Post by james on Dec 18, 2011 1:35:32 GMT -8
prince james
"WAIT. WAIT, PLEASE. DON'T RUN AWAY."
[/size][/center]CHARACTER BASICS
NAME: Prince James.
NICKNAME(S): None.
AGE: Sixteen.
GENDER: Male.
SPECIES: Human.
HOMEWORLD: Bavaria, Germany.
FILM: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
CHARACTER APPEARANCE
[/u][/size][/font][/center]HEIGHT: Five feet and nine inches.
BUILD: James's torso is long and is emphasized by an excellent posture. His arms are long and lean muscled. His chest is prominent and his waistline is smaller than that of most men. The prince’s legs are also long, with well defined calves and thighs. His tall, lean physique is best described as a “dancer’s build.”
HAIR: Dark brown.
EYES: Bright blue.
SKIN: Light tan.
UNIQUE TRAITS:
DRESS: James’s flamboyant outfits vary in color, design, pattern, and shape, but are always made of the finest fur and/or cloth. It has nothing to do with showing off, although there might be people who’d accuse him of such, but is only because of him being a wealthy prince. His favorite outfit, the one he is typically seen in, consists first of a white silk blouse. It has a stand up collar and long, puffy sleeves with tight cuffs, making the garment loosely resemble a turtleneck. Next, the prince wears a sleeveless, royal blue satin tunic with gold trim. It extends to his knees. Around his waist, James wears a light brown leather belt with a silver buckle, from which hangs a light brown scabbard that carries his sword.
James also wears light blue silk tights, and over those, knee high, brown leather boots. Around his shoulders, he wears a dark red satin cloak with a large hood; it has dark brown lining. The garment stays on by way of two, dark brown leather straps that wrap around his underarms and back. The ensemble has a matching satin hat with large, white plumage on it. The times at which he wears it vary.
CHARACTER CONNECTIONS
[/u][/font][/center]FRIENDS:
ENEMIES:
FAMILY:
RELATIONSHIP(S): Snow White – wife.
PERSONALITY SPECIFICS
[/u][/size][/font][/center][/size]LIKES:
DISLIKES:
STRENGTHS:
ABILITIES:
FLAWS:
HOBBIES:
ASPIRATIONS:
GENERAL PERSONALITY
[/u][/size][/font][/center]James is a normally kind and gentle person. He does his best to be friendly towards others and treat them with the utmost care and respect. He’s always polite and very rarely, if ever, has he been known to have a temper, much less raise his voice. He doesn’t like to get angry or make others such, and will do all he can to keep situations peaceful and under control. James is a rather pacifistic person and doesn’t like to resort to violence if he doesn’t have to. He’ll do so if he must, but only as a last resort. He believes strongly in ideas of honor, nobility, and mercy. He won’t fight an unarmed opponent and he’d rather incapacitate than actually kill. The very idea of taking a life is disturbing to James, but he’ll dash such mentality if absolutely need be.
The prince works hard in everything he does and always tries to remain optimistic, no matter how terrible things may seem. He tries to extend these feelings towards others and somehow, he always manages to find some good in everything. James is usually a good listener and supportive. He’s a great person to turn to when someone is in the midst of trouble or if they just need a friend. He tries to befriend everyone he meets and cares deeply for their welfare. He’s also very humbled, and despite his vast wealth and influence, he doesn’t like being thought of as being better than anyone else.
James can be headstrong and passionate about what he believes in, to the point of being blinded by it, leaving him naive and vulnerable to the true evils of the world. He can be stubborn and defiant when faced with having to do or accept something he doesn't want to. The prince also sometimes ignores others' ideas in favor of his own. He dislikes the fact he can’t understand animals as Snow White can and feels slightly, but secretly, envious of her. He thinks that if he’d had the ability, he would’ve been able to heed the warnings of the doves and Astor and save Snow White the first time. Despite this, James loves his wife dearly and would do anything for her. She serves as his constant muse and inspiration, and it goes without say that one will probably never find a love as true as theirs.[/font]
CHARACTER HISTORY
[/u][/size][/font][/center]King George and Queen Anna were the rulers of Bavaria. They were good and kindly rulers who were beloved by all their people. While everything should have seemed well, it was quite the opposite for the royal couple. Though they'd tried many times over the years, Anna was never able to become pregnant. George and Anna grieved daily over this and the fact that they still had no heir.
