Post by england on Jul 1, 2010 16:55:39 GMT -5
NOTE--I like to get a little silly with the history sections of applications (it keeps me from getting bored)
Nation: England (or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)*
Name: Arthur Kirkland
Gender: Male
Appearance of Age: 23
Hair Color: Ashy blond
Eye Color: Green
Height: 175cm--5'7"
Weight: 63kg--140lbs
Appearance:
Personality: Well, if you were to ask Mr. Kirkland himself, he would say simply that he is a proper gentleman, polite, classy, charming, and always has been so. If asking others, you may get such responses as 'stuffy old man,' 'closeted pervert,' or 'former delinquent.' Some may call him a 'heartless conqueror.' Maybe he's all of these things and more.Maybe he's none of these things.
The Arthur Kirkland of today is a humble man. Well, humble in that he's not the grandest empire on the planet anymore; he's still quite proud and certainly stubborn (don't get offended though, his upper lip's just a bit too stiff). Arthur Kirkland, as the nation of England, has soldiered on for centuries. As an empire, his was a real underdog-rising-to-the-top story. At other times, he was barely holding on.
England on the outside and England on the inside are two different people. Not in a crazy way, of course, maybe. The England that everyone sees is sarcastic, aloof, composed, and uncaring. Underneath, England's a die-hard romantic and actually quite sweet. He'll show that side to a few choice people (for his own sake, of course, so not everyone thinks he's a heartless man). Although, for all his love of love and things romantic, England's not exactly on the cutting edge of being romantic; your mileage may vary when flirting.
Likes:
+ Tea
+ Embroidery
+ Manners
+ The Beatles (and y'know, English music in general)
+ Magic/Magical Creatures
+ Cooking
+ Proper spelling
+ Poetry/Literature
Dislikes:
- Losing
- Being mocked
- Coffee
- Growing Old
- A lack of manners
- Memories
Fears:
~ Everyone finding out that sometimes he's just talking a big game
~ Rejection/Being alone
~ To lose everything all over again
~ To die--although he knows that as a nation it's impossible for him to technically "perish," England fears being wiped off the map
Strengths:
+ The ability to just keep going--that good old British stiff upper lip, endurance (much of this is fueled by his fear of "dying")
+ Intelligence--He's the man with the plans (someone has to be, do you expect America or that disgusting frog to come up with anything?)
+ Magic--Busby's Chair, summoning, curses, love charms
+ Lying/Deception--it comes from his charm and wit, many people are more likely to believe him
Weaknesses:
- America--he's got a huge soft spot for his former colony.
- Alcohol
- Physical strength
- Criticism--it's easy to deflate or enrage him with just one well placed comment. Even if you're not trying to criticize, he'll probably take it that way
- Haunted by regrets--he constantly thinks in terms of 'if this hadn't happened' or 'if I had done this differently'
History:
Prehistory/B.C.
Once upon a time, there was a tiny island off the coast of Europe. It was inhabited by a handful of Celtic tribes, and things were fine. Well, as fine as things can be on that rainy little rock.
Then, in 43 AD, the Romans showed up and were all like 'Hey, check out that island, let's totally take over it!' So, they tried to do that and tried and tried, and some people started to think 'Maybe this isn't so worth it.' But Emperor Claudius was all like, 'No way, man, it'll totally be worth it!' Eventually, the Romans succeeded and named the land Britannia and used it for mining and stuff.
As the Roman Empire started to collapse, they abandoned their little northern province, and the Anglo Saxons came flooding in. They brought the Old English language and are thought to be the first real 'English' people.
The Middle Ages
Then suddenly, VIKINGS! D: They controlled a large amount of what we would now be called England, but everything was pretty much disorganized and divided into a bunch of little kingdoms until the Kingdom of England came together in the 10th century.
Then it was 1066, time for the Battle of Hastings! The Normans gained control of the kingdom; this changed everything in England because now the lousy French were running things. The Middle Ages weren't very good to England (hell, were they good to anyone?) there was a LOT of war (mostly civil, like the Wars of Roses and The Anarchy--which lead to the fading out of Norman rule.) ((This era of history honestly confuses the hell out of me, so this section is a little thin.)) Over the next several decades, England won and lost and won and lost territory in France and Wales and a few other places.
