Post by darlingjohn on Feb 15, 2012 21:32:16 GMT -5
... archibald tiberius kensington *
* “Sirs! My brother and I are English gentlemen. English gentlemen do not beg!” *
[/size]* “Sirs! My brother and I are English gentlemen. English gentlemen do not beg!” *
...basics*
name Archibald Tiberius Kensington III. And don’t you forget it!
nickname Archie
age 17
gender Male
grade High school junior
hometown Hertfordshire, England
sexuality Stubbornly heterosexual. Secretly a little bi-curious.
personification John Darling
status DORMANT
face claim Gregg Sulkin
...appearance*
hair color Deep, chocolatey brown color. Always impeccably brushed.
eye color A very average hazel.
build Average height and fairly thin. Not particularly athletic.
height 5’10”
clothing style Posh, posh, posh. Suits, ties, button-down shirts, vests, sweatervests. Slacks, almost never jeans. He dresses expensively and he always looks more dapper than you could ever hope to be.
distinctive traits Exceptionally good posture. Usually wears glasses.
...personal*
personality
Archie is a brat.
It’s simple and it’s true. He has been raised in a realm of money and high social standing, and it has made him into a complete snob. He’s condescending, he’s haughty, and most of all, he’s the biggest know-it-all you will ever meet in your entire life. Archie thinks that he knows more and knows better than everyone else around him, simply because he is well-born, well-bred, and well-raised. Around his peers, this can make him seem immature, and very often like he’s trying too hard – which he usually is. Honestly, a lot of the time, he just wants attention. He will stubbornly deny it, of course. After all, why would he need the attention of those who are clearly beneath him?
In fact, there are a lot of things about which Archie is incredibly stubborn. Grammar would be one of them. His sexuality would be another (because he is unusually well-dressed for a boy, this often comes into question). On top of that, there are also the subjects of manners, principles, English history, and pretty much anything else a teenage boy could find to be stubborn about. Honestly, his viewpoint is very straightforward, very black and white. Either it’s good or it’s bad. There is no gray area. This also makes him quite narrow-minded. For instance, he hates almost every other country in the world except his home country of England, for which he is passionately patriotic.
Though quite intelligent, Archie tends to be a complete egghead. He takes every opportunity to shove his knowledge about things into other people’s faces. His brain is practically bursting with facts. However, his memorization skills are not always equivalent to comprehension. Though Archie is indeed rather smart, he has never been encouraged to be very creative, and so he is not. He likes concrete and straightforward things like history, and especially math. He is very good at memorizing names and dates and formulas, but he is not as good at providing an in-depth analysis of symbolism in such-and-such a novel. This, of course, has not earned him many friends. Archie is regarded by many people as irritating and entirely grating on the nerves, simply because he often doesn’t know when to stop. Almost everyone knows how arrogant he is.
And apart from his pigheadedness and his overconfidence, Archie is exceptionally proud. He doesn’t like to ask for help from anyone when it comes to anything and is fiercely independent, with what seems to be an insane thirst to prove himself. He hates working with others because he is convinced they will mess things up and make him look bad, and he is incredibly preoccupied with his reputation as a fine and upstanding young gentleman. This may seem a laugh, but when in the company of grown-ups, Archie’s demeanor takes on a shocking change – he becomes polite, well-spoken, and downright demure, a version of Archie that would alarm his peers. Indeed, Archie seems to be trying to grow up too fast, and perhaps part of his awkwardness amongst his own peers comes from the fact that he has practically forgotten what it feels like to be a kid. However, this hasn’t gotten rid of his slight temper and his tendency to overreact. Around his peers, he tends to be far too melodramatic and frequently makes mountains out of molehills.
