rekindle application

[puckoff]

OOC Information
Player Name: Arden
Player Age: 21
Player Contact: ardendillo | ardendillo @ Skype/AIM | uponastar
Player/Character HMD: Canada's HMD @ puckoff
Other characters in game: n/a

IC Information
Character Name: Matthew Williams / Canada
Character Canon: Axis Powers Hetalia (OU)
Character Age/Gender: chronological age, 479ish; apparent age, 19 / male
Canon Point: Present Day
Character Canon History: Canada's Hetalia Wiki Page / History of Canada
Personality section below also has highlights of major events.
Character Personality:
Often written off as a "boring version of America," Canada (also called Matthew Williams) is much more of a complicated person or nation than anyone would ever imagine by meeting him. If they even really take notice of him, that is. First and foremost is what people do know about him from a first impression. He's a bit shy, very quiet, and not at all in the intimidating way that countries like Germany are. Not at all able to command attention the way America, England, and other world powers are able to, Canada tends to fade into the background. He definitely thinks before speaking and listens well, unless he's particularly flustered, which isn't all that often. Matthew is very good at keeping a level head and thinking through things rationally for the most part. More on that a bit later.

Both a positive and a negative thing, Canada is very much a product of his family and his history. Nearly everything in his life is a comparison to someone else, as is what usually happens when you have a neighboring nation who outshines you at almost everything. Canada and America have had and continue to have a fantastic relationship, there is no doubt about that. But, like any sibling knows, it's never perfect. America left England in the Revolutionary War and Canada was the one who stayed loyal to the crown. This, in itself, highlights some of the main differences between the two North American countries. At first glance, of course, Canada looks a lot like America. However, it is in their personalities that their differences become apparent immediately.

In Matthew's colonial years, despite Alfred's persuasions, and even a couple of invasions, the northern colony stayed loyal to Arthur. To this day, Canada remains a commonwealth nation. Canada became its own dominion in 1867, but formally, the ties were not fully cut with Britain until 1983 when Canada finally split from the British Parliament. As this represents, Matthew is exceedingly steadfast, and will go to great lengths to avoid confrontation. He hates to fight unnecessarily more than anything. This does not mean, however, that he will not do it when called upon. Matthew and his military fight tenaciously when that call is made. Many overlook Matthew's contributions in favor of Alfred's, but in fact Canada's men and women have fought just as hard and long in every world war and major conflict as the American soldiers, sometimes even suffering greater losses than the those under the "red, white, and blue."

Originally colonized by France and established as the Colony of New France, the main French influences can still be seen in the province of Quebec and Canada's official bilingualism. Matthew speaks both languages fluently, and still refers to Francis as his "Papa" to this day. When France lost Canada in the French and Indian War (or Seven Years' War) to England, a lot changed. Naturally, Canada was upset by the loss of his Papa, but gained a companion named America in the process. From the beginning Alfred didn't pay much more attention to Matthew than was necessary, but what really came out of this was a feeling of flexibility that Matthew still carries to this day. Francis leaving him in England's possession marked the beginning of a long series of changes and turnovers and got him very used to playing "second" to everyone while also making him very adaptable. Even his "pet" polar bear, whose actual name is Kumajiro though Canada pretends to forget it, doesn't remember his name. Matthew became used to masking his emotions in order to better deal with all of this and please everyone around him. He smiled and tried his best to be kind to England and his new "brother." While Alfred blossomed and grew exponentially, Matthew grew in a much more modest way and mostly continued with what he had. There simply wasn't room on one continent for two countries like the United States, so Canada became the quiet, loyal colony of England and settled with that. He's actually pretty independent and is good at making his own decisions and coming up with solutions to problems. Matthew is much smarter than he ever gets credit for, from years of observing the world around him from underneath Arthur's wing.

Though long-suffering to a degree, this is not something that victimizes Canada at all, on the contrary it is one of his biggest flaws. Matthew is quick to get complacent and never manages to complain when something is wrong. He makes himself invisible as often as others do it for him. Rather than voicing complaints, Matthew has the nasty habit of making passive-aggressive remarks instead. Raised by Arthur and all of his bitter snark, much of that rubbed off onto Matthew in its own way. Never one to openly be aggressive or straightforward, Matthew is much more comfortable to mutter under his breath. It's rare to get Matthew to a point where he's very angry or a downright asshole about it, but he has been pushed there before. He knows the spots to hit and has made Alfred cry at least once from going off on him. Matthew may be forgiving and let things blow over for the sake of peace, but he'll throw in a comment off-hand when it's least expected. He almost always forgives; he rarely forgets. He'll turn white as a sheet and get dead quiet if you mention the War of 1812, for example. Another good example of something that will get Matthew's blood boiling is hockey. There is just no room for niceties and meekness in an ice rink where people lose teeth and slam into glass walls. Matt very much enjoys a game now and then and gets noticeably more agitated during hockey season in the NHL.

In a nutshell, Canada is diplomatic, passive-aggressive, and self-sufficient. While it may seem like he's a bit boring and is often "forgotten," he has a lot more to him than what many stereotypes let on. He plays peacemaker a lot, he struggles with how to define himself against a global power like America, and more than anything strives for comfort and happiness. A true melting pot of cultures, even more so than America is arguably, Canada prides himself most on being a source of balance and harmony. Within his own borders Canada has a nation of, generally, polite and happy citizens, and this is reflected in his generally good relations with other nations as well. He doesn't feel the need to define himself with a bang and shows of great power like America does, but prefers to keep his own values he's established, even at the risk of being overlooked by the rest of the world powers.
AU Information: n/a
Character Abilities:
- Immortal/hasn't aged in a couple hundred years (and misc. skills/experiences/knowledge that would come with that).
- Directly affected by the state and welfare of his country, like all the personified nations.
Character Inventory:
- The clothes on his back (hoodie, hockey jersey, jeans, trainers)
- wallet (license, money, etc.)
- iPhone
- Kumajiro; clarification: I imagine him as a full-grown bear who's grown with Canada since he was bitty. This picture's generally about as large as I'd imagine him (on two legs, a little taller than Canada, or to his waist on all fours - roughly the size a large Newfoundland dog.) He won't be speaking either, but is quite expressive for an animal, and definitely isn't vicious at all.
Samples:
First Person;
here
Third Person;
Opening his violet eyes blearily, Matthