Richard Plantagenet

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

RICHARD PLANTAGENET




"Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile."

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Alias: Nessie
Other Characters: Claudius Chandler, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Holly Uror
Rewritten City Found Via: Fanfiction.net
Contact: PM
Comments: I mentioned RC on my personal statement for university applications; my advisor pronounced my statement to be, and I quote, ‘engaging…excellent’. Coincidence? I think not. Also, I believe the real Richard III was a good king; Shakespeare’s version is a guilty pleasure for me to roleplay as. =P
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00I. full name Richard Plantagenet III
0II. canon ‘The Tragedy of King Richard III’ by William Shakespeare
III. years of age Forty nine
0IV. orientation Straight
00V. social status Elite
0VI. occupation Comptroller of New York City/Chief Advisor to the Mayor

00I. playby Sir Ian McKellen
0II. body type Richard’s ill fated body has been a source of great displeasure and discomfort, not just to himself but to others around him who are afraid of him due to his appearance, or take pleasure in ridiculing him for it. His left arm is withered up and all but useless due to a stroke he had as a baby. His left leg is in a similar state, as he suffered a gunshot wound to it when he was in the Gulf War.
III. height Five foot ten
0IV. eye colour Blue
00V. description As if in an attempt to make up for his own lack of looks, Richard tends to deviate towards clothes of a very fine cut, tailor made if not designer. Though he isn’t one to flaunt a brand name he is clearly as well dressed as he can afford to be (and considering the amount of money he has, that’s very well indeed). He is mostly seen in suit and tie ensembles and is also accustomed to wearing long black coats, even in the summer. When the occasion calls for it he wears his military insignia with great pride. On the occasions that his leg is causing him particular discomfort, Richard is forced to rely on a walking stick. In terms of posture, in spite of his ailments Richard always does his utmost to stand up straight and to his full height (often with little success). Despite the fact his posture and use of a walking stick, when called for, makes him look frail, Richard’s usual expression and his overall demeanour indicate his true strength and power.

00I. overall personality Where to start with Richard’s personality? The problem is, he seems to have so many. He’d an adept actor, playing, among many others, the roles of loving brother, thriving wooer and pious and devout Christian. His power of self transformation is something that he delights in; his ability to change his image when the situation calls for it has come in useful on many occasions and, as such, not a lot of people are really sure what to make of him. He can make people trust him, make them think they know his heart when in fact they only know his face.

Only in his dreams does Richard stop acting, and when this happens his identity seems to fall apart. He has never been one for pleasant dreams, it seems that almost every night he’ll wake in a cold sweat, with a cry or fear or trembling in terror, having relived some of the most painful moments of his life.

The real Richard, if he does indeed exist inside the man’s chameleon shell, is a proud and embittered man, grasping for power like a man possessed. He has always been jealous of his older brothers (even simple, plain George) simply due to their power and their looks, hating them for being fair of feature where he was not; the black sheep, the odd one out, the outcast.

“I am myself alone.”

Despite his hatred of his brothers and apparent self loathing at his own appearance, at times Richard manages to seem quite full of himself. He regards himself as superior to those around due to his ability to dissemble and his particularly cunning mind. Everyone around him; they’re just actors in his show.

Richard is generally disliked or mistrusted by those he meets. It’s as though he has an aura of disquiet about him, something sinister. He can persuade people to overlook this, however, in his way, if he so desires. Despite his admittedly lacklustre appearance, Richard is quite full of himself, proud almost to a fault. This is a trait often picked up on by others; he is very determined and generally refuses to back down from a challenge or a threat. His limp and his withered arm give some the idea that he’s an easy target for attack; this is quite the opposite. He may not look it but Richard is very powerful, both in body and mind. This disquieting wealth of intelligence and strength make many who meet him ill at ease. Even his own family, particularly his mother, sense there’s something not quite right about Richard. Edward generally treated his youngest brother with disdain and scorn throughout his life, whereas George, for all his good intentions, still seemed to regard Richard as a curiosity akin to a spider in a glass bottle.
0II. strengths Determination, Persuasiveness, Eloquence
III. weaknesses Ambition, Pride, Stubbornness
0IV. goals For a long while it seemed as though Richard had achieved his goals; cutting away all his opposition and gaining his brother’s position as Mayor of New York City. But ever since he lost the election to Hector Tormei, it seemed as though all Richard’s plans had come undone. But then he came up with a plot to get back at Hector…in that case, his goal is not to be found out. That and he wants to somehow rid himself of the voice of his conscience, which has recently insisted on making itself heard.