One November, the queen went into the royal chapel and fell to her knees, praying fervently as she'd done many times before, asking tearfully for her wish for a child to be granted. Her prayers were finally answered, for soon afterward, she became pregnant. All rejoiced for George and Anna's good fortune. Unfortunately, their joy wouldn't last. Shortly after the queen became pregnant, the king was called away to the Crusades. Their parting, a tearful and heart wrenching occasion, would be the last time Anna would ever see her husband alive again.
She sat at her window every day, placing a hand over her growing belly and staring out into the valley below, hoping to see her husband returning safely and triumphantly home. One day, she saw a group of knights marching towards the castle. She recognized them as the king's men and hurriedly left her room, rushing down the halls and stairs to meet them in the courtyard. While Anna arrived with the greatest excitement, she noticed shortly after her arrival that something was wrong. The knights halted and two of them approached from the rear. The queen's eyes became wide as the two men stopped in front of her, each bending down on one knee. In one's arms were George's crown and helmet; the other, his sword. The first sadly relayed to Anna that her husband had died bravely in battle. The queen swooned and had to be carried back to her quarters by her servants.
The now widowed Anna spent the remaining months of her pregnancy attempting to rule in her husband's stead the best she could. While she mourned his death ever day, she also knew that she had to be strong and live on for both her husband and their impending child. On the Feast of St. James "the Greater," the queen finally gave birth to a beautiful son. To the further sadness of all, she died in the process. Anna was laid to rest next to George, whose body had been brought back from the Holy Land and entombed in the local abbey. In honor of the day which he was born, the orphaned prince was christened with the name “James.” Due to his infancy, a group of his closest male relatives were elected as a regency council, to rule in James's stead until he was of proper age and married.
James was a lovely infant. He was cared for by various wet nurses and nannies, all of whom ever hardly had a complaint about him. From an infant, the prince grew into a happy and playful toddler; from that, a kind and gentle boy. Having never known his parents, James couldn't really say that he could miss them. That certainly didn't stop him from visiting their tomb every day and dreaming about them, though. In accordance with the king and queen's wishes, it was ensured that he be given the greatest education money could buy and be thoroughly prepared for the throne he'd one day inherit. From his boyhood on, James grew in appearance, intellect, and character. Childhood faded away and the prince became a tall and handsome youth. As everyone expected, he showed himself to be a kind and gentle young man with a deeply rooted love of others and his kingdom. He excelled in academics, warfare, and the arts. Nothing was wasted in fostering the prince's talents.
On his sixteenth birthday, the Duke of Lechenstein gave James a beautiful white mare as a birthday present. Remembering the stories he was told of what his mother's favorite flower had been, the prince named the horse “Astor.” It was also at this time that he was told that he was of now marriageable age, and that he needed to find a suitable wife. Unlike many royals whose marriages were arranged, James's parents had long expressed their wish for their child to marry someone of their own choosing; they wanted that child to know a love like they'd had. While not initially thrilled with the sudden news, James eventually agreed to the idea. He called a great gathering of his subjects and announced to them that he'd only marry the most beautiful girl in the world and no other. He also said that he'd not return until he found her. With the consent of the Royal Council and a blessing from the Archbishop, the prince set off on his journey.
He spent many weeks riding through various kingdoms, unable to find the exact girl he was searching for. Just as he was about to give up hope, James happened to pass by a castle one day. As he rode by, he heard the sweetest singing he'd ever heard. Utterly enchanted by it, the boy wanted desperately to know who the voice belonged to. Riding up to the castle wall, he used Astor as a level and hoisted himself up over it. When he finally seated himself comfortably, his eyes fell on the beautiful Snow White. James fell in love with her instantly and knew in his heart that she was the bride he'd been hoping for. He slid himself down the wall and onto the ground. As Snow White was finishing her song at the wishing well, James sneaked up behind her and completed the song for her. His sudden entrance frightened the girl, something which he tried to apologize for. Not only frightened by that, but also embarrassed by her ragged clothes, Snow White fled into the castle. Hoping not to lose her and to see her again, James composed a song on the spot and began to serenade her. His plan worked and Snow White sent him a kiss through one of her doves.
