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application for singillatim
2001-Aug-29, Wednesday 20:02PLAYER INFO
Player Name: Karen
• Player Contact: PM to this account
• Player Age: 18+
• Permissions: Here.
CHARACTER INFO
• Character Name: 2nd Lt. Billy Prior
• Character Age: 25
• Character Canon: The Regeneration Trilogy
• Canon Point: November 1917, near the end of The Ghost Road
• Character History:
Content Warnings: child abuse, war, war-related injuries, mental illness, dissociative disorders
Born an only child in the north of England, Prior was described by his parents as a "frail child." Suffering from severe asthma, he was coddled by his mother and mistreated by his father to the point of abuse. At a young age he witnessed multiple altercations between his parents which eventually led him to create an alternate personality — a fracture in his psyche — to cope with his anger and inability to put a stop to what he was seeing. (This personality is entirely divested from his primary personality and he remains largely unaware of the switch between the two parts of himself when it happens. It's not until decades later that its presence is revealed to him through a series of events that leads this alternate personality to reveal itself to Prior's doctor who corroborates its existence and presence.)
In school he was ostracized, and while he did not entirely lack friends, he wasn't considered overly social and often got into fights with other children. Following school, he briefly worked at the docks with his father — light office work due to the fear his asthma would get in the way — but when World War I began, he immediately felt the need to enlist.
During his first tour of duty, Prior is faced with a plethora of terrible sights and sounds — an erosion of the psyche, as it's deemed by his doctor — and it's during a particular bombing that he's faced with the utter decimation of a good number of men and suffers a breakdown that renders him psychosomatically mute.
It's at his time at the military hospital, Craiglockhart, that he meets Dr. Rivers, a psychiatrist working for the war department. Initially, Prior butts heads with Rivers; however, Rivers remains patient and vigilant. Prior eventually regains his ability to speak. It's explained that psychosomatic mutism is a trait more commonly attributed to officers and "the upper class," a fact that Prior takes personally as he consistently describes himself as "working class." Rivers goes further to tell Prior that the typical reason behind the sudden mutism is a desire to avoid "speaking out," typically against those in greater authority, such as those who waged the war in the first place.
Following these breakthroughs, Prior is asked to appear before a board to decide whether he's fit to return to duty. Despite his desire to return to the front, he's denied an opportunity to go back and ordered "home service" where he would continue to work for the military on the home front. Prior serves the Ministry of Munitions and is charged with seeking out conscientious objectors and anti-war protestors. Prior struggles with this concept greatly, causing his alternate personality to take over more and more. Though the help of his friend and former doctor, Rivers, he comes to realize that he is responsible for many things he was otherwise unaware, including sending several of his friends to prison for their anti-war rhetoric.
Desperate to return to action and relieve himself the unfortunate duties of home service, he petitions again for a board appearance. Due to the escalating tension and high death toll being experienced nearing the end of the war, Prior is approved to return to the front. His last battle is at the beginning of November, just days before the armistice is signed.
• Character Personality:
— Positive Trait: DEPENDABILITY - Despite being technically "unfit" to join the British Armed Forces during WWI, Prior immediately felt compelled to volunteer. Once shipped out, he spends the war serving his men as a somewhat stoic father figure. He refuses to fraternize despite his broad proclivities towards both sexes, and acts as the necessary buffer between his soldiers and those who call the shots. He returns to the front three separate times, each time more and more determined to protect his men, and as a working class officer — something that's incredibly rare — he also feels he is the only one fit to represent the best interests of the average soldier.
— Positive Trait: FAIRNESS - Fairness is a concept that Prior tends to hold close to his heart. He rallies against obvious inequalities (although more strategically aligned with values relating to the same sex, as is common at the time), even making a point to argue that the war he was fighting was orchestrated by the people who would never be fighting said war (i.e. the ruling class). Unlike other officers, he understands that the willingness to promote him is likely due to inequality, but believes it fair that he's allowed to take care of the men of the same station, as he knows their needs better than most.
