
Loegria – King Arthur's Domain in England. Outdated.
Anglia – A poetic name for him. Outdated but still applicable.
Artie – No.Apparent age --- 23 years
Arty – No.
Grammar Nazi – True... but no.
Eyebrows – Hell no!
Actual age ---
From Proto-nation - 5000+Gender --- Male
From Nation - 2000+ [From invasion by Roman Empire]
|-|-The External-|-|
Eye color --- Green
Hair color --- Ash blond
Height --- 5'9"
Weight --- 149 lbs
Skin tone --- Pale, almost has a pasty look
Defining features --- Scars, a helluva lot of scars.
The main ones to be noted are the mish mash of severe burns over his heart. This being from the various attacks on London (Having being levelled and heavily attacked many times through history including Boudicca, The Great Fire Of London, and the Blitz).
Across his shoulder blades spans another series of severe burn scars, these being a correspondence to the Harrying of the North, in which a vast portion of North England was burnt by the Normans and rendered uninhabitable.
The final one worth any particular note is the somewhat faded near rose like scar etched into his right shoulder. This one was gained during the War of the Roses, a brutal thirty year civil war between York and Lancaster. Whether this one is self inflicted remains to be seen, though either way it was most certainly not caused by land damage.
Does he have a tattoo? Yes~
Will he say where or what? Fuck no~
In actuality it's a union jack print electric guitar (six string) with a vine of roses wrapped around the finger board. He's RETARDEDLY self conscious about this, and will vehemently deny the fact it even exists even if you've somehow seen it. He obtained it during his punk phase and was probably partially drunk at the time. It's open the small of his back with the finger board spanning down to the top of the back of his thigh.
Additional features --- As a whole he's a rather lithe man, not quiet having the heavy bulk that would normally be associated with males as a whole. This is by no means saying he's feminine or petite, but rather that he very simply does have a smaller build than one would expect from someone who's seen more wars than others have had birthdays.
Facially he has a somewhat angular features, however this is something that more or less simply fits his racial culture. As a whole this pretty much just gives him an average sort of appearance, bar for the brows however. These seem oddly large even by an English standard, and are alas rather offputting. These sit above jade eyes, which are framed by cropped hair that pretty much seems to do whatever it wants, and indeed for the most part it basically does.
England now favours a green officers uniform rather than the old red coats of which he was so famed. The uniform itself is fairly standard of an officer, knee height boots, Sam Browne belt, and all the other good stuff shown here. He doesn't however wear the cap that would usually accompany such a uniform.
|-|-The Internal-|-|
Personality ---
For all intensive purposes he's a stern gentleman, held together by the fine threads of sweater vests and suits. He very successfully seems able to be the most polite thing alive, whilst simultaneously being an almost regally proud figure. He seems to have the ability to remain calm and somewhat above the shenanigans going on around him, simply rejecting it from existence where possible. This does tend to make him seem as if he has a stick up his ass though, which in effect tends to put people off wanting to be particularly close to him. Indeed, because of this his only real friends would be Japan and America, and to be fair neither of them are stunning examples of people to be close to (one having spent a couple of thousand years in isolation, whilst the other seems like a retarded jackass at times). The prior fact tends to lead to him as being seemingly lonely, a fact he's liable to vehemently deny no matter what it is that you do or say. More than anything he's likely to tell he he rather likes being alone, and that a man can in fact be an island. As a whole he does manage to maintain this view, making it as a whole rather believable.
The main glip in his personality would be the fact he has a stupidly short temper, along with an almost crazed eccentric streak. If something bothers that he has no way at all to deal with (usually in mental matters) he's liable to convince himself he doesn't feel that way. For example, if lonely he may point out something that he considers to be more so, and then mock the hell out of it to make himself feel better over the fact. This can at times making him seem utterly crazy (something not helped by the fact he talks to 'himself'). Mentioning these spells though is usually a bad idea, something just coming behind insulting his cooking. Rubbing him up the wrong way inevitably leads to him snapping, whilst yes for the most part at his gentlemanly nature will account for this, however his temper can still be described in one word. Terrible. Depending on the severity of it he can easily become violently aggressive with it, going so far as to lash out on occasion. Thankfully after years of restraint such things are usually rather rare.
