App

[royaldick]

The Player
Name/Nickname: Kristine
Age: 28
Pronouns: she/her
Contact: harbek on trillian, krharbek on aim, krharbek on gmail
Currently Played Characters: Jess Mariano

The Character
DW account: royaldick
Name: King Richard
Alias: King Dick, Dickie, Rick, Rich, the One True King
Age/Birthdate: 45, born 1212
Species: Human (though possibly descended from a god and a mermaid)
Gender: Male
Canon: Galavant (musical comedy fairy-tale TV-series)
Canon point: year ~1257, between episodes 2x5 and 2x6
Played By: Timothy Omundson

Icon:


Abilities:
Ruling a kingdom with varying degrees of success, with 35 years experience. Being able to use the magical Hero Sword, which can penetrate practically anything, and only be pulled free by the One True King. Also, (baby) dragon handling, unicorn befriending, decoupage, and dressing fabulously.

No riftpower as of yet? I'm open to ideas, or he might just be vanilla.

Appearance:
183 cm/6 feet tall, white, medium build. Luxuriously curly hair and magnificent beard, both dark but greying. Very physically expressive and childlike. Also flamboyant, though less so than he used to be. Likes to wear velvet, furs and leather. Also jewelry, but mostly just an earring and a couple rings. He cares about his appearance and likes picking outfits, though losing his title and living on the road has forced him to be more practical. Once he discovers the marvels of NYC fashion, he'll reclaim some of his pomp.

Canon outfits ♦ Modern outfits

Personality:
Loyal, emotional, optimistic, trusting, impatient, outgoing, playful, self-indulgent, hot-headed, idealistic, ditzy, forgiving, tactless, clumsy, brave, insecure, whiny, short-sighted, pompous, impulsive, animal-loving, sincere.

Richard is a man in the process of finally having his eyes opened to the world. He's led an incredibly sheltered and coddled life, and is... not particularly well-adjusted or suited for mature personal interaction. He's not a particularly intelligent man, so imagining people complexly and empathising with them has never come naturally, and never really been taught him. As a King, he has always been taught he is above his subjects, and in a way that their lives aren't real in the same way his is. He is at least partially responsible for the deaths of probably thousands of people, and he can be casually dismissive of death.

Now, this has the markings of a psychopath, but that's an incomplete picture. Rather, Richard is in many ways a child, with a limited ability to comprehend the world and the people in it. That said, he is not a cruel man. He may fantasise about revenge, but in the end he takes no pleasure from people's pain - in fact it is more likely to make him sad. His dismissal of people's autonomy and complexity is actually a self-defence mechanism as a result of being given the power of life and death since he was 10 years old. How could he ever make any decisions if he truly considered the consequences from the perspective of those involved? Richard has always been a simple man, and not equipped to handle that.

He is however incredibly capable of love and loyalty. He bonds quickly with just about anyone, and this is also a mark that he is not actually that much of a snob. Once someone has proven themselves as a Person, rather than just "a serf", "a peasant", "a guard", "a pirate" etc, then he will generally interact with them on an even level. Once that has happened, it takes very little for Richard to trust them implicitly.

He's incredibly loyal and protective of his friends, and far more forgiving than is good for him. He always manages to see the best in people, sometimes to the point of delusion. This definitely ties into him allowing himself to be pushed around, but even as he learns to stand up for himself, he will forgive almost anything instantly if he believes his friend to be remorseful, even if he'd been fighting them intensely moments before.

This also speaks to just how emotional and impulsive he is. He feels strongly, but his feelings can change at the drop of a crown. (Generally not ideal for a ruler.) Still, it means he's incredibly receptive to his surroundings, for better or worse - though it doesn't necessarily make him better at reading people or situations, just that he can be easily swayed by them. He easily throws himself into situations, be they joyous or destructive - though usually the former. Using heart over head also has a lot to do with him being rather ditzy, naive and gullible. He's not exactly unintelligent, but incredibly short-sighted.

Interestingly, his childhood dreams were (and still are) to be a good and beloved king, to go on adventures, and fight for what is good and true and right. However, he hasn't had the strength, intelligence, confidence or aptitude to actually live up to those dreams. Most of his fears have at this point been realised. He's lost his kingdom, is well into his middle age without success or love, and as far as he knows, any chance of making a real difference has passed him by. Still, he's driven by an incorrigible optimism and the ability to look on the bright side. It may not take a lot to get him down - in fact he's profoundly sensitive - but it also doesn't take a lot to get him to bounce back up.

As for how he's viewed by others, well, here's a few words that have been used about him: pompous, ridiculous, stupid, dainty, blind, unlovable, inept, wimp, prat, ponce, weak, self-centered, self-absorbed, idiot, whiny... While some of these things may have improved over time, most of them still apply. He's generally not taken very seriously, especially now he's no longer a king. Despite this, he also befriends people quickly just out of sheer friendliness and cheer, and his youthful behaviour can be charming to the right person.

Recently he's had to do a lot of confronting realities. While he's generally been very particular and picky about things like how he looks, what he eats, where he sleeps, he's had to deal with not being coddled for once. He's starting to grow a thicker skin - though that doesn't stop him from whining when things are particularly bad. He's even accepted his role as hero's sidekick.


History:
Richard was born in 1211, the second son of a king, his ancestors said to be a god and a mermaid. He took the throne at age 10, after his brother Kingsley refused it when their father died. (Which gave Richard some complexes about being everyone's second choice.) His childhood was not particularly great, loved only by his nanny and his personal guard Gareth, ignored by his parents and given responsibility for an entire kingdom at a young age. However, being a king, he was protected, well-fed and with access to education - even if he wasn't able to take full advantage of it.

