Arthur Kirkland // [England]

Character's name: Arthur Kirkland

Country of origin: England (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Year: Fifth

Age: 16

House: Slytherin

Personality:

One thing is for sure: Arthur is horrible with emotions. Not knowing how to act and react make him nervous, so he's short-tempered and irritated most of the time. Deep inside, though, he has a soft heart hidden behind a shield of steel, and despite not showing any hurt or joy on the outside, he will be deeply affected by however others treat him. He is also embarrassed by a lot of subjects, especially when they concern his personal life, and will cover the embarrassment by getting irritated and angry.

He's also very cynical and a master of subtle sarcasm, using it to counter against mockery and teasing. As soon as someone he interacts with gets even a bit aggressive, his "self-defense" kicks in, and his tongue turns to poison.

Arthur is also somewhat antisocial, caused by his lack of skill in communication. He's more of a lonely person, entertaining himself with his magical friends and single-person activities more than activities in a group. That doesn't mean, though, that he's not willing to make friends. He is, but... he just doesn't know how. So instead of approaching people and making a fool of himself, he waits until people approach him. He knows it's not the right way to do things, but he constantly convinces himself he'd rather be alone and respected than sociable and disliked.

In contrast, though, when he is with some of the rare people he trusts, he becomes quite shy, easily embarrassed, and even somewhat bashful. Not many people have seen this side of him, as it takes a long time for him to lower his barriers and let someone into his heart. One good example of this type of reaction, though, could be found during his interactions with his aunt. Being quite distant with his parents, he took a long time to adapt when his aunt started spoiling him rotten, and quickly becomes embarrassed when the latter gives him the love he hasn't quite felt.

Appearance: Arthur has green eyes and sandy blond hair that is messy and quite choppy. His most prominent features, though, are his massive eyebrows, which he is often very defensive over.



Blood status: Pureblood.

Strengths: Very good with potions, healing, and herbology. Can also fly fairly enough. Reads a lot, so had acquired a lot of knowledge, be it of the wizarding world or the Muggle world. Has a very sharp tongue and argues very nicely. He also masters cynicism and the art of subtle sarcasm. He is very good with his hands when it comes to embroidery, sewing, and hand crafts. Clever and quick-witted, he has good reflexes and good instincts. Agile and a good runner.

Weaknesses, phobias, quirks, etc.: Is very mediocre at any kind of offensive/defensive spell, and consequentially, in classes like Defense Against the Dark Arts. He is scared of the dark, although he would never admit it. He is also scared of being alone, but convinces both himself and the world that he's not. He cannot cook to save his life (and certainly won't spare another's if he ever does get into the kitchen), despite constantly arguing that he can. He's not very strong though, preferring rapidity over strength. And, as mentioned above, he's constantly having trouble with his people relations.


Arthur's family has been a proud, rich Pureblood family since their roots. As a Pureblood family, it had been expected of them to be proud, strong and powerful, so parents throughout the generations have taught their children just that: Never buckle, never show fear. Discipline is heavy within their family, their father wanting to pass down the Kirkland tradition of educating children to become cold and fearless.

Arthur's father has a sister, who has no children, but cares for Arthur as if she were her own. Despite not seeming too enthusiastic about it, his parents do sometimes let him visit his aunt Guinevere during the summer. He can enjoy plenty of her presence (and her spoiling) at school, though, as she teaches one of the classes he excels at and enjoys best: potions.

Arthur also has cousins, many of which he hasn't met, and some of which he never gets to see outside of school. One he sees quite often, though, is Fionn, whose parents, for some reason, he couldn't find in the Kirkland archives when he had been made to read it. He often wonders about his older cousin when he spots him in the halls of Hogwarts, only knowing minimally about him. What he does know, though, is his family's reluctance to speak of his mother, just as they are reluctant to speak of his aunt Guinevere. He can't justify it, though.

Arthur, from his very young age, has been indoctrinated to follow his parents' commands and does his very best not to buckle under the pressure being put on him. Being a sensitive child by nature, he was very susceptible to his parents' traditional Kirkland teaching methods, especially his father's. His mother had once told him in his younger years that Arthur "had come very close to not being a good boy", and that his father was only putting so much pressure on him in the hopes of raising his reputation within the family again.

Despite being constantly told that it was for his own good, Arthur never took well to the quasi-detachment he had with his mother as he got older and the growing gap between his father and him and shut himself off. Consequentially, he constantly tried to become cold and distant as well, so he could avoid being hurt ever again. Despite his efforts, he has only outwardly become distant, as his heart still beats in his chest, very much alive and very much tender.

After all this, Arthur simply decided to carry on on his own. Slowly, he got further away from his parents, and, not having any friends to compensate the hole with, he befriended magical creatures that he enjoys very much having around. His favourite are the fairies and a flying green rabbit that always knows how to cheer him up when he's down. Upon his entry to Hogwarts, though, despite the last name that cursed him and hung over his head like an expectation bar, he made a few friends, and from then on, found that family was something worth being pursued.