England does have a rather deceptively cunning streak. It's not a lesser known thing that he has moments of being totally pitiful, however it seems to be forgotten that he was once a rather successful empire. He has a sharp mind, and is thus more than capable of picking something apart should he need to do so. This is very much the side of him that was 'The Terror of the Sea', and whilst it's not something to be feared as it once was, such a trait does make him rather dangerous when he wants to be. As a nation with a heavy sway in the war-fairing persuasion he's shown many a tactical ability (not counting the light brigade...). In a more common ground this is something seen through scathing comments, and sarcastic quips. Often what he says is rather witty, and can put the victim of such into the awkward position of not really knowing what to say. That or he ends up with his ass kicked for it. Arthur is a man of both bark and bite, however in recent times the bark has started becoming louder than the bite in some cases.
England as a whole is a rather melancholic man. He tends to dwell on things long since past, letting them dig at him time and time again. This can leave him seeming to be a rather depressive character, almost pitiful at times, and indeed on occasion this could be said. Such a side of him is very usually reserved for times where he's in the privacy of his own home, thus not so many have seen it. There are a few of course, usually those close to him. Due to this he's usually able to maintain the more domineering persona for all to see, making him seem more like a jerk than could be necessarily true. As a whole this doesn't seem to bother him. More than anything he seems to appreciate the fact, using it as a scarily effective barrier to keep people away from him where possible.
Under it all he does have a heart, it's simply that he never wears it on his sleeve. When you get past the scathing comments and sharp sarcasm he's a pretty decent guy at the end of the day, being somewhat of a romanticist at heart. The thing is it's simply a long haul to get him to show such a thing freely; indeed, such a thing's happened perhaps only once or twice. Due to this he's more often seen as a heartless imperialist, which could possibly true in some ways. His aloofness is an utterly terrific guise for this whole thing, his paranoia driving him to cover everything up. At the end of the day he finds it easier to be a lonely jackass, than a broken hearted sap. In a way you could call him rather weak for such a thing, he is after all taking the easy way out on the matter. However, after a few thousand years of getting screwed over by people it's easy to see why he may do such a thing. Saying this though, it's entirely possible that it's an almost reflexive defence now, and not simply him going out of his way to be a bastard with you. In the end it's somewhat hard to tell with him.
Alas under everything still beat the drums of the druids and pirates alike. There's a part of England that's still wild, totally uncivilised in the most rebellious of ways. Over time he's simply shuttered these things away, forcing them down under a slab of stoic arrogance, however in certain situations all the guises fall away. A fine example would be when he manages to get himself utterly drunk. During such times he becomes wild and rebellious, causing utter hell for the poor souls he's around. He has a nasty tendency to cast his mind back onto things he'd rather forget, and so whilst drinking is a vice to try and numb such thing's it's not at all uncommon for him to simply to make himself worse over the whole thing. He's the very definition of a bad drunk. He's either depressively angry, or a violent punk. Frankly neither is particularly good. All of this goes to show very prominently that he still has the very clear ability to be a merciless rebel in him, taking one back to all those years ago where he very literally ruled the world.
Likes ---
• English language - Whilst he can speak many languages this is one of two he will happily speak [Latin being the other], and of course the one he favours overall. Despite knowing a multitude of others he's incredibly unlikely to speak them himself.
• Tea - It's very much like an addiction, one he's not ashamed to admit. He'll often end up with cravings for it at the strangest times. It's one of those things he's able to use as a vice to calm him down when he needs it, alas it usually just gives him something to throw at someone pissing him off.
• Scones - With whipped cream and jam of course~
• Rain - England may not be perpetually under rain but it very often is. It's very rare that it won't be raining at least somewhere. Indeed, London itself is often subjected to a long standing fine drizzle that comes on at the worst opportune times. Given a chance he's more than happy to make a rather self deprecating joke or two about this. At certain times of the year though (Late June and early July) he utterly loathes it.