00I. notable family & friends
Richard Plantagenet – father – deceased
Cecily Plantagenet – mother
Edward Plantagenet – older brother – deceased
George Plantagenet – older brother
Anne Plantagenet - wife
The Count of Monte Cristo – the closest thing Richard has to a friend, in the conventional sense of the term
Mayor Hector ‘Hades’ Tormei – business associate whom Richard has come to despise for his (as he terms it) usurpation
Harry ‘Hamlet’ Chandler – ‘frienassociate’ (thanks Yols for coining that useful term)
Victor Griffiths – distant friend

0II. overall history
For years the opposing militant political factions of Lancaster and York had been at war. Richard Plantagenet, the third Richard of this particular Yorkist clan, was born during one of the worst years of the feud. The fierce debates, double crossing and changing loyalties erupted into cases of physical violence and, this in mind, it may come as no surprise Richard now views himself as a man of war trapped in a time of peace.

For Richard himself, simply coming into the world was enough of a struggle. Born three months premature it was considered a miracle that both he and his mother survived. That wasn’t to say that all went well after this; despite having undergone numerous tests and surgeries in order to keep him alive, it soon became evident that Richard was going to suffer, not just through them but throughout his whole life. Many problems arose with his lungs and subsequently his breathing and a stroke late in February robbed him of the use of his left arm.

To the surprise of all concerned, Cecily Plantagenet did not appear all that worried about the health of her youngest son, lavishing her attention instead on his older brothers; Edward, then aged ten, and George, then seven. The Plantagenet domestic sphere was not helped by the loss of Cecily’s husband during one of the worst Yorkist/Lancastrian fights (made all the worse by the fact the Lancastrians emerged victorious).

Continued victories on the Lancastrian side meant the Yorkists soon found their party few in number and seeking sanctuary elsewhere – when Richard was eight years old he found himself in New York, where the Yorkists soon re-established themselves and a seemingly firm pact of peace between the two political parties was signed.

For the next two decades of his life Richard was able to live out his life in a relatively normal fashion. He continued his education and was discovered to have a very intelligent and witty personality, if one was willing to look past his outward appearance. Outward appearance is important to everyone, but to Richard it meant more than to most. He was generally dismissed due to his so called ‘deformity’ while his handsome older brothers basked in glory. The extent of this was made clear when Richard attended university to study for his degree in political science; it was here that he made the acquaintance of Anne Lancaster but not long after this she took up with the son of a prominent Lancastrian politician, a young man named Edward d’Anjou who took delight in taunting him, particularly due to his relationship with Anne.

In the ensuing years after university Edward ascended as Mayor of New York City and appointed George as his Public Advocate. Although Edward knew Richard to be vastly more intelligent than many of his peers he was reluctant to favour him and instead gave him the position in the government’s city planning department, causing Richard to resent him even more than he already did, if that was possible.

Eight years later and the Yorkist/Lancastrian truce still appeared to be holding firm. Richard was growing restless and, for lack of a better word, bored with the continually peaceful and mundane dealings about him. When the Persian Gulf War began in 1990, Richard seized the opportunity to escape and signed himself up to fight.

In retrospect it was probably one of the worst decisions the youngest Plantagenet ever made. Despite his obvious setbacks he proved himself a useful and skilled military man but this didn’t stop him from getting injured in an ambush; the shot to his left leg caused him not just physical pain but an emotional agony that he was to bear for the rest of his life.

