Arthur Kirkland {England} {Finished}

Arthur Kirkland

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Name: Arthur Kirkland
Age: 23
Kingdom of Origin: Kingdom of the Moon
Territory within the Kingdom: British Isles
Rank: Royalty
Profession: Prince of the Kingdom and heir to the throne
Control of an element: Water control

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Appearance:
Though his face is aristocratic, Arthur isn't much of stereotypical ruling figure. His blond hair is shaggy and often a mess (though it can hardly be helped), his eyebrows are monstrously bushy (even if they are they came blond as his hair), and he's a bit on the small side. At five foot nine, he's just under the average height for men in the Kingdom of the Moon (five foot ten inches). He's more slender than lean, though he does have some muscle. He relies more on intellect and his magical capabilities rather than physical strength. He has the infamous striking Kirkland eyes, though, a rather uncommon and startling shade of green, and a strait, noble nose.

Despite his physical appearance, he makes sure to dress to the nines so that he actually appears to be his Rank. All his clothes are custom tailored by the best. However, it's only in public or meetings with representatives from other Royal families or Kingdoms that he wears his finery. On normal days his clothes will be much more simple, though still costly. If he plans on doing nothing but studying he'll dress in a comfortable fashion and won't bother with his hair (not that bothering with it helps). All in all, Arthur can make himself appear to be what a ruler "should" look like, but it takes some work.

Personality:
Upon first meeting him, one might gather the impression Arthur is bored or annoyed, which could probably be an accurate deduction. However, such an expression is usual a facade. He's more reserved than most, tending to keep his emotions inside rather then display them openly. Most often, his temper and disdain are what he displays rather than happiness or content. He isn't completely heartless, but he'd rather act like it to ward off those who annoy him. He's also openly grumpy with those he's familiar with and has no qualms with pissing them off; he cares very little for what individuals think of his personality.

In fact, there are times when Arthur will go through bouts of self-criticism and purposefully anger those around him. However, those phases never last long and someone or something will spark his temper. He's hot-headed and tends to rush into situations that might lead him to fighting. He's too stubborn to back down, even if he know he'll lose. His pride won't let him give up, either. His temper will increase ten-fold when he's drunk, and he'll partake in tavern brawls and the like.

Despite his temper, he knows how to act properly. Propriety has been instilled in him since he was young, turning him into a bit of a pretentious snob. He looks down upon the lower classes, assuming they're nothing but dirty and improper. He acts the same with common items, preferring the more expensive and better quality goods. All of his tutors have been the best, of course, and taught him to love the knowledge they shared with him. Gradually, he became very studious and didn't need prompting from his parents to go to his lessons. He might actually spend too much time in the Palace library, actually. Though he thrives alone, he tends to grow rather lonely and has very few friends of any sort. As a child, imaginary friends helped, but it's been a long time since he grew up. The loneliness and conservative personality of Arthur tend to stem from the fact he's just rather socially awkward.

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Strengths:
Education Arthur values education above all else. To him, knowledge is power. He wants to learn all he can to rule effectively and with all control.
Status The fact he's Royal is very important to him. He uses his rank to his advantage, especially out in public, flaunting the title with his clothes and mannerisms.
Water Water has always soothed him and his favorite thing to do is sail. His power over the element also contributes to his fondness for it.
Focused Arthur can focus in almost any situation. His family can be quite loud and he's learned how to tune things out and get his work done.
Strong Stomach Mostly thanks to his horrible cooking, the prince can stomach almost any food set in front of him. This comes in handy when trying new delicacies from other Kingdoms.

Weaknesses:
Cooking His cooking is absolutely horrible. Even with strict instructions he still can't make the recipe turn out right. It either ends up burnt, horrible disfigured, or poisonous.
Introverted While Arthur isn't shy, he isn't exactly sociable. He prefers to be alone and finds people to be aggravating. This tends to be disruptive when his parents need him to be diplomatic.
Stubborn He's stubborn as a mule and then some. He won't back down from a challenge and rarely goes back on his word. He has too much pride to even admit he's wrong or sorry at times.
Crowds Crowds make Arthur agitated and nervous. He functions better alone, without others around.
Constantly loses things He's constantly losing things, albeit not ones that are fairly important. A sock or a pen will go missing and won't pop up ever again.

Likes:
-Cooking (even if he isn't very good at it)
-Gardening (being around plants soothes him; he loves flowers)
-Needlework (embroidery, knitting, crocheting, etc.)
-Reading (any book he can get his hands on)
-Cats (he loves his cat to death)
-Tea (his addiction)
-Alcohol (his tolerance is low but that doesn't stop him)
-Sailing (nothing is more calming to him than the open sea)

Dislikes:
-Anything French (he frowns upon the people, the culture, etc.)
-slobs (he thinks everything should be neat and orderly)
-obnoxious people (he finds them, well, obnoxious, and has a very low tolerance for them)
-the cold (he prefers to be lukewarm and comfortable, but the cold seems to freeze his bones)
-Those beneath his status (they're beneath him and he won't bother wasting time with them)
-Pettiness (there are more important things in life than gossip to Arthur)
-The sun (it burns his skin and it too bright, in his opinion)

Fears:
Failing his Kingdom He's terrified of letting his Kingdom down and being considered a horrible ruler. When he's stressed, he'll have nightmares about it, waking up in a cold sweat.
Burning Alive His greatest fear is being trapped in a fire without water anywhere around and burning to death. It's inexplicable, but even the thought, late at night, can send him into a panic.