• English history - There are things in his national history that he's not proud of, yet there are more things that he is. He utterly loves how he went from a beaten about nobody to the largest empire the world's seen, and this is perhaps why he much prefers to dwell in the past than look forward.
• Gentlemanly behaviour- Whilst he's not always the perfect gentleman he does indeed try, and this concept is something close to his heart. This mindset was something that was probably instigated during the Victorian period, and was no doubt at its best then. Now his ability has somewhat slipped and it's not really that hard to get him to snap violently if you try.
• Reading - Romance and drama are the shiz...
• Fairy tales - He adores things like Arthurian legend, and there are many of them that he can recite off by heart pretty accurately if he so tries. He's also a rather dab hand at making his own up if the mood strikes him, and indeed it could be considered that many of them hold some references to his own experiences with things.
• Mythical creatures - They're real. No ifs or buts.
• 'Stiff upper lip' - This may be an American phrase but that doesn't really matter to him. He loves the overall meaning of it, namely the ability to keep getting up and going with a solid sense of pride. This is something he tries to live up to where possible and has strengthened his pride and determination somewhat.
• His 'Golden Age' - This is pretty much the same is 'English History'. He adored this time, and it's probable that this was when he was at his happiest. After the American Revolution things rather went down for him on a personal level, even if they got better in other aspects on a national level.
• Punk rock music - He got into this by mistake actually, but loves it none the less. The British Punk Rock was part of the reason he started to care more about the minorities in his country, and not just the majorities. He was indeed swayed to this particular mindset for a good while, and during this was a total pain in the ass to be around.
• Theatrics -SHAKESPEARE
• Curry - India can be blamed for this, along with the English chefs who threw their own twists on the dish. Whilst he can't really deal with the hotter dishes he's partial to a mild one every now and then.
• That he's pretty much got the strongest militant force in the EU - Despite his national size his military is in fact the strongest of the EU nations, and ranked 5th in the entire world. This is something he's incredibly proud of, and will happily gloat about if you give him a chance.[/ul]
Dislikes ---
• That people will see him as weak. England is not well known for his self confidence, and at times does view himself as being incredibly weak, and thus he hides it with sharp comments and violent actions. He worries that one day someone will see him for what he really is (or at least, what he perceives himself to be)
• Being left behind. He knows his country is old fashioned, and he knows it's lost some of its stronger roots in trading. He knows that the world is moving on whilst he's stuck in the past, and he has the terrible suspicion that one day when everything becomes too much he'll be left behind with nothing and no one.
[/ul]Lesser known facts ---
[/ul]Goals ---
|-|-The Past-|-|
History ---
P/C = Proto-nation & child
C = Child
T= Teen
A= Adult
[Cut down... a lot]
P/C
3,000 BC - New Stone age begins.
2,500 BC - The Neolithic farmers created monuments known as henges. Complex and almost elaborate tombs also started to become more common, showing the first real signs of culture in England.
2,000 BC - The bronze age began, and with it the English folk started to take more of an interest in their metal work. This involved jewellery and weaponry. Cotton weaving also become more common, as was the use of horses for transport. Stonehenge completed.
1,650 BC - Trade routes are formed
1,000 BC - Forts started to be built upon hills, showing advancements in warfare tactics. It was also around this point that tin and copper were exported from England. Along with social classes coming into play.
650 BC - Iron was introduced by the Celts, and so the iron age began. During this the first swords were made, and with it warfare became far more common. Along with this there was a stricter hierarchy structure within the people, with many tribes here and there. However, due to the lack of politics there was a great deal of fighting between tribes.
55 BC - The first Roman expedition of England began.
56 BC - The second Roman expedition of England.
C
43 AD - The Romans arrived in England, near Kent, and quickly dominated Celtic forces. During this time they were also marching to Sussex, effectively crushing any forces they came against.
47 AD - By this point Roman forces had full control of England, having effectively gotten the Celtic forces to surrender to them.