The injury was major enough to put him out of action. Despite his protestations, threats and curses, Richard was shepherded back to New York City, his body on crutches and his mind no less stable.

Richard hadn’t kept up with news from New York as he hadn’t written home in his time with the army. Therefore, imagine his surprise to return to his adopted city to find a group of prominent Lancastrians attempting a coup, so as to widen their power base and make their leader, Henry (the father of Edward d’Anjou, no less) Mayor of New York. The campaign was headed by Henry’s ambitious wife Margaret due to Henry’s frequent bouts of insanity, brought on by the struggles and brutal fighting he could not face.

Luckily for the Yorkists, the attempted political coup was short lived. Henry and his son were captured by their forces and imprisoned, while Edward Plantagenet debated how best to deal with the situation.

It was Richard who suggested the pair of them be killed, his argument being that there would be no risk of an uprising in their name. But he had ulterior motives in mind, namely revenge.

At first Edward presumed this was the war messing with his younger brother’s head, but Richard’s persuasive argument soon led him to agree.

Edward foolishly took Richard’s handling of the situation as a sign of his unwavering loyalty, promoting him to the position of New York City’s comptroller – keeping his true motives a secret and instead claiming the position was Richard’s reward for his services in the war.

Civil wounds were stopped, and peace seemed to live again. But this joy could not last and, in Richard’s eyes, should not last. For years he had been plotting the downfall of his brother, in order that he might seize the supreme seat for himself. This plan was spurred to fruition when Edward fell ill – his cancer was the perfect cover up for Richard’s third murder.

With Edward out of the way an election was held between Richard and George; Richard won but narrowly, and only then by rigging the votes. His rule was characterized by protests due to increased taxation and budget cuts.

In the background to this political upheaval, Richard’s private life too underwent major changes. Despite the fact he had admitted to Anne Lancaster that he had murdered her husband, she had found herself returning to him for financial aid. Richard exploited the situation as only he could and thus Anne Lancaster became Anne Plantagenet.

However, although Richard had at last gained the power he craved and manipulated Anne into marriage, his happiness could not last. A recent election saw him lose to Hector Tormei, a man with whom he had done business on a number of occasions. Richard saw Hector’s entering politics as betrayal and his pride was wounded still further when Hector strong-armed him into helping him with his underworld dealings.

Engineering the recent stock market crash alongside his close associate the Count of Monte Cristo has enabled Richard to regain some of his former confidence. However he very well knows there will be more battles to come.

III. sample post

dis•con•tent
n.
1.
a. Absence of contentment; dissatisfaction.
b. A restless longing for better circumstances.
2. One who is discontented.

Richard was a man who continually longed for better circumstances. When he was a child he had craved more attention from his mother, which he never received. As a young adult he’d yearned to escape the banality of peacetime, but his freedom was cut short by injury. And now, at forty-nine, Richard felt he had yet to attain the better circumstances he craved.

His current feeling of discontent was intensified by the fact he had been in circumstances that were, in his mind, close to perfect not too long ago. He had won the Mayor’s seat, married Anne…for a few blissful months all had seemed to be well in the world of Richard Plantagenet.

But no longer. It was as though Edward were still alive, and Richard was again formulating his plot to bring his older brother down. He was alone with his thoughts, for now. Not just his plans but his self-hatred. How could he feel any other way about himself, crooked and cruel as he was?

With a sigh of frustration Richard closed the book on his knee with his good hand, set it aside and got to his feet. He wouldn’t feel this way for much longer, he assured himself. He had been at the top before, and he would get to that position again. It was only a matter of time.

Smirking to himself at the thought, Richard limped over to the window and looked out, across the manor’s grounds. He had been up early; the sun was just beginning to show itself through the morning mist. But it wasn’t as though he had slept well. Quite the opposite. But for Richard, his nightmares reflected his reality. He wasn’t about to escape them.

Discontent…one who is discontented.

It suited him.

SYR INTEGRA of CAUTION 2.0 created this, modified by Yols with Shakespeare lines.

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ACCEPTED!

This was lovely of course! Very thoughtful sample