Next was a great big long line of Henrys and Richards and Edwards. These men took steps to make the monarch the real power in England (during The Anarchy, the barons had been handling things more) Richard I led a crusade and wasn't home much anyway; his brother John was kind of a jerk and a bunch of barons forced him to sign (or actually put his seal on) the Magna Carta--which in plainest terms undid the ultimate monarchical power that the past couple kings had sought to establish.
Henry III was 9 when he became king and spent much of his time struggling over the whole Magna Carta thing. In 1264, he called the first Parliament meeting--using the word parliament in kind of a loose sense. He also had to deal with lots of rebellions and land discrepancies.
Edward I did slightly better; he managed to take over Wales and gain control over the King of Scotland. Edward II was a general screw up, and lots of people think he was homosexual. England was invaded (again) by France during his reign by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.
There was a famine, there was a Hundred Years War, there was The Black Plague. Pretty much everyone geographically close to England hated him. Even the English hated each other. At this point in time, it sucked to be England.
The Tudors
After the Wars of Roses (a horrid civil war between the royal houses of Lancaster and York) Henry VII took the throne and the Tudor period began (a HUGE improvement) This Henry picked up the pieces of a tattered England and was an alright king.
Second verse not the same as the first as Henry VIII came into power. He began waging war against France for no reason other than his own personal ego stroking. H8 had lots of children but only Mary survived past infancy. Cathrine of Aragon (his wife) was no longer able to bear children, but H8 wanted a male heir, so he wanted to remarry.
But the Pope was all like "WTF? No." So, Henry VIII said, "Alright, screw you, I'll start my own church." And he did, so now we've got The Church of England--which is JUST LIKE the Catholic Church except with the king at the head of it rather than that stupid jerk of a Pope.
So Henry VIII married a bunch of women, some of them died, some of them he killed. These women gave him children, a couple were stillborn; Elizabeth was one of them; Edward was another (due to his having a penis, he became the heir--Mary and Elizabeth were declared bastards) He campaigned in France again and barely made it out (got nothing out of it either). Henry VIII died five years later.
Edward VI did an alright job (being only 9 when he took the throne and dying right before his 16th birthday); England became an official Protestant nation during his reign. After he died, Mary I landed in power (she was popular, plus the first choice--Lady Jane Gray--kind of...lost her head *bad joke*) Mary was a diehard Catholic and thought she could bring everything back to before her father told the Pope to sod off. As we can see today, this didn't happen.
THEN it was time for ELIZABETH I! (sorry for the caps, I like her) At this point in time, England was kind of rocking; Shakespeare was writing, Sir Francis Drake was exploring, Mary, Queen of Scots, was being beheaded, and the Spanish Armada was flaming. All in all, this turning point in England's history turned pretty well.
17th Century
After Elizabeth died, King James I took the throne (he was Scottish; this united England and Scotland under one monarch--something other kings had been trying to do by force for centuries) Lots of attempts to take James' life were made--most famous being the Gunpower Plot of Guy Fawkes. Internationally, he patched up relations with Spain, then England pretty much stayed out of the continent's politics.
Then it was time for colonization =D Blah, blah, cash crops, blah blah, North America, blah, blah, everyone wanting a piece of it, but England won. Good times were had.
But of course England is never allowed to be happy, so it was time for a CIVIL WAR (again :/) This time it was between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. Charles I, the king at the time, was beheaded, and England became a republic led by Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector) The whole republic thing didn't last long, though, monarchy was started up again when Charles II showed up in London.
London had a visit from the plague and a great big fire soon after. After Restoration, the power of the crown was lessened.
Next, something odd happened--The Great Revolution. James II was overthrown (due to his being Catholic--this pissed off some people in Scotland and Ireland who wanted him back in power, that...didn't really work out as they were pretty much massacred whenever they tried to do anything). Some wanted the Prince of Orange to take the throne...and he did. William III became king, and he was actually pretty good at the job. In 1689, the English Bill of Rights was written up, good stuff.
18th Century and Beyond!
(I'm getting a bit tired of writing this, so I'm just speeding through the next couple centuries...)