50 AD - The first town of London comes about.
60 AD - Lead by Boudicca the Celts burned down Colchester, St Albans and London. However the Romans quickly rushed to deal with the rebellion, and though heavily outnumbered put an end to it.
71-74 AD - The Romans conquered the North of England
122-128 AD - Hadrian's wall is built.
286-293 AD - Carausius breaks away from the Roman Empire and appoints himself emperor of independent Britannia.
367 AD - The Great Barbarian Raid, a force combined from Scots, Picts, and Irish, attacked Britannia. They were defeated and pushed back.
388 AD - The Romans abandon Hadrian's wall.
407 AD - The last Roman soldiers leave Britannia.
450AD - Invasion by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes begin. Split into the seven kingdoms Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Kent.
520 AD - The Celts defeated the Saxons in the battle of 'Mount Badon'.
577 AD - The Saxons defeat the Romano-Celts, leaving them to capture Bath, Gloucster, and Cirencester.
597 AD - The start of the Saxon conversion to Christianity begins as Augustine arrives in England.
601 AD - Augustine the goes onto become the very first arch-bishop of Canterbury.
617 AD - Northumbria becomes the main kingdom.
779 AD - Mercia becomes the main kingdom.
793 AD - The first Viking raid of England. They attack and plunder the monastery of Lindisfarne.
821 AD- Wessex becomes the main Kingdom.
865 AD - The first Danes arrive in England.
871 AD - The Saxons defeat the Danes. During this time Alfred the great is also crowned.
878 AD - Alfred defeats the Danes in the battle of Edington.
879 AD - The treaty of Wemore splits England between the Saxons and Danes. However, the Danes retain possession of London.
886 AD - London is reclaimed by Alfred.
899 AD - The reign of Edward the wise begins.
901 AD - Edward names himself king of Angles and Saxons, leading to the first state of unity between them.
913 AD - Essex reclaimed from the Danes.
899-824 AD - The Danelaw in England is slowly reclaimed through this time.
924 AD - Athelstan, son of Edward the Elder, becomes king of Wessex and effective ruler of most of England (to 939)
926 AD - Athelstan annexes Northumbria, and forces the kings of Wales, Strathclyde, the Picts, and the Scots to submit to him.
937 AD - Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats alliance of Scots, Celts, Danes, and Vikings, and takes the title of "King of all Britain".
1007 AD - AEthelred buys two years' peace from the Danes for 36,000 pounds of silver.
1012 AD - The Danes sack Canterbury: bought off for 48,000 pounds of silver.
1055 AD - Westminster Abbey completed.
1066 AD - The Norman conquest of England begins. By October 14th a decisive battle had been won by the Normans in the battle of Hastings.
1069-1070 AD - Due to constant rebellion the Normans burn houses, kill live stock, and also destroy stock. North of Humber is left devastated by the attack
1071 AD - Most of England had been secured by the Normans, thus bringing about the French rule over England. Despite this though rebellions and resistance continued against it.
1086 AD - The doomsday book is put together.
T
1118 AD - The Knights Templar begin in England.
1135 AD - Civil war breaks out when both Matilda and Stephen vi for the throne.
1138 AD - Scots defeated in the battle of the Standard.
1154 AD - Norman rule ends as the civil war does, Henry II being crowned king.
1170 AD - Population of London exceeds 30,000 for the first time.
1215 AD - First Baron's War (civil war). Signing of Magna Carta; English barons force John to agree to a statement of their rights
