Peter Kirkland
Posts : 7
Join date : 2012-01-11
Age : 24
Location : in the middle of the sea
 | Subject: Peter Kirkland // Sealand Application { finished! }  Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:36 pm | |
| Peter Kirkland
***
***
Name: Peter Kirkland, but prefers to go by ‘Sea’
Age: Twelve
Kingdom of Origin: Kingdom of the Moon
Territory within the Kingdom: The Principality of Sealand—a tiny, rock in the middle of the sea, with an iron house thrown together atop it.
Rank: By blood, it appears to be that he is an illegitimate child of the royalty of the British Isles and the Kingdom of the Moon—but as he is the child of a prostitute and not completely of royal blood, he is considered ‘a shame’ to the royal family and currently lives as a peasant of the Kingdom. (See biography for more information.)
Profession: Though only a child, Peter works as a fisherman atop his territory in the Kingdom of the Moon, and lives in poor conditions. (see biography)
Control of an element? : Constantly tied to the ocean ever since an early age, Peter seems to have the make of a controller of water, and a powerful one, at that, if his purported bloodline has anything to do with it—though his skills are vastly underdeveloped.
***
Appearance:
His visage is one that appears to have been cut from a painting—a classical, angelic face, with rosy cheeks and little pastel lips—not unlike that of the family he supposedly stems from. His hair isn’t exactly blond, but a pale, golden colour. His build—waif-like and slim, makes his rib bones and spine visible through his skin. And yet, with his round cheeks and brilliant smile, one could even compare him to a cherub from a classic painting—at least, if he didn’t care for himself the way he does.
As a boy hewn from iron from the sea, there is a constant layer of some sort of grime covering his body—dirt and dust scattered from the waters. His cheeks are almost perpetually sunburnt, and his heels and hands callused from clambering all over the rock that he owns. His skin, a pale, aristocratic ivory under the layers of dust and grime, is always terribly dry, attributed to the layers of sea salt upon his skin. And his eyebrows—the greatest hint to his ancestry—are bushy and wild and almost unmistakably Kirkland.
Personality:
A boy of seemingly inexhaustible energy and laughter, Peter Kirkland, upon first glances, would seem to be a very ordinary village child—blank and carefree, with a world as small as the house he lives in or the town he plays in. He certainly like to keep up that appearance—one of breathless fantasy and play and joy, even though he works as a fisherman for a living, even though he’s only twelve years of age. During work, at the approach of any smiling face, he would forget the fish he has snagged in an instant, and would bound away from his fishing pole to yell out a greeting. If not scampering about when anyone comes near, he’s sitting with his fishing pole loosely in hand, his eyes round and painted with sunlight, daydreaming of what must be crossing swords with savages and slaying dragons with magic spells.
On the contrary, Peter Kirkland’s true personality isn’t exactly what he portrays on the outside. The true Peter Kirkland—though just as passionate and excitable and kind as he allows others to see him—is much less childish than he shows. Inwardly, Peter is incredibly weary, awfully tired. He has been forced from a very early age to act like a grown-up, without any family to care for him. He also has an incredible lack of self-confidence, and often reiterates to himself that he isn’t good enough—not for friends, or a real family, or to be accepted into his illegitimate family (something he’s dreamed of for ages).
His temperament can also be rather wild—ranging from incredibly reserved and closed-up to raging, especially when others berate him and call him the things he calls himself inwardly. When angry, he tends to revert to the crying, sniveling, weary child he hides in himself, collapsing into tears after screaming a reply to anyone who triggered his anger. He tries desperately to hide any sign of weakness.
More than anything, he wants someone to confide in—a friend, a mother or a father—someone to call ‘family.’
***
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:
- Close ties to the ocean—even from a very early age, Peter has constantly showed attraction to water, and more specifically, the sea, hence his nickname. He has been known to possess a weak control over water, one that could be refined by training. His years of living in the middle of the sea have taught him how to sense a storm from miles away. He’s also able to navigate through the ocean with ease.
- Ingenuity—from learning how to adapt in different environments over the years, he can put his talents to use. For example, he figured out how to draw the salt out of water using his meager water control, leaving freshwater to drink.
- A strong sense of morals—without any familial figures to influence him, Peter has developed intense morals and a sense of justice, hewn by the troubles he went through.
- A sharp mind—though his education was incredibly limited, Peter was gifted with a sharp mind, one that was probably inherited.
Weaknesses:
- Uncomfortable on land without water nearby—just as he’s tied to the ocean, he’s out of his place on land. He simply isn’t used to it, and he prefers to have some body of water nearby, wherever he goes.