England became joined officially as one entity with Scotland on May 1st, 1707. Ireland joined in 1800. (Not a lot of people liked this...especially not the Irish who just wouldn't stop rebelling >
)
George II was king during the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War (in which, to put it in Hetalia terms, England got full custody of Canada)
England began relations with India, purely economic at first. Relations between England and America began to strain, which led to the War of Independence. This was a turning point, again, for the nation and began the hardcore conquering we know England for.
James Cook discovered Australia and it became a prison colony for Victorian criminals (mostly debtors) [he found New Zealand too, but...whatever]
But then, on the horizon, Napoleonic France showed up > England won the Napoleonic Wars--most notably the Battle of Trafalgar with Horatio Nelson, who is kickass. Seychelles (and a bunch of other islands) became England's property afterward. England got control of Egypt at some point too, plus South Africa from the Netherlands.
England abolished slavery in 1807.
The Industrial Revolution showed up at some point in here; it was great and crappy at the same time.
Then, via India, England started to mess around with China by trading tea for opium. Yeah, that worked out well, and only built up to the Opium Wars (and England's acquisition of Hong Kong) Queen Victoria became Empress of India.
By now, both England and Russia were racing to take over territories being left by former empires (like the Ottomans and the Persians) England tried to take over Afghanistan, which didn't totally work. This whole decade or so was pretty much a giant game of Risk that England started to win. They gained control of much of Africa (sometimes by force such as the Boer War)
(If you're not confused, I don't think you're paying attention.)
Victorian England itself (minus the INSANE colonial thing) was at once great and terrible. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, said Charles Dickens. The rich got richer and the poor stayed poor :/
And the Irish just kept rebelling and having a famine for several decades.
Then it was World War I. England was on the winning side. The Global Depression set in (thanks a lot America). Ireland was given sovereignty (apart from the loyalist North).
Then it was World War II. England won again. Europe collectively decided that it was time to stop being empires (just in time for America and Russia to become superpowers...) Little by little, English colonies became sovereign states--some became part of the 'commonwealth' like Australia and Canada.
The "British Invasion" of music swept the world and on the whole, England settled down (despite the punk rock thing) England stands as America's strongest ally, and one of the most powerful nations in Europe and the world.
(This took me forever and most of it turned out to be about the monarchs, please don't be too critical -_-')
(Depends on when we're talking for Allies/Enemies, but...in general, I guess...)
Allies: America, France, Russia, China, Canada, Japan, Norway
Enemies: France, Germany, America, Denmark, Spain
Sample Post:
England sat with his back pressed against the mast of the Susan Constant, staring up at the white clouds that drifted the opposite direction. 'Clear your mind,' James had said, 'Embark with the expedition to the New World.' England wasn't inclined to take the advice of a Scotsman, but the past few years had been so odd, with Elizabeth dying and England having to apologize to the blasted Spaniard for destroying his stupid Armada. England spat on the deck, that's what I think of him.
There was a cry of 'Land, ho!' high atop the mast. England leaped up and rushed to the bow, jostling a couple of men out of the way. Sure enough, there it was peeking over the horizon at him, a vast forest of the New World, unmarred, pure. At least, it should be pure, he thought, provided that disgusting France hasn't gotten here yet. He remembered what Finland had said about seeing a little boy in the wilderness here.
As England dragged the dingy onto the beach with the other men, he began looking around for any signs of civilization, any signs of someone like him. The captain had evidently been talking to him, but England was still lost in scanning the tree line until he heard "Is that alright, Mister Kirkland?"
"What?" the nation turned his head suddenly to the man addressing him, "Yes, yes, that's fine." He strode across the sand to a pile of supplies being unloaded, calling over his shoulder, "I'm going to scout the area." England rummaged in one of the packs until his found a stout knife, which he tucked into his boot. Certainly, whatever primitive nation lived out there might be dangerous; he also didn't know what kind of wildlife lived here. "I'll be back by dark," he announced before trudging into the forest.
The universe's here because I'm here
The galaxy's here because I'm here
Did you read the rules? I certainly have and intend to follow them to the best of my ability.