1264 AD - Second Baron's War (civil war)
1290 AD - King Edward expels the Jews from England.
1295 AD - Edward brings about the model parliament.
1312 AD - Order of Knights Templar abolished
1321 AD - Despenser Wars (civil war)
1337 AD - The Hundred years war begins between France and England.
1340 AD - French defeated in the battle of the Sluys.
1346 AD - French once more defeated in the battle of Cercy.
1348 AD - The Blackdeath arrives in England, spread by fleas it destroys about a third of the English populations.
1356 AD - French defeated in the battle of Poitiers.
1381 AD - Peasants revolt against the king, though it's quickly quelled with false promises.
1388 AD - English defeated by the Scots in the battle of Otterburn.
1415 AD - England once more defeats France, this time in the battle of Agincourt.
1453 AD - The Hundred Year War ends. As a result England loses all territory in France bar for Calais.
1455 AD - The series of civil wars known as the War Of The Roses begins.
1470 AD - Middle English is developed, nullifying the use of Old English.
1485 AD - The War Of The Roses ends, leading to a union between houses.
A
1534 AD - Henry VIII makes himself the head of the Church of England
1536-1540 AD - Henry closes the monasteries, seizing their assets and confiscating their property.
1555-1558 AD - Queen Marry persecutes the protestant culture, burning over 300 people at the stake for heresy.
1558 AD - Elizabeth becomes Queen of England.
1560-1640 AD - Wooden houses are converted majoritivly to those of Stone.
1570 AD - The pope bans Elizabeth from membership within the church.
1588 AD - Spanish Armada crushed utterly, this signalling England's power~
1600 AD - The East Indian trading company is founded.
1605 AD - Gunpowder plot.
1607 AD - 13 colonies founded. The first being within Jamestown.
1629-1640 AD – The Eleven years of tyranny
1642 AD - Civil war breaks out. Royalists against the Parliament.
1644 AD - Parliament wins the battle of Marston Moor.
1645 AD - Parliament wins the battle of Naseby.
1648 AD - Charles I starts another Civil war. However he then loses in the battle of Preston.
1649 AD - Charles I is beheaded.
1652-1654 AD - The first Anglo-Dutch war
1653 AD - Oliver Cromwell becomes the lord protector of England.
1665 AD - The final bout of Bubonic plague hits England.
1666 AD - The Great Fire Of London breaks out, starting in a bakery. It's quickly put out, but not before most of London is lost.
1694 AD - The bank of England is founded.
1707 AD - The act of union joins England and Scotland under one flag.
1756 AD - The Seven year war starts.
1763 AD - The Seven year war ends.
1780 AD - The industrial revolution begins in England.
1783 AD - The treaty recognizing American independence is signed.
1799 AD - The income tax is introduced to pay for the war against France.
1801 AD - Ireland is joined to the union of England and Scotland.
1807 AD - The slave trade in England is officially abolished.
1812 AD - The war of 1812 against America begins.
1813 AD - The French army is defeated in Spain during the battle of Vitoria.
1815 AD - The battle of Warterloo. Also during this period the war of 1812 ends, leading to the treaty of Ghent.
1825 AD - The world's first passenger railway opens between Stockton and Darlington.
1833 AD - Slavery is abolished through the whole of the British empire.
1904 AD - Britain and France sign the Entente Cordiale.
1914 AD - WW1 begins.
1918 AD - WW1 ends.
1919 AD - The war of Irish independence begins.
1921 AD – Southern Ireland becomes independent, taking the name The Republic of Ireland.
1936 AD - Television broadcasts begin in the UK.
1939 AD - World war 2 begins.
1940 AD - The battle of Britain comes about, whilst the Germans begin to bomb major English cities.
1942 AD - The Germans and Italians are defeated during the battle of El Alamein.
1945 AD - World war 2 ends.
1854 AD - Food rationing ends.
1956 AD - The first nuclear power station opens in Calder Hall.
1980 AD - Britain enters a recession, leading to vast levels of unemployment.
1985 AD - The minors strike begins, though they're quickly beaten.
1990 AD - Britain once more enters a recession.
1993 AD - Recovery from the recession begins, causing unemployment levels to fall.
2009 AD - Hit with a severe recession.
2010 AD - Recovery from the recession begins.
|-|-The Style-|-|
Roleplay example ---
[Taken from a Battle of Britain RP]
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Whirring of propellers.
Yelling of men.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Screeching of wheels upon the ground.
Someone droning on at him.
Tap.