Though he would never reveal it, Archie is actually incredibly self-conscious. He is very insecure about himself and is constantly terrified that he will be viewed as a fool or an idiot, part of the reason why he is such a know-it-all. When he first started living with his aunt and uncle, he knew nothing about the rules of polite society, which made him feel awkward and nervous whenever they took him to parties or outings – which they often did, even when he was young. He would often receive patronizing smiles and chuckles, and they have echoed in his ears forever, giving him an infallible drive to become the perfect Renaissance man, beloved by everyone. Of course, part of him knows this goal is unachievable, but it doesn’t stop him from trying.
Still, there are many times in his life when Archie doubts himself. He often wonders if what he’s doing with his life is right, if he even knows what he’s doing with his life in the first place. He has a haunting sense of self-doubt and frequently criticizes himself mentally as much and as often as he outwardly criticizes everyone else. The truth is that Archie is wearing himself out trying to be an adult, because he isn’t one. He’s a seventeen-year-old boy who still hasn’t found himself, but he’s having a very hard time trying to accept that.
Archie’s sexuality is also something that occasionally comes into question. Archie is straight. Or, rather, he thinks he’s straight. No, actually, he doesn’t really know if he’s straight. He’s curious, but he is far too stubborn to admit it. He is a creature of exceptionally limited sexuality. He’s never had a girlfriend – in fact, despite his relative good looks, he’s never even been kissed. Most girls (and boys, for that matter) have found him far too obnoxious and bigheaded for a romantic option.
The truth is, Archie tries very hard to impress people, but he doesn’t really feel like he belongs anywhere, and it kills him.
past
One sunny afternoon, in a lovely home in Hertfordshire, England, Marcella and Archibald Kensington returned home from the nearby hospital with a glowing baby boy in their arms. They had named the child Archibald Tiberius, the third of such a name in the Kensington family, and they had high hopes for their little boy.
The Kensingtons were a respectable, upper middle class family. They were a bit snobbish, perhaps, but kind, and they instilled in young Archie (whom they referred to as Junior) a set of firm values from a very early age. Archie grew up with etiquette and easy smiles, good books, and lots of hugs. He lived very happily in his little family – which never grew any bigger than three – and spent a lot of his time reading and playing. Though he turned out to be a bit of a braggart among other children, the Kensingtons still regarded their boy as smart and well-bred, and they encouraged self-confidence.
However, the Kensingtons were not lax parents, either. Archie was held to strict standards of behavior, and if he did not meet expectations, he was punished. But these punishments were never beatings or anything that would cause any mental scars – they were the typical punishments of a parent to an unruly child. Time Out Chair, revoking of certain privileges, but never, ever bed without supper – Marcella was a health nut and would not have her precious little boy go without three solid meals per day, no matter what sort of terrible tantrum he had thrown.
As Archie worked his way through primary school, things were looking good for the Kensington family.
And then, something terrible happened.
Late one night, the Kensington parents were driving home to their son after a pleasant evening out together when a nasty blizzard kicked up, blinding Mr. Kensington, who was driving. Unable to see, he did not spot the icy road ahead of him in time, and lost control of the car. The car went careening off the road and slammed into a pole. The force of the collision knocked out the car’s occupants and badly damaged the fuel tank.
Less than a minute later, the car violently went up in flames.
Archie was ten years old.
Disoriented and heartbroken, the young boy was terrified both at the idea that he would never see his loving parents again, and that he would end up far away from Hertfordshire, in foster care with a family he didn’t know.
Fortunately for Archibald, the Abercrombies were there to help.
Alexandria Abercrombie was the young, married sister of the late Marcella Kensington. She was 22 years old, married to Walter Abercrombie, 26, sole heir to the extensive Abercrombie estate. The two were active socialites who really didn’t have time to raise a child, but, in a so-called “act of charity” that was perhaps more for publicity than out of the goodness of their hearts, they took in parentless Archie.