— Positive Trait: ANALYTICAL NATURE - Much to the chagrin of his doctors and contemporaries, Prior is predisposed to being incredibly analytical. He expresses many thought-provoking questions, several of which are able to take his own doctor by surprise. This ability to think through and around situations means that Prior has a greater gasp of the motivations of those nearest him, as well as a generally strong understanding of his own limitations. This also helps Prior when he's serving at the front, allowing him to make snap decisions that ultimately save lives.
— Negative Trait: RESENTFULNESS - Prior reacts resentfully throughout his life, many times finding himself embittered by the circumstances surrounding him. He particularly resents his father for his rough nature and political views, as well as his mother for her coddling ways. Additionally, much of his time working through his issues with the war, he expresses how resentful he feels to be fighting "someone else's war."
— Negative Trait: PESSIMISM - There is a strong undercurrent of upset that leads Prior towards pessimism. He doesn't believe the war will solve any problems, only knows that it's being fought for the right reasons (according to his own country and government). Much of his dedication had driven him beyond standing aside, but it has not removed his sour streak.
— Negative Trait: MANIPULATIVENESS - Outside of work, Prior is noted to be particularly manipulative, especially when it suits him. Not only has he lied to people, but he's also gone above and beyond to press people into uncomfortable situations for his amusement. In one such interest, he took great pride in using his knowledge of an acquaintence against the person in order to recieve a personally satisfactory outcome.
• Character Skills:
• Firearms: rifles and handguns
• Fishing: both he and his father worked at the docks
• Sewing: general repair experience; his mother was a housemaid
• Decision-making: as defined by his role in the military
• Morale: as defined by his character (where demanded)
• Character Inventory:
— ITEM ONE: Long wool officer's coat, including any sewn on medals or insignia.
— ITEM TWO: The Todas by Rivers, W. H. R. (William Halse Rivers), hardbound
—ITEM THREE: Webley Revolver Mk VI (assuming this stayed as it was in another Interloper's possession when he left)
— ITEM THREE: A period-appropriate photograph of his fiancé, Sarah Lumb
• Important Notes: I have an opt-out post for anyone who would prefer not to interact with Prior or certain content warnings common to his characterization.
• Writing Samples:
— SAMPLE ONE: Here
— SAMPLE TWO: Here
Player Name: Karen
• Player Contact: PM to this account
• Player Age: 18+
• Permissions: Here.
CHARACTER INFO
• Character Name: 2nd Lt. Billy Prior
• Character Age: 25
• Character Canon: The Regeneration Trilogy
• Canon Point: November 1917, near the end of The Ghost Road
• Character History:
Content Warnings: child abuse, war, war-related injuries, mental illness, dissociative disorders
Born an only child in the north of England, Prior was described by his parents as a "frail child." Suffering from severe asthma, he was coddled by his mother and mistreated by his father to the point of abuse. At a young age he witnessed multiple altercations between his parents which eventually led him to create an alternate personality — a fracture in his psyche — to cope with his anger and inability to put a stop to what he was seeing. (This personality is entirely divested from his primary personality and he remains largely unaware of the switch between the two parts of himself when it happens. It's not until decades later that its presence is revealed to him through a series of events that leads this alternate personality to reveal itself to Prior's doctor who corroborates its existence and presence.)
In school he was ostracized, and while he did not entirely lack friends, he wasn't considered overly social and often got into fights with other children. Following school, he briefly worked at the docks with his father — light office work due to the fear his asthma would get in the way — but when World War I began, he immediately felt the need to enlist.
During his first tour of duty, Prior is faced with a plethora of terrible sights and sounds — an erosion of the psyche, as it's deemed by his doctor — and it's during a particular bombing that he's faced with the utter decimation of a good number of men and suffers a breakdown that renders him psychosomatically mute.
It's at his time at the military hospital, Craiglockhart, that he meets Dr. Rivers, a psychiatrist working for the war department. Initially, Prior butts heads with Rivers; however, Rivers remains patient and vigilant. Prior eventually regains his ability to speak. It's explained that psychosomatic mutism is a trait more commonly attributed to officers and "the upper class," a fact that Prior takes personally as he consistently describes himself as "working class." Rivers goes further to tell Prior that the typical reason behind the sudden mutism is a desire to avoid "speaking out," typically against those in greater authority, such as those who waged the war in the first place.