He was not a particularly good ruler, even in adulthood, not really understanding the issues facing his subjects. His sheltered, one-sided upbringing made it difficult for him to consider his subjects as real people, not only because he has trouble understanding people in general, but also as a self-defense mechanism against being given the power of life and death at age ten. Add to that, taking advice from terrible people, and being easy to manipulate.

As he got into his 40s, the pressure for him to marry someone and father an heir was getting stronger. However, Richard had never been in love or really desired sex, and had a very simplistic idea of the whole thing. Then in 1255, he saw a beautiful woman laughing, and - with his skewed sense of morality and proper conduct - he pretty much kidnapped her. However, this woman named Madalena married him by choice, drawn to the power and fortune (dumping her lover Galavant in the process). This did not lead to an heir however, as she cited a (totally fake) vow of chastity, which Richard respected.

She did however make him invade the Kingdom of Valencia. He tried desperately to please her and be a good husband, believing himself to be in love, even as he learned she was cheating on him with the jester. (He then proceeded to seek romantic advice from said jester, and even ended up befriending him.) He also created a plot to lure out Galavant, fed up with being compared to him, and foolishly hoping that killing him would win him Madalena's love.

After discovering more of her clandestine schemes (like trying to trick him into executing his favourite chef instead of Galavant) and doing a little soul-searching (and Xanax), he finally realised her true colours, and decided to throw her in the dungeon. However, he was interrupted as his older brother Kingsley arrived, challenging him to a duel for the kingdom of Valencia.

Spurred on by Gareth to man up, Richard decided he's going to be the first king to fight his own duel, starting to stand up for himself - even if his decision-making skills weren't the best. Meanwhile, through drunken shenanigans and a failed assassination attempt on Kingsley, Galavant easily befriended Richard (though merely to win his own freedom). However, before the duel can occur, Gareth sent Richard off on a pirate ship heading to his own kingdom, escorted and protected by the reluctant Galavant.

They eventually made it back to Richard's kingdom, through various adventures. Richard briefly became a waiter at a gay tavern, reuniting with "uncle" Keith, his father's former lover. He learnt that after he left, Madalena murdered Kingsley and took Gareth as her new king. He drew the Hero Sword, proving (unbeknownst to himself) that he is the One True King. He got stalked by a unicorn because he's a virgin.

When they at last make it back to Richard's castle, they discovered it's not actually there anymore, as his people had dismantled it and used it to build a village, after implementing a democracy when they didn't hear from their King. At this point, Richard had a bit of an identity crisis.

Lost for what to do, as being a king is the only thing he knew how to do, he joined Galavant in his quest to raise an army, save the Princess of Valencia, and help her retake her kingdom from Queen Madalena. During the following adventures (including a battle between giants and dwarves, both groups around 5'10"), he acquired a few more travelling companions: his childhood friend Roberta (hired by his parents to play with him, but did actually enjoy it), a baby dragon (which looks suspiciously like a lizard) he names Tad Cooper, and the horse Prince.


Writing Sample: [Arrival in Central Park.]

Richard is so hungry. Stupid bats, eating all their food.

It's a good thing he's riding, because between the hunger and the remnants of the cold he's still fighting, Richard definitely wouldn't be up for walking all this way. He's almost dozing off on his horse, sniffly and miserable as they ride through the forest.

It's getting really cold too.

Actually, it's... getting really weirdly cold. Like it could almost start snowing.

Hold on, it is snowing! Just barely, little flecks of snow drifting down through the trees, not enough to actually cover anything, but enough to confirm how cold it is. The leaves beneath the horse's hooves are crunchy with frost.

Have they entered into a Snow Queen's realm or something? Because it really isn't the season. Richard is fairly sure there's no one like that around these parts, but he's been wrong, you know, on occasion. If that's the case, he'd better warn Galavant and Roberta that they should change their course.

Which... would be easier if he knew where they'd gone off to. Did they become separated while he dozed off? Damnit.

"Galavant?" he calls, then clears his throat, voice scratchy from his cold. "Gal, buddy?" He pauses, listening. "Bobby?" Still nothing but silence, and a cold breeze rustling the crisp leaves above him. Richard shivers, then reaches into his shoulderbag and pulls out Tad Cooper. He tucks the baby dragon inside his vest, where he can be kept warm by Richard's fever.

Well, nothing to do but to ride on. Perhaps he can find some more open area to see what's ahead. He calls out a few more times, until he reaches a stone road. That's peculiar, how did they get it all flat and even like this? They must have really talented masons around these parts.

Soon enough the forest opens up, and Richard can see the mountains ahead. The... very tall, very vertical, block-shaped mountains?

Really talented masons, then.

"...What the hell?" he proclaims eloquently.


The Game
How did you find out about Big Applesauce?
I know things.

What interests you about the game, and your character's place in it?
Ok so plopping Richard in a modern setting is gonna be fun. (Do you know how tricky it was to analyse him from a real-world perspective?) But also just... Richard is such a fun character. He makes friends easily and he's a big doof, so that's a nice change. He'll just befriend people all over! Also SPN people might recognise his as Cain, so that might be fun.

And good thing he's already in the middle of an identity crisis, right? That will continue. And being in an unfamiliar world, he'll have to get some guidance on what his options even are. Because the king thing is out. He will still cite it, though, because he'll always be a king at heart.

OH also yes, I'm bringing the sword, the horse and the dragon. Mind you, the dragon will probably take months to grow, and it'll take a while until it's getting to an unmanageable size. He'll have to find somewhere to put the horse.

Anything else?
I may be sleep deprived while finishing this app, so I apologise.