The prince would've stayed longer, but Snow White's wicked stepmother, Queen Grimhilde, began calling for her. The princess knew her lover would be in danger if he were caught and warned him to flee. He planned to heed her warning, but tried to convince her to run away with him. Snow White remained sadly adamant that she couldn't, to which James replied that he'd return for her the first chance he got. He then climbed over the wall again and sped off for his own kingdom. Everyone there greeted him happily, glad that their prince had returned to them safely. James told them that he'd found his future wife, but was unable to bring her back with him because of circumstances beyond his control. He retreated quietly to his quarters and would hardly leave them for many weeks afterward, pining over the memory of his dear Snow White. News traveled fast through the country and when news reached James's ears about Grimhilde's plans to murder her stepdaughter, he mounted Astor and sped off at once to the rescue. As he knew exactly where to go, it didn't take him long to reach the wicked queen's castle.
When he climbed over the wall as he'd done before, he was assaulted and subdued by a group of Grimhilde's guards. They led him to the dungeon, where his hands and feet were shackled to the wall; a gag was also forced into his mouth. They left snickering as their presence was soon replaced by that of the queen herself in hag form. She told James how she'd seen he and Snow White's first meeting and how she'd fallen in love with the handsome prince herself. When she'd seen the good fortune that had befallen her stepdaughter, she'd became filled with jealousy and such had served to only fuel her hatred. Grimhilde removed the gag from James's mouth and offered him the chance to leave Snow White and marry her, thus sharing in her power, but he refused, declaring that he loved the princess and the princess alone. The queen tried several more times to change his mind, even using her magic to make the skeletons lying about the dungeon dance for his entertainment. James remained defiant and it didn't take long for Grimhilde to finally lose her patience. She told him that if she couldn't have him, no one could, and so, she pulled a lever that caused water to start flooding into the dungeon. The witch left cackling as she got into her boat and drifted away into the fog.
Try as he might, James was unable to break free of his bonds. The water levels became higher and higher, and he thought that he'd surely die. At the last moment, the doves from the wishing well flew in through the window, one carrying the keys to the prince's bonds. The dove inserted the object into the shackles and turned her head to unlock them. Finally free, James picked his sword up off the ground and fought off the guards with the help of the doves. When finally outside, he climbed over the wall once again and, mounting his steed, sped off again to the rescue. As he rode, the doves began making strange chirps, as if something was wrong. They knew something, but what that was, the prince couldn't have known. Unlike Snow White, he didn't have a gift for communicating with animals. When the group came to the forest, Astor attempted to go one way, but James steered her in the opposite direction. Such would prove his undoing, for in doing so, he took the wrong road and ended up in a dead end clearing. Though he wasn't there, James knew he'd caused himself to be too late.
With Snow White gone, the poor prince wandered aimlessly for a time, distraught and lamenting over the loss of his true love. When passing through a small village one day, he overheard people speaking of a beautiful girl who slept in a glass coffin on a mountaintop far away. James regarded this story as mere legend at first, but as he passed through many other villages, the same story was repeated over and over. Now believing there was some truth to them, he decided to see the girl for himself. The boy found the mountaintop that next spring and saw that the girl who slept in the coffin was none other than Snow White herself. He dismounted and began to sing the song he'd composed for her as a final farewell. James made his way to the open coffin and bent down, kissing the princess tenderly on the lips. He then bowed his head in mourning as everyone else did.
Little did he or they know, the kiss from her true love broke the spell over Snow White. James lifted his head to see that his beloved had awoken and seemed even more beautiful than before. Everyone gathered there danced and rejoiced as he took her happily into his arms and carried her to his horse. He then picked up the seven dwarfs and lifted them to Snow White so she could kiss them and say her goodbyes. When all was done, James bade all farewell and led Astor and his bride back to his kingdom. There, both were received with the greatest love and joy. A magnificent wedding was held and the lovely couple lived happily ever after.
PLAYER INFORMATION
[/u][/size][/font][/center]NAME: Jacob.
NICKNAMES(S): None.
AGE: Twenty-two.
GENDER: Male.
ROLE-PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Seven years “professionally.”
OTHER CHARACTERS: None.
OTHER: I'm calling the Prince “James” because this is what Disney is calling him under their ABC label in the television series Once Upon a Time. Nobody has been able to reliably source any rumored names. That the show is technically being made by Disney itself, and that it uses character names from its film canon, James is the closest thing to an actual name for the Prince that we have. The same holds for the names of his relatives, save for those of his mother and mother-in-law. I made up the former, and the latter comes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1916), the version that inspired Walt Disney to create his 1937 adaptation. His horse is “officially” a mare named Astor, as is shown here.