- Almost a fear of crowds—large amounts of people suffocate him, probably because he’s used to being alone (even though he doesn’t exactly enjoy it).
- Little social skills—being in the company of other people make him incredibly hyperactive and willing to please, a trait that comes off as rather irritating to most people.
- No navigation skills on land—as good as he is with navigating the ocean, he has a tendency to get easily lost upon land.
- A rather fierce temper—his temperament can swing from calm and reserved from one moment to incredibly angry the next. He doesn’t take well to insults, even though he constantly applies them to himself.
- Little to no self-confidence—outwardly, he keeps up the appearance of an arrogant peasant child, but inwardly, he points out every fault in himself and is acutely aware of not being good enough.
- Unwillingness to open up to people—being rejected from his only blood relatives at an early age has left him very wary of others, and unwilling to really trust anyone, although he does his best not to show it. Altogether, he’s afraid of getting to attached to anyone, and is in the constant fear that if he does, he’ll lose them.
- Physical weakness—with the build of a bisque doll, even after time of working as a fisherman and a cabin boy, he has a very low pain tolerance (which he attempts to ignore) and it's a struggle for him to even pitch a fishing net into water. His weakness may be partially attributed to being somewhat malnourished.
- Immaturity—no matter how much he attempts to act against it, Peter can still be rather immature at times, often unwilling to accept truths that he does not wish to comply with.
Likes/hobbies and Dislikes:
Likes:
- The ocean—raised very close to the ocean in a seaside town, along with his fledgling control of water, Peter often mentions that the sea is his only companion, and has nicknamed himself after it. Anything related with the ocean also falls into this category, from sailing to fishing to swimming.
- Pretty things—he is fascinated by illustrations of foreign kingdoms or paintings that convey any sort of beauty. Splendour captivates him.
- Music—especially sea songs, sung by the Kingdom’s sailors.
- Stories and fantasy—Peter can sometimes be quite a bit of an escapist, often lapsing into daydreams.
- The idea of family—as Peter has never truly experienced this, it’s one of his greatest dreams.
Dislikes:
- Land—just as he loves the ocean, he has a very deep aversion to land.
- Royalty—he has an intense dislike towards the royalty of the Kingdom, and sometimes royalty in general, brushing them off as pampered, spoiled, and hypocritical.
- Most of his dislikes stem from his weaknesses.
Fears, Quirks, etc:
Fears:
- As said before, a fear of land--though it's more of an aversion than a fear.
- Putting too much trust in a person.
- Being left behind.
Quirks:
- His accent has a noticeably rough Essex twang.
- When bored, he tends to puff up his cheeks or wrinkle his nose.
- He will insist you call him 'Sea'--and nothing else.
- He usually only goes by his first name when speaking to anyone. If pestered, he goes by the last name Smith.
- Every night, he manages to say his prayers before bed, without fail.
***
Biography:
Peter Kirkland’s birth was the scandal of the century—at least, to those who knew of him. A beautiful, golden-haired child, born as the illegitimate son of the King of the Kingdom of the Moon and his mistress. A woman whose name was never divulged, she had died while giving birth to the boy. His custody was greatly controversial within the royal family—would the King take him in? If that was the case, the boy would most certainly be the black sheep of the family. The Queen couldn’t exactly adopt him and call him her own son in public—she was far too old for that. No—his very presence in the royal family would cause scandal to leak out uncontrollably into the Kingdom. It was best that the boy would remain a secret, and it was decided that the child would be sent away, and his lineage would be kept secret. He was named ‘Peter’—an ordinary, common name. Something that wouldn’t have the slightest hint of aristocracy.
By his first birthday, he was handed over to a middle-aged couple named Bates, a Sir Roy Bates and his wife, living on the seaside, who were paid quite heavily to act as foster parents and to keep their employers secret. The Bates already had a plump, well-fed son, who never took kindly to Peter—so neither did the Bates. And yet, around the age of four, Peter showed his first signs of a control over water—and however weak, they were there. He was scarcely able to develop these skills, however. Eventually, Peter became less of a foster child and more of a nuisance, and inexplicably, word got out that the illegitimate child of the King was living in a small, seaside town, in the Bates residence—and Peter was promptly removed from the Bates household. Back under the hand of the royals again, Peter was treated without any recognition from the King, brushed off, as if he was a servant and not his son. Peter grew to abhor the royals. Six years old at the time, underfed and scrawny in comparison with the Bates’ son, the royals hurriedly decided that the best place for the secret child to be would be away from Great Britain, and he was placed on a ship of the British navy to serve as a cabin boy.