* I don't know if we'll ever wind up having a Scotland or a Wales, but I probably won't refer to him as the UK or Great Britain much.
Nation: England (or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)*
Name: Arthur Kirkland
Gender: Male
Appearance of Age: 23
Hair Color: Ashy blond
Eye Color: Green
Height: 175cm--5'7"
Weight: 63kg--140lbs
Appearance:
Personality: Well, if you were to ask Mr. Kirkland himself, he would say simply that he is a proper gentleman, polite, classy, charming, and always has been so. If asking others, you may get such responses as 'stuffy old man,' 'closeted pervert,' or 'former delinquent.' Some may call him a 'heartless conqueror.' Maybe he's all of these things and more.
The Arthur Kirkland of today is a humble man. Well, humble in that he's not the grandest empire on the planet anymore; he's still quite proud and certainly stubborn (don't get offended though, his upper lip's just a bit too stiff). Arthur Kirkland, as the nation of England, has soldiered on for centuries. As an empire, his was a real underdog-rising-to-the-top story. At other times, he was barely holding on.
England on the outside and England on the inside are two different people. Not in a crazy way, of course, maybe. The England that everyone sees is sarcastic, aloof, composed, and uncaring. Underneath, England's a die-hard romantic and actually quite sweet. He'll show that side to a few choice people (for his own sake, of course, so not everyone thinks he's a heartless man). Although, for all his love of love and things romantic, England's not exactly on the cutting edge of being romantic; your mileage may vary when flirting.
Likes:
+ Tea
+ Embroidery
+ Manners
+ The Beatles (and y'know, English music in general)
+ Magic/Magical Creatures
+ Cooking
+ Proper spelling
+ Poetry/Literature
Dislikes:
- Losing
- Being mocked
- Coffee
- Growing Old
- A lack of manners
- Memories
Fears:
~ Everyone finding out that sometimes he's just talking a big game
~ Rejection/Being alone
~ To lose everything all over again
~ To die--although he knows that as a nation it's impossible for him to technically "perish," England fears being wiped off the map
Strengths:
+ The ability to just keep going--that good old British stiff upper lip, endurance (much of this is fueled by his fear of "dying")
+ Intelligence--He's the man with the plans (someone has to be, do you expect America or that disgusting frog to come up with anything?)
+ Magic--Busby's Chair, summoning, curses, love charms
+ Lying/Deception--it comes from his charm and wit, many people are more likely to believe him
Weaknesses:
- America--he's got a huge soft spot for his former colony.
- Alcohol
- Physical strength
- Criticism--it's easy to deflate or enrage him with just one well placed comment. Even if you're not trying to criticize, he'll probably take it that way
- Haunted by regrets--he constantly thinks in terms of 'if this hadn't happened' or 'if I had done this differently'
History:
Prehistory/B.C.
Once upon a time, there was a tiny island off the coast of Europe. It was inhabited by a handful of Celtic tribes, and things were fine. Well, as fine as things can be on that rainy little rock.
Then, in 43 AD, the Romans showed up and were all like 'Hey, check out that island, let's totally take over it!' So, they tried to do that and tried and tried, and some people started to think 'Maybe this isn't so worth it.' But Emperor Claudius was all like, 'No way, man, it'll totally be worth it!' Eventually, the Romans succeeded and named the land Britannia and used it for mining and stuff.
As the Roman Empire started to collapse, they abandoned their little northern province, and the Anglo Saxons came flooding in. They brought the Old English language and are thought to be the first real 'English' people.
The Middle Ages
Then suddenly, VIKINGS! D: They controlled a large amount of what we would now be called England, but everything was pretty much disorganized and divided into a bunch of little kingdoms until the Kingdom of England came together in the 10th century.
Then it was 1066, time for the Battle of Hastings! The Normans gained control of the kingdom; this changed everything in England because now the lousy French were running things. The Middle Ages weren't very good to England (hell, were they good to anyone?) there was a LOT of war (mostly civil, like the Wars of Roses and The Anarchy--which lead to the fading out of Norman rule.) ((This era of history honestly confuses the hell out of me, so this section is a little thin.)) Over the next several decades, England won and lost and won and lost territory in France and Wales and a few other places.