Following these breakthroughs, Prior is asked to appear before a board to decide whether he's fit to return to duty. Despite his desire to return to the front, he's denied an opportunity to go back and ordered "home service" where he would continue to work for the military on the home front. Prior serves the Ministry of Munitions and is charged with seeking out conscientious objectors and anti-war protestors. Prior struggles with this concept greatly, causing his alternate personality to take over more and more. Though the help of his friend and former doctor, Rivers, he comes to realize that he is responsible for many things he was otherwise unaware, including sending several of his friends to prison for their anti-war rhetoric.
Desperate to return to action and relieve himself the unfortunate duties of home service, he petitions again for a board appearance. Due to the escalating tension and high death toll being experienced nearing the end of the war, Prior is approved to return to the front. His last battle is at the beginning of November, just days before the armistice is signed.
• Character Personality:
— Positive Trait: DEPENDABILITY - Despite being technically "unfit" to join the British Armed Forces during WWI, Prior immediately felt compelled to volunteer. Once shipped out, he spends the war serving his men as a somewhat stoic father figure. He refuses to fraternize despite his broad proclivities towards both sexes, and acts as the necessary buffer between his soldiers and those who call the shots. He returns to the front three separate times, each time more and more determined to protect his men, and as a working class officer — something that's incredibly rare — he also feels he is the only one fit to represent the best interests of the average soldier.
— Positive Trait: FAIRNESS - Fairness is a concept that Prior tends to hold close to his heart. He rallies against obvious inequalities (although more strategically aligned with values relating to the same sex, as is common at the time), even making a point to argue that the war he was fighting was orchestrated by the people who would never be fighting said war (i.e. the ruling class). Unlike other officers, he understands that the willingness to promote him is likely due to inequality, but believes it fair that he's allowed to take care of the men of the same station, as he knows their needs better than most.
— Positive Trait: ANALYTICAL NATURE - Much to the chagrin of his doctors and contemporaries, Prior is predisposed to being incredibly analytical. He expresses many thought-provoking questions, several of which are able to take his own doctor by surprise. This ability to think through and around situations means that Prior has a greater gasp of the motivations of those nearest him, as well as a generally strong understanding of his own limitations. This also helps Prior when he's serving at the front, allowing him to make snap decisions that ultimately save lives.
— Negative Trait: RESENTFULNESS - Prior reacts resentfully throughout his life, many times finding himself embittered by the circumstances surrounding him. He particularly resents his father for his rough nature and political views, as well as his mother for her coddling ways. Additionally, much of his time working through his issues with the war, he expresses how resentful he feels to be fighting "someone else's war."
— Negative Trait: PESSIMISM - There is a strong undercurrent of upset that leads Prior towards pessimism. He doesn't believe the war will solve any problems, only knows that it's being fought for the right reasons (according to his own country and government). Much of his dedication had driven him beyond standing aside, but it has not removed his sour streak.
— Negative Trait: MANIPULATIVENESS - Outside of work, Prior is noted to be particularly manipulative, especially when it suits him. Not only has he lied to people, but he's also gone above and beyond to press people into uncomfortable situations for his amusement. In one such interest, he took great pride in using his knowledge of an acquaintence against the person in order to recieve a personally satisfactory outcome.
• Character Skills:
• Firearms: rifles and handguns
• Fishing: both he and his father worked at the docks
• Sewing: general repair experience; his mother was a housemaid
• Decision-making: as defined by his role in the military
• Morale: as defined by his character (where demanded)
• Character Inventory:
— ITEM ONE: Long wool officer's coat, including any sewn on medals or insignia.
— ITEM TWO: The Todas by Rivers, W. H. R. (William Halse Rivers), hardbound
—
— ITEM THREE: A period-appropriate photograph of his fiancé, Sarah Lumb
• Important Notes: I have an opt-out post for anyone who would prefer not to interact with Prior or certain content warnings common to his characterization.
• Writing Samples:
— SAMPLE ONE: Here
— SAMPLE TWO: Here