Six years old and still without a proper family, Peter assumed his place as the youngest cabin boy in the British navy, unexpectedly able to do his job rather well. Not that he enjoyed the constant work, or the leering, cruel sailors who often made him the receiver of any sort of joke, but the days he spent in the middle of the sea gave the child a sort of bond with the ocean. When living with the Bates, Peter had always felt a pull towards the sea, had always felt his mind clear when swimming, when displaying control over water. Now, upon the ocean, he began to see the ocean as his only friend—the only thing that would stay, the only thing that would accept him as he is.
After four years, Peter had grown to befriend an old sailor upon the ship—the ‘navigator,’ as they called him—a rough, wizened old man who was a former fisherman. The old man, a German immigrant who had changed his name from Schmidt to Smith, grew quite fond of Peter, telling to call him ‘Opa Smith,’ and the child was quite content to have at least one friend, at least one person who wouldn’t mind his company. Even though Peter was seldom allowed to speak in his presence, he could listen, listen to Opa’s retellings of German fairytales and of good children who were rewarded for being strong and faithful and kind—and he loved the old man. By the time he was eight, however, Opa Smith was struck by the bow when the ropes of the sails snapped, and Opa left Peter alone, again. He was ten years old, and his only friend was the ocean, once more.
But before he died, Opa Smith left Peter something—a tiny scrap of land off the coast of Britain that had all been destroyed by rising waters. When the ten-year-old child returned to England to find the Opa’s property, he found a single, large rock in the middle of the sea, miles away from the coast, with one iron house left standing, undisturbed by floodwaters.
Peter named it ‘Sealand’—because that’s what it was, a drop of land in the middle of the sea. And it was his. Opa’s sons had worked there for many years, before they all were drafted into the navy and Opa’s sons died on some foreign shore. So now it was his. Sealand. Sea’s land, he thought to himself, furrowing his brow in determination. He would make his living on here. He would work hard and become strong and he would catch fish every day, and then maybe people would see how hard he was working—maybe people would notice the cheer he would paint on his face. Maybe, someday, the King would let Peter call him father, and the young man who sat at the King’s left hand would let Peter call him brother, and they would smile at him and welcome him—
They never would, and Peter knew that on the inside. He wouldn’t want to admit it. So he didn’t think about it. He simply stayed upon his scrap of land. Stayed there and cried if he needed to, and wished if he needed to, and hoped if he needed to, but there was nothing to hope for. It was alright. There was nothing he could do.
RP Sample:
“I have so many dreams…”
In the middle of an empty, colourless sea, the Principality of Sealand stood.
The Principality of Sealand was nothing more than an iron skeleton of a dead naval fort. It stood silent, sentinel-like over the black-and-white ocean, an old man who had refused to die. Instead, he stood stoically, wizened and dry, his bones nothing but cement and steel and rusting iron. Hairless, bald, the Principality of Sealand stood, bare and dry in the middle of a sea that was pregnant with futility. A meaningless old man, wasting away in the deadened waves, the wind whistling through his hollow frame. Mute.
“But there’s no one to hear them…”
And yet, the Principality of Sealand was a tiny child—a little boy with hair of gold and eyes that mirrored the sky. The Principality of Sealand was a boy with an infinite imagination, one that sailed to the ends of the earth, and back again. He was a child with the most colourful of smiles, the most musical of laughs. And every day, the Principality of Sealand sang childish songs of beauty only he could understand—he sang them across the wideness of the waters, to his patched-up family who loved him. He sang to the friends he had made on every continent—those who had smiled back, who had heard his song, who had held his hand, despite his insignificance.
He sang to the brother who stood, just beyond the reach of the waves, who had wounded him and scorned him and left him for dead, all those years ago. Who he still loved with all the colours of the sea.
“I want to sing…”
The Principality of Sealand sat, in temporary, childish peace, leaning on the rough rails that bordered his deck, swinging his heels above the grey sea below, his lips parted, a gentle melody upon them. The strain that passed from his lips, lost in the waves.
“Will someone listen?”
The waves had been stained with colour.
***
OOC
Name: Mrm I go by Sea! But if that’s not alright, then Cie or Miu’s fine!
Age: …old enough. (I’d prefer not to divulge this unless in private, please—lsafj. Though, I will say this—I’m most probably younger than most of you.)
Timezone: North American Eastern Time Zone
Anything else:
I absolutely adore AU RPs—and I’ve been roleplaying as Sealand quite extensively. He’s become a bit of a part of me, I do believe. I really do love lit RPs—the RP sample above was one of my starters, and I hope it conveys how I play my Sealand. He most definitely isn’t that hairbrained, shallow little boy most would see him as.
It would be nice to make friends here, out of character, too!
Also, Belgian waffles.
Last edited by miucorte on Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:32 pm; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : fixed!) | |
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