Sir Hiss
Apr 12, 2010 21:27:18 GMT -5
Post by sirhiss on Apr 12, 2010 21:27:18 GMT -5
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introduce yourself.[/ul][/font][/i]
charrie basics.[/ul][/font][/i]
age: Adult
species: Snake
birthplace: France, but was shortly relocated to England
movie: Robin Hood
title:
Suspicious Serpent
why: After having two hero characters, I really wanted to get into a villain. However, I really wanted to get into a more minor character that had plenty of fun quirks that I could play with, rather than a major villain. Robin Hood is one of my favorite Disney movies, and many of the characters connect to the play I am currently in, so I would love to take on Sir Hiss as he is, in his own strange, slithery way, my kind of villain.
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charrie appearance[/ul][/font][/i]
facial description/mood expressions: In his life, Hiss strives to remain as relaxed and carefree as possible, though this is rarely the case. When relaxed, he often sports a contented smile and maintains a relatively physically relaxed posture, laying comfortably in a coil or stretching out along his bed. On those occasions when he is excited, he sports a gap-toothed grin that is often accompanied by a very rapid flicking of his forked tongue in and out of his mouth (and at times, when he is especially keen on something, even between the gap in his front teeth). A similar motion is seen when he is agitated or upset, though this is usually accompanied by a rather severe frown and a narrowing of his scale-rimmed eyes. His body also tends to become more tense in such a case, and he has been known even to give himself cramps when working himself up into a particular tizzy. He has the ability to stand himself up on his tail on such occasions, as though to make himself feel larger or more important. Despite his lack of appendages, the tip of his tail is also quite expressive, and often twitches back and forth when excited or happy, in a manner somewhat akin to a puppy’s. Similarly, when angry or upset, the twitch is more agitated and controlled. Lastly, when sad, Hiss tends to go limp and mopes about in a rather self-serving manner until something can be found to lift his spirits.
clothing style: When attending to daily business, Hiss sports an ornate red cape, fastened with a neat gold jewel, and a soft, velvet hat to match, complete with ornate feather. He also has a green set of the same that he sometimes alternates with. At night (when in the comfort of the castle), he has his own nightgown and cap for keeping his cold-blooded body warm and cozy against the castle drafts.
body build: Sir Hiss is long and thin (as is common with snakes), but is surprisingly agile for an animal with no limbs. Nearly the entire length of his body is flexible and prehensile, and he regularly possesses the muscle control to stand erect atop his tail region and to wrap himself around protruding objects. He is also remarkable quick for a serpent, though not so much so as to escape Prince John’s rather reaching grasp when he’s upset.
any unique traits (optional) : Sir Hiss speaks with a definite lisp, often whistling through the slight gap in his front teeth when excited or upset, and prolonging the ‘ess’ sounds when present in any of his words. He also possesses a pair of small glasses that he uses for reading things up close, or when he is playing accountant for Prince John.
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original charrie analysis. (everything must be in your own words! please be thorough.)[/ul][/font][/i]
That being said, Hiss prefers life to be as free of stress as possible, and would much rather enjoy a nice warm afternoon on a heated pillow than to deal with the rabble of Nottingham. When stress does arrive, as it often does, he does not generally react well to it. In fact, he tends to be quite moody for a cold-blooded animal. He is prone to panic attacks when things start to go horribly awry, and gets agitated and grumpy when things do not go his way. Not that he’s not used to it, what with dealing with Prince John’s whims and emotional spasms on a regular basis, but he isn’t stupid, and he gets quite annoyed when things he believed could have been avoided go wrong. Particularly in regards to Prince John’s bad habit of not listening to his advice, Hiss tends to get spiteful when upset or frustrated, and his bad mood may linger for some time until he can slither his way out of it, or something happens to force a change.
Sir Hiss takes great pride in his position as a Royal Advisor in keeping with his family line, and does his best to uphold his position to the best of his ability. Keen and suspicious, Hiss is quick to mistrust others (after all, he knows that he shouldn’t be trusted, so why should he trust others?). He is relatively talented at picking up on the weaknesses of others (i.e. Prince John’s sensitivity towards Mother), or when someone else has a plot brewing that might cause him or his master trouble. He is also quite intelligent, and dislikes greatly being treated as less than that for his position of servitude.
Lastly, Sir Hiss is highly superstitious, and though he often tries to cover it, gets quite nervous around supposed bad omens, taking them rather seriously. Though he knows his place in the royal household, he is unafraid to speak his mind towards Prince John and the Sherriff when he believes his opinion should be heard (he is an advisor, after all), though he is equally as quick to switch back to his groveling ways to save his own skin.
history: Sir Hiss was born into the world of royalty, and grew up in an environment of luxury and importance that he very quickly became accustomed to. His father was the royal advisor to King Phillip of France, and as such Hiss learned the finer points of diplomacy, and being a king’s servant, from a young age. Though not overly keen on the servitude aspect, the young Hiss recognized the importance of such a position and the position it raised one too, as well as the leverage it might afford one under the right circumstances.
Unfortunately, his father was killed during an ensuing conflict between King Phillip and the ruling body of England at the time; King Henry and Queen Eleanor. He was taken prisoner, but was able to smooth talk the then would-be-king Richard (their son) into having his mother spare his life. Eager to prove himself, and keep his position (and his hide) intact, he soon found a place among the royal family as an advisor to the aspiring monarch. Upon Henry’s death and Richard’s ascension to the throne, he became officially the royal advisor to the king.