Next was a great big long line of Henrys and Richards and Edwards. These men took steps to make the monarch the real power in England (during The Anarchy, the barons had been handling things more) Richard I led a crusade and wasn't home much anyway; his brother John was kind of a jerk and a bunch of barons forced him to sign (or actually put his seal on) the Magna Carta--which in plainest terms undid the ultimate monarchical power that the past couple kings had sought to establish.
Henry III was 9 when he became king and spent much of his time struggling over the whole Magna Carta thing. In 1264, he called the first Parliament meeting--using the word parliament in kind of a loose sense. He also had to deal with lots of rebellions and land discrepancies.
Edward I did slightly better; he managed to take over Wales and gain control over the King of Scotland. Edward II was a general screw up, and lots of people think he was homosexual. England was invaded (again) by France during his reign by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.
There was a famine, there was a Hundred Years War, there was The Black Plague. Pretty much everyone geographically close to England hated him. Even the English hated each other. At this point in time, it sucked to be England.
The Tudors
After the Wars of Roses (a horrid civil war between the royal houses of Lancaster and York) Henry VII took the throne and the Tudor period began (a HUGE improvement) This Henry picked up the pieces of a tattered England and was an alright king.
Second verse not the same as the first as Henry VIII came into power. He began waging war against France for no reason other than his own personal ego stroking. H8 had lots of children but only Mary survived past infancy. Cathrine of Aragon (his wife) was no longer able to bear children, but H8 wanted a male heir, so he wanted to remarry.
But the Pope was all like "WTF? No." So, Henry VIII said, "Alright, screw you, I'll start my own church." And he did, so now we've got The Church of England--which is JUST LIKE the Catholic Church except with the king at the head of it rather than that stupid jerk of a Pope.
So Henry VIII married a bunch of women, some of them died, some of them he killed. These women gave him children, a couple were stillborn; Elizabeth was one of them; Edward was another (due to his having a penis, he became the heir--Mary and Elizabeth were declared bastards) He campaigned in France again and barely made it out (got nothing out of it either). Henry VIII died five years later.
Edward VI did an alright job (being only 9 when he took the throne and dying right before his 16th birthday); England became an official Protestant nation during his reign. After he died, Mary I landed in power (she was popular, plus the first choice--Lady Jane Gray--kind of...lost her head *bad joke*) Mary was a diehard Catholic and thought she could bring everything back to before her father told the Pope to sod off. As we can see today, this didn't happen.
THEN it was time for ELIZABETH I! (sorry for the caps, I like her) At this point in time, England was kind of rocking; Shakespeare was writing, Sir Francis Drake was exploring, Mary, Queen of Scots, was being beheaded, and the Spanish Armada was flaming. All in all, this turning point in England's history turned pretty well.
17th Century
After Elizabeth died, King James I took the throne (he was Scottish; this united England and Scotland under one monarch--something other kings had been trying to do by force for centuries) Lots of attempts to take James' life were made--most famous being the Gunpower Plot of Guy Fawkes. Internationally, he patched up relations with Spain, then England pretty much stayed out of the continent's politics.
Then it was time for colonization =D Blah, blah, cash crops, blah blah, North America, blah, blah, everyone wanting a piece of it, but England won. Good times were had.
But of course England is never allowed to be happy, so it was time for a CIVIL WAR (again :/) This time it was between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. Charles I, the king at the time, was beheaded, and England became a republic led by Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector) The whole republic thing didn't last long, though, monarchy was started up again when Charles II showed up in London.
London had a visit from the plague and a great big fire soon after. After Restoration, the power of the crown was lessened.
Next, something odd happened--The Great Revolution. James II was overthrown (due to his being Catholic--this pissed off some people in Scotland and Ireland who wanted him back in power, that...didn't really work out as they were pretty much massacred whenever they tried to do anything). Some wanted the Prince of Orange to take the throne...and he did. William III became king, and he was actually pretty good at the job. In 1689, the English Bill of Rights was written up, good stuff.
18th Century and Beyond!
(I'm getting a bit tired of writing this, so I'm just speeding through the next couple centuries...)