He had all he wanted at Hogwarts. A nice, caring aunt, some cousins he may or may not get along with in time, a couple of people he could bear (he instinctively was afraid of calling them his friends), and a lot more happiness. If Hogwarts didn't give him a true family, then he didn't know what could. He just figured that sometimes, families are linked by the heart, not by the blood.

Arthur had been in his large, lavish room, enjoying the rare silence and reading a book on magical creatures when it happened. Something hurtled into his window with a loud thump, making him jump and drop his book. Heart thundering so loud, he figured his parents at the Ministry could hear it, he approached the window, cautiously since he was aware that he wasn't allowed to use magic if anything bad happened. His parents could pull some strings and erased his records if he did, but... He'd rather not have to flaunt his family's power in the first place.

Slowly, he opened his window and looked around. Nothing. And then he looked down. A brown, dazed-looking owl was lying on the ground (poor thing must not have noticed the closed window), making pitiful noises as it tried to get free of the letter tied to its foot. Arthur heart skipped a beat. Despite the overall pathetic display, could this be what he'd been waiting for? What his entire family had been waiting for?

Trying not to let his excitement get the best of him, he whipped around and all but ran out his room, down the staircase and out the front door. The owl was still there, hooting pitifully as it laid on the ground until its dizziness passed. Arthur jogged towards it and crouched next to it, not caring if he got his pants dirty. His parents would not object to buying him a new pair of pants, really.

"Hello, birdy..." he spoke in a whisper, gently putting his hand out. The bird, snapping back into attention, rose its head and looked at Arthur before gently nipping at his fingers. Arthur allowed himself a small smile and took the confused bird in his arms. "Is this... for me?" he asked, eyeing the letter. The owl only hooted joyfully, making hope soar into Arthur heart. Without another word, he quickly took the letter off the bird's leg and looked at it with anticipation.

The Hogwarts crest shone brightly in the corner.


Arthur looked around him. So many children. So much noise. So little space. If something didn't happen right this instant, he was sure he'd get claustrophobic and go crazy. Thankfully for his sanity, the doors behind the teachers' table swung open as soon as he thought that, and a teacher came in, holding a stool and an old, ratty wizard hat.

Arthur's parents had prepared him for this day. Arthur had been mentally ready to make his family proud since he was a small child. And yet... He still couldn't help but shake in nervousness as the hat opened its mouth and started singing, to much of the students' surprise. Arthur zoned out during the song, and only came back once the applause stopped and the names started being called out. If felt like forever every time a student walked up and sat on the stool, hat on his head, to discover what their destiny was.

He already knew what his was. The way his parents had showed him poise, etiquette, and pride from his earliest days on made sure of it. Coupled with his fox-like slyness and his cold detachment towards others, he had all but dug his own 'grave'. He knew where he was going, but he was scared of whispers, scared of rumours that arose of how his future house was full of horrible, unpleasant people. He just wished he'd realized it sooner and had started working towards other personality points, just so he could avoid what destiny his parents had forged for him.

"Kirkland, Arthur."

All heads turned to him, hushed whispers darting across the crowd as a passage opened up for him. Eyes, of many different colours and origin, all looked at him, analyzing him, judging him, starting to dislike him already... Arthur felt faint as he walked up and sat on the stool.

"Oh, interesting little boy, aren't you?" the hat immediately started. "I already know what house to put you in."

"I thought so. Am I really going to have to be a Slytherin?" Arthur thought back, holding back a growl of helpless frustration.

"You sound disappointed. Don't take it so harshly, nobody that goes into Slytherin is doomed. Take it as... a testament of your Pureblood nobility and the strength of mind necessary to become great." the hat explained calmly.

"Can I not become a Gryffindor? Any chance of becoming a Ravenclaw? I read a lot! And once, I saved a kitten from a tree! That should be worth something, right?" Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and hoped for the best. He didn't want to be a Slytherin. He didn't want people to judge him without knowing him.

"Sorry, no can do." the hat made a 'tch' noise. "You're smart and somewhat courageous when prompted to be, but the way your mind works, and the way you act as regal as royalty prevails over all. Don't look so gloomy. It's who you are. Don't seek to change. It's not all that bad, being a..."

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table broke out into cheers and thumps on the table as Arthur slid down the stool and made his way towards his locked destiny. To comfort himself, he convinced himself that at least his parents wouldn't be dissatisfied with him. Still... He didn't know why he had dared to even hope.

ABOUT ME:

Name: Call me whatever you like. England or Iggy is fine, even if we're OOC.
Age: 17
Timezone/Country: Canada, GMT -5
Tell us a little about yourself. I am of the female sex. Hetalia is my life. I like history. And I'm going to say this right here, right now: I support both USUK and FrUK (in that order), and I don't know if the USA and France on this forum do, but I thought I'd put it out there for general information.