Immediately, Archibald was plunged into an entirely different universe. His old life had been quiet and content and happy, but with the Abercrombies, things were always moving. They lived in a massive mansion that must have been five time the size of his old home in Hertfordshire, and they were always either throwing or attending parties. At first, Archie was deemed “too young” to go with them and was left to occupy himself in the dusty, untouched library of Abercrombie Manor, under the semi-watchful eye of the maid. However, at the age of twelve, the Abercrombies began to take little Archie along with them.
They claimed that it was best for Archie to be submerged in “polite society” as early as possible, now that he was a member of their family. Aunt Alexandria and Uncle Walter seemed to have a very low opinion of the lifestyle the Kensingtons had led. Walter, supposedly, was under the impression that the Kensingtons had squandered their money and had paid the price for it, though Archie, having explored the entirety of Abercrombie Manor, really wondered what he considered “squandering” to be. Either way, neither of the Abercrombies believed that Archie had been raised to his true potential.
Archie will always remember his first party. Stumbling along behind his aunt in clothes that felt awkward and scratchy, he will always hear the patronizing chuckles, the “how cute”s, the little smiles and the way nobody listened to him because he didn’t know a thing. It instilled in him a demented lust never to be viewed as a child again. That first night terrified him, and even today, when he is looked down upon, he can hear the laughs in his ears. It is why, by the age of fourteen, he was cramming so much knowledge into his little head that he could have a conversation about almost anything with the adults.
However, the attitude he took on with the grown-ups did not go over so well with his peers. Archie’s newly-developed know-it-all attitude didn’t earn him many friends, nor did his need for attention. He hated to be ignored – he wasn’t used to it and he didn’t like to be alone. So he did everything he could to make everyone know who he was, if not respect him.
And so he made himself into a fine, upstanding British gentleman.
present
The Abercrombies, deciding that Archibald should have as many experiences as possible, decided to send him abroad for high school. After close consideration of educational program and cost, they selected Baum Academy, and shipped Archie off to New York. Archie has never been to the United States before, and he is finding many cultural gaps between himself and the citizens there. For instance, what on earth is an “elevator,” and why do the other students laugh when he asks for a rubber? He doesn’t understand such things, but he is doing his best to learn to prevent being mocked.
Finding that the American education system is more lax than the English even at Baum, Archie doesn’t have to work quite as hard in school as he used to. This gives him more free time – time that he hasn’t the slightest idea what to do with. He spends a lot of time reading about things, storing new information. Without the polite society of upper class England, Archie doesn’t know what to do – he’s never been around poor people or even working class people, and it makes him feel awkward and out-of-place among some of his peers. Though he frequently tours the city, he also just as frequently gets lost.
In addition, he’s earning back that reputation for being a complete prick.
family
Alexandria Abercrombie [nee. Westing] – aunt, 30, housewife
Walter Abercrombie – uncle, 34, distinguished and somehow exceptionally rich Englishman (old money)
Marcella Kensington [nee. Westing] – mother, deceased
Archibald Kensington II – father, deceased
likes
Classical music
Formal events
Intellectual stimulation
Mathematics
England, and anything to do with it
...particularly the Royal Family. (He is just generally a very patriotic Englishman.)
TEA.
But also coffee.
Sleek, expensive cars
Reading
The finer things in life
dislikes
Scotland
Wales
America
France
Chavs
American youth
The American education system
Fast food
Cheap, poorly made things
Shitty books
American History courses (“I don’t give a rat’s arse about your daft country.”)
other notes He's severely allergic to cats.
...literature*
book title Peter Pan
backstory John Darling is the brother of Wendy and Michael Darling. When Peter Pan comes into their room, John goes to Neverland with his brother and sister and goes on many adventures with the Lost Boys. John wears glasses, and he is smart, though he tries to act a little too grown up for his age sometimes. He is the older of the Darling brothers.
...roleplayer*
name Zelda
age TEXT HERE
gender TEXT HERE
rp experience TEXT HERE
how you found ouac TEXT HERE
rp sample AT LEAST THREE PARAGRAPHS