Ignoring the sounds around him he chose only to focus on the tapping of his finger against the hard wood of the desk, despite the fact it was just as irritating as everything else around him. There was just too much noise now, too many people bustling around the airfield. It was far too busy for him right now, the pressing migraine at the front of his head crushing against his skull uncomfortably. He was sick of this whole thing, he'd been sick of it the very day war had been declared, more so now after that stupid ass stunt from the krauts that left pale wraps across his weeping chest. He was sick of them, and they were going too far.
Oh he knew this was war, so in every likelihood that tash-bastard probably didn't think they'd gone far enough... And true... The attack on his central had been a one off. The others on his RAF bases had not been such, and he knew that without a shadow of a doubt. He was sick and tired of this and something had to be done, sooner rather than later... Now, actually. If this wasn't halted now there was no telling how far the bastards were going to go further, pushing against the limitations of his people. It was with a satisfied grimace gone smirk that he could proudly say they wouldn't, now was perfect proof of that.
Everyone was being rallied for a counter strike, and even he who'd little place to do such was there. The Germans were like a dog off of their leash, pulling out to snap at whoever the hell they wanted as they pleased. It really only took a firm hand to pull them back in though, one hand to clip on the lead and yank. Of course there would be a struggle, as was obvious by the current war, but once you really kicked into it the thing would have no choice but to obey the new master.
He would of course be that master, or at least have a hand in bringing the whole thing to its knees.
He knew well enough that he was really just acting like a bitter old man about the whole thing; revenge was hardly a gentlemanly sport if he was honest. Though it was more fitting than letting someone do as they pleased with you, which in the end really only made you seem like a weak fool. That was far more of a sin to the man he cast himself to be, and for everything under that it was a damn near abomination.
“-nd we lost another spitfire last night too.”
England finally blinked, stopping the tapping and removing the other hand from his face. Of course they did, they always lost something. There was always a flip side though. “And what of their damage?” He asked, voice hoarse and vocals strained.
“Two Junkers down. The pilots were killed on impact.”
With a slight nod of approval he couldn’t help but agree with Churchill, they did owe this small band so very much. He had no doubt things would be much worse than they were presently, and as short as they were on ships they couldn’t much allow for it to be such. “Very good. You should be proud of yourselves, you’re carrying the honour of this country with pride.” And he was proud. Proud of his people for showing what it truly meant to persevere. He knew well enough his empire was waning; nearly gone now from what it had once been, and yet the people remained the same... Perhaps that would be enough in the end.
The young bloke saluted, that firm face as stoic as ever with that well known ‘stiff upper lip’. “Thank you sir, it's an honour to serve.” He believed he meant it. Truly he did. “When will the others be arriving? We already have your bird ready.” The brunette gave a mild chuckle. “People don't usually choose those, they can be a bit on the slow side.”
The constant chatter wasn't helping him any, yet the questions were reasonable... Bar for the last one anyway. “Slow and steady wins the race. They're more resilient and better for longer periods of time.” The first part though... that he didn't know...
They were late, or rather... He was early, enough so that he'd been here before the order had been sent. Tonight they were to attack Berlin, something that had been announced as impossible. Tsk, did the fools really have no clue as to who it was they were messing with? To think that he and his people would be willing to just sit there. Goodness gracious, did they have no common sense? Perhaps it was simply more a case of arrogance. Certainly they'd not be the first to succumb to it; even he himself was a harbinger of that treacherous little gift.
It was still early morning though, and no doubt it would take a while for the others of his kind to pull themselves down to Biggin Hill. Still, it shouldn't take an inordinate amount of time.
“They'll be here soon enough.” With that he leant back in the narrow backed chair, lips pursed into thin lines. All he could do was hope really... And to be frank optimism had never really been his strongest of points. There was no time to relax though, not really. He was needed elsewhere, and thus whilst he may have wanted nothing better to do than curl up he stood. He needed to wait, and thus the airfield itself was somewhere far better.
With shoulders squared he did indeed wait. Passing idle conversation with any who passed him, but waiting none the less.
|-|-The Player-|-|
Username --- Gearr
Age --- 18
Time zone --- GMT +0[/font]