I'm a fanfiction author at first, a roleplayer second. So forming blocks of text is horribly straining for me because I like to put impact behind my words by separating paragraphs often. I'm sorry if that's a problem. I just can't imagine myself writing blocks of text. If that's what I have to do, I guess I'll experiment, but I'm pretty sure I'll be very uncomfortable with it.

And, well, I guess my roleplay style is very psychological. I go more for the emotions and thoughts of a char instead of the actions it accomplishes. Oh, and I'm very eager to roleplay with everyone. I'm just hoping I submitted this in the right section, now.
Anything else? I hate blue cheese. Thought it was pertinent for everyone to know that~ Then again, my favourite colour IS blue, so I guess I should like it... But no ;)

Alright, so after reading through, there is just a few things to fix.

- The country of origin should be "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", not England, since England itself isn't a country.

- You aren't forming complete paragraphs in the We Just Got a Letter and The Sorting sections. A complete paragraph is 5 sentences, and though we could ignore that if it was just a few short paragraphs here and there, but it's really consistent. Try getting those paragraphs a bit more solid and flowing, and we should be able to accept you!

Get those two things fixed up and there won't be any more problems! The admins might have something to say as well, but I think this is it.

Well, yeah, England IS a country, and the UK is the union of countries. I thought I'd specify it since if Scotland and Wales came on this forum as well, they'd have to write "UK" as well, and that would get somewhat confusing... In any case, I added UK between parenthesis, if that counts for anything (:

Also, I'm horrible with chunks of text. I like to add psychological impact to my sentences by separating my paragraphs often. I will surely write over 5 lines with every post (strict minimum, I'm pretty sure I'll be writing quasi-novels with every post I write @_@) I make, but... I'm instinctively going to want to separate them. It's hard for my eyes to write large paragraphs and I'm not comfortable with writing chunks of text.

But thanks for warning me. I'll wait for the admins' say on this. If they say I can't write paragraphs shorter than 5 lines, even if I do write long posts, then I guess I'll try to force myself to change, but... I can't guarantee anything. Chances are I'll quit cause I'm a loser like that ;w;

Ah, well you might want to start working on it now! I'm not an admin here but I am designated for judging applications, so they honestly probably aren't going to post unless they find something wrong other than what I said. If you're having trouble writing out long enough paragraphs, I suggest adding sensory details and action details, in combination with the insight/thoughts your writing, it really helps add some body to the paragraphs and makes the whole thing come together. If you're still struggling with it, send me a PM and we can try to figure out a good way for you to get the paragraphs up to the right length.

B-B-But I hate adding unnecessary detail... ;w;

Yes sir, I'll get to work on that and do my best TwT If it really doesn't work out after a while, I'll leave, so it won't be a problem (:

Just tell me when you're done fixing things so I can notify someone to move your app into the right accepted section! C:

Oh my god, walls of text, my brain is sobbing right now ;w;

Well, I put some paragraphs together... I hope it's okay now. Is it~?

Hi hi!

I'm Guinevere/Mam Britannia and the Admin Germania on my other account!

I have read over your app so far and can I just point out that Fionn and I (especially me) need to be in your application, so can you read ours and please adjust your history? Thank you! <3

Also, um, my petty thing is that the sorting hat is kind of OOC. owo He's more reverent and calm. Not loudmouthed like you made him.

After discussing it with the admins(miss Guin up there included!), we have a few things we'd like to see from your application before we can accept you. You have one chance left to edit and fix things up.

- We aren't convinced of your ability to type in full paragraphs. We would like for you to prove that you can type in paragraphs consistently and that you won't revert back to typing incomplete paragraphs if you're accepted. We feel that more than just the insight and character's thoughts should be included in the roleplay sample areas. Again, if you're not sure what to do to improve on this area, send me a PM and we can try to work something out c:

- We were confused about the owl being exhausted. Hedwig could fly very lengthy flights without being so tired, and it seems odd to us that an owl old or weak enough to be that easily exhausted would be sent for something so important. This is less important but it was brought up to me by the admins, so you might want to consider it.

So along with Guinevere's points, this is all you should work on! C:

I'll try one last time.

But before I do, I'd just like to know a bit more on what Arthur's "foster" family is like. If I understood correctly, Miss Guinevere gave Arthur up to her brother? So I'd just like to know what kind of people they are.

Thanks for your time.

Well I tried to keep it a little vague, so I suppose you have a lot of freedom with it. Um... strict, I suppose. Probably not as loving as he'd like but nice enough to let him see his Auntie Guinnie, the black sheep in the family >w<

Alright, well, here it is. My last shot. Here's hoping it's good enough. If yes, that's wonderful news. If not, then that's okay.

After all this, we think you've really upped the ante on your app and decided to accept you C: Congratulations!