During this time, however, in making his home in the castle, he began to form a relationship with the young Prince John, who seemed to have a rather low opinion of his older brother. Finding Richard to be somewhat of a bore and not likely to advance Hiss’ career further, Hiss was inclined to listen to John’s ideas. John convinced him to hypnotize King Richard into heading off on a crusade against the infidels, while in his place, Prince John took over the crown. Per their agreement, Hiss remained as the Royal Advisor, and at first enjoyed some increased perks that came with the over-taxation that his master now brought upon the poor peoples of England. All was going well, until Robin Hood showed up.
As Prince John’s fortune grew, so did unrest among the poor and those loyal to Richard. Robin Hood grew in fame among them, and continued to elude capture, despite Prince John’s efforts. On one of their royal trips to ensure the increase in taxes on the poor was being upheld, Prince John’s coach was waylaid by ‘fortune tellers.’ Hiss was immediately suspicious, but Prince John would hear none of it, and kept him out of the way while the bandits (secretly Robin Hood and Little John in disguise) made off with everything but the kitchen sink. When Hiss pointed out that he should have listened to him in the first place, he was met with a broken mirror to the head.
Enraged at being made fool of, Prince John set out on a personal vendetta to see Robin Hood brought to Justice. His men scoured the countryside for him, and he set up a faux archery tournament to try to lure Robin into the open. Sir Hiss accompanied him in the royal box, along with Maid Marian, eager to see the proceedings. However, when Little John and Robin again showed up and fooled the monarch, Hiss was dismissed to try to find Robin in favor of the would-be duke (Little John). Peeved but dutiful, Hiss slithered off to find the outlaw, only to be captured by his friends and sequestered in a wine barrel shortly after discovering Robin’s secret disguise. John was none too happy when he found him later, and Hiss wound up tied tightly around a flagpole and left on the archery field.
John’s next ploy involved a more sinister plot, one that shocked even Sir Hiss. Friar Tuck had been captured, and the Prince would have him hanged, sure that Robin would arrive to try to stop him. He was right, of course, and in the chaos that ensued, many of the previous prisoners that John had managed to capture were released, the Friar was saved, and John’s mother’s castle set aflame. Once again, Hiss pointed out the ruler’s shortcomings, quite aggravated that Prince John’s continued refusal to listen to him has led to such losses for both of them. Naturally, this was not the response Prince John was looking for, and he proceeded to chase Hiss around the burning castle, despite Hiss’ cries.
With the castle in shambles and Robin and the others free, King Richard soon returned to England. Hiss and John, along with the Sheriff of Nottingham, were eventually apprehended and sentenced to hard labor in the king’s jail. It was a long and dreary sentence (particularly, in Hiss’ opinion, being cooped up with his two cell-mates who refused to stop picking at each other), but eventually they were let out to resume some semblance of a life in England.
ambitions:
· To remain comfortable in as luxurious a situation as possible
· Not to be lured foolishly into a trap or be caught by surprise
· To stay out of that nasty jail
· To see Robin Hood and his friends brought to justice
· To remove as much stress from his life as possible
· To keep Prince John calm and in power as to keep his own hide intact
strengths && abilities:
· Good at identifying peopele’s weaknesses
· Good at spotting what others are up to, due to his mistrusting nature
· Flexible and prehensile nearly throughout his body
· Resilient to pain (let’s face it, he’s used to it)
· Good at double talk and sucking up
· Can fit into small spaces fairly easily
· Hypnosis
flaws:
· Prone to panic attacks and stresses easily
· Lisps noticeably when excited or upset (and sometimes when not)
· Hopeless groveler, and is not above being bought or threatened into doing things for others
· Small and physically weak against larger creatures
· Gets grumpy when he is ignored or things don’t go his way
· Does not do well outside of the comforts he is used to
· Superstitious
likes:
· A nice, warm spot to curl up for a nap
· Peace and quiet
· Being rich and well cared for
· The sound of clinking coins
· His nice, warm bed
· Feeling important/useful
dislikes:
· Being ignored/not listened to, particularly if it has negative consequences for him later
· Being woken up from slumber
· Dirt, ‘roughing it’, or having to deal with a lifestyle less than what he is accustomed to
· Peasants
· Robin Hood and his ‘Merry Men’
· Temper tantrums
· Being stuffed into baskets or tied into knots
fears:
· Losing his place as royal advisor and being out on his own
· Becoming poor
· Pain (despite his frequent experience with it)
· Going back to jail
· Mongooses
· Bad luck
what makes this character unique: Sir Hiss is considered a villain, but unlike some other villains, his aspirations are fairly limited in that he seeks only to improve himself to his own comfort level, rather than dominate others outright. He is also rather spineless and un-formidable as villains go, preferring to use deceit and sacrificing self-dignity, and to ride others’ coattails to get ahead, rather than coming up with schemes on his own. He often defines himself by his regard with others, and is struggling to find some self definition without others around.
RP SAMPLE: ---- (See Tramp app., please)
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(Hope its okay that I put this app up. If my activity or time with the site doesn't warrant a third character yet, I'll save this for another time.)