England became joined officially as one entity with Scotland on May 1st, 1707. Ireland joined in 1800. (Not a lot of people liked this...especially not the Irish who just wouldn't stop rebelling >
)George II was king during the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War (in which, to put it in Hetalia terms, England got full custody of Canada)
England began relations with India, purely economic at first. Relations between England and America began to strain, which led to the War of Independence. This was a turning point, again, for the nation and began the hardcore conquering we know England for.
James Cook discovered Australia and it became a prison colony for Victorian criminals (mostly debtors) [he found New Zealand too, but...whatever]
But then, on the horizon, Napoleonic France showed up >
England won the Napoleonic Wars--most notably the Battle of Trafalgar with Horatio Nelson, who is kickass. Seychelles (and a bunch of other islands) became England's property afterward. England got control of Egypt at some point too, plus South Africa from the Netherlands.England abolished slavery in 1807.
The Industrial Revolution showed up at some point in here; it was great and crappy at the same time.
Then, via India, England started to mess around with China by trading tea for opium. Yeah, that worked out well, and only built up to the Opium Wars (and England's acquisition of Hong Kong) Queen Victoria became Empress of India.
By now, both England and Russia were racing to take over territories being left by former empires (like the Ottomans and the Persians) England tried to take over Afghanistan, which didn't totally work. This whole decade or so was pretty much a giant game of Risk that England started to win. They gained control of much of Africa (sometimes by force such as the Boer War)
(If you're not confused, I don't think you're paying attention.)
Victorian England itself (minus the INSANE colonial thing) was at once great and terrible. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, said Charles Dickens. The rich got richer and the poor stayed poor :/
And the Irish just kept rebelling and having a famine for several decades.
Then it was World War I. England was on the winning side. The Global Depression set in (thanks a lot America). Ireland was given sovereignty (apart from the loyalist North).
Then it was World War II. England won again. Europe collectively decided that it was time to stop being empires (just in time for America and Russia to become superpowers...) Little by little, English colonies became sovereign states--some became part of the 'commonwealth' like Australia and Canada.
The "British Invasion" of music swept the world and on the whole, England settled down (despite the punk rock thing) England stands as America's strongest ally, and one of the most powerful nations in Europe and the world.
(This took me forever and most of it turned out to be about the monarchs, please don't be too critical -_-')
(Depends on when we're talking for Allies/Enemies, but...in general, I guess...)
Allies: America, France, Russia, China, Canada, Japan, Norway
Enemies: France, Germany, America, Denmark, Spain
Sample Post:
England sat with his back pressed against the mast of the Susan Constant, staring up at the white clouds that drifted the opposite direction. 'Clear your mind,' James had said, 'Embark with the expedition to the New World.' England wasn't inclined to take the advice of a Scotsman, but the past few years had been so odd, with Elizabeth dying and England having to apologize to the blasted Spaniard for destroying his stupid Armada. England spat on the deck, that's what I think of him.
There was a cry of 'Land, ho!' high atop the mast. England leaped up and rushed to the bow, jostling a couple of men out of the way. Sure enough, there it was peeking over the horizon at him, a vast forest of the New World, unmarred, pure. At least, it should be pure, he thought, provided that disgusting France hasn't gotten here yet. He remembered what Finland had said about seeing a little boy in the wilderness here.
As England dragged the dingy onto the beach with the other men, he began looking around for any signs of civilization, any signs of someone like him. The captain had evidently been talking to him, but England was still lost in scanning the tree line until he heard "Is that alright, Mister Kirkland?"
"What?" the nation turned his head suddenly to the man addressing him, "Yes, yes, that's fine." He strode across the sand to a pile of supplies being unloaded, calling over his shoulder, "I'm going to scout the area." England rummaged in one of the packs until his found a stout knife, which he tucked into his boot. Certainly, whatever primitive nation lived out there might be dangerous; he also didn't know what kind of wildlife lived here. "I'll be back by dark," he announced before trudging into the forest.
The universe's here because I'm here
The galaxy's here because I'm here
Did you read the rules? I certainly have and intend to follow them to the best of my ability.
* I don't know if we'll ever wind up having a Scotland or a Wales, but I probably won't refer to him as the UK or Great Britain much.