Quirks:
-Tea. At least three cups of it, every morning. Without it, his usual grumpy state seems warm and fuzzy.
-Despite trimming his eyebrows, they always seem to grow back quickly, just as bushy as before
-Some summer nights he won't sleep. Instead, he'll go outside and stargaze until dawn.

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Biography:
Due to the time of peace, Arthur has lived a relatively sheltered life. Born on the 23rd day of the 4th month to the King and Queen of the Kingdom of the Moon, he has always been given whatever he needs. He was taken care of by a wet nurse through infancy and then graduated to a nanny, and eventually a governess. His parents were never the nurturing type and busied themselves with caring for the Kingdom. He did spend time with his mother, though, but for lessons on proper etiquette and society. Time spent with his father was more of a history lesson and textbook How to Govern. The rest of his learning was spent with tutors.

As a child, Arthur was rarely let out of the Palace. He began to imagine the fantastical creatures of fairy tale books as his friends, since neither his siblings nor the servants wanted or were able to play. He carried about with the imaginary friends in secret, knowing his parents would disdain such frivolous activities. Only on special occasions or trips would he be allowed out of the Palace and his "friends" would stay behind. Arthur was fascinated by the outside world and often reprimanded for it. He was told that it was nothing special, that the Moon Kingdom was the best and none of the others could measure up to it, that the castle he resided in was the epitome of all things wonderful about the Kingdom. He hardly believed any of it, but kept that to himself.

Throughout his teenage years, he was groomed to become the next ruler. As heir, he would eventually become king and needed to know everything about the Court and his Kingdom. Less time was spent with his tutors and governess and more time with his father. Lessons lasted all day and often into the night. His imaginary friends faded completely and his sole focus became the Kingdom of the Moon.

Eventually, the lessons ended up winding down. Arthur was deemed an appropriate ruler and left to his own devices. His father was still mentally capable of controlling the Kingdom and took pride in doing so. The governess was long gone and the Prince no longer needed tutors. He took more time to relax and enjoy the castle, its grounds, and the library. The library was always his favorite. It was a large, multi-story room with rows upon rows of unopened books and comfortable chairs. Several fireplaces were stoked daily when the servants learned how often he inhabited the room. Arthur's father still gave him work to do, dealing mainly with the technological and diplomatic aspects of the Kingdom, but it was hardly anything that took over an hour or two.

RP Sample:
The dark halls echoed with the sound of Arthur's footsteps along the stone floors, ricocheting off the portraits and ceiling. The castle was almost entirely dark, except for the dying light of a few, dripping candles. Everyone was asleep, save for a few guards across the grounds, and it was well into the night. Hardly anyone was up at three in the morning in the winter. And yet, somehow Arthur couldn't sleep. He had tossed and turned restlessly for hours, but to no avail. Deciding upon wandering, he ended up on the corridors leading to the library.

The room was still warm from his stay earlier in the evening. All but one of the fires had worn out, the last still crackling with dying embers. To conserve warmth, he sat near it, stoking the coals with a poker from a rack nearby. It did little to replenish the flames and he set the poker back by its rack, picking up his book from where he left it on the nearest armchair. Settling himself, he cracked the book open, its stiff spine creaking loudly.

It wasn't long until Arthur was lost in the novel, his mind swirling the with plot full of deceitful assassins and unsuspecting commoners. Part of him was transported into the story, imagining what life would be like if he were to live in the hovels the characters lived in, fearing for his life from lawless cretins. It was exciting, in a way, and his heart rate sped up. It wasn't long before he finished the novel, a small grin on his lips when the "Good Guy" came out on top. A happy ending always put him in a better mood.

By now it was closer to dawn than he had suspected and he could feel his eyelids growing heavy. The fire in the fireplace had died, leaving smoking ashes in its place, and the sky was beginning to grow light. Yawning, Arthur stood and returned the book to its shelf. If he returned to bed now, he'd be forced to wake up in a few short hours. To avoid the mood that came with insignificant sleep, he started off towards the kitchens. At least one of the cooks would be up by now. He could do with a cup or two of tea to wake him up. After all, he had all afternoon to sleep. He was only expected at breakfast and dinner. A few more hours awake wouldn't hurt him.

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OOC
Name: Maddie, or Arthur, whichever!
Age: 17
Timezone: Central Standard Time USA
Anything else: Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are my all time favorite~ Also, I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors.

Congratulations! You are accepted! Since this is your site I think that you know that your name should now be changed to Arthur Kirkland and such, so I don't think I need to give you the customary acceptance speech! Your application looks a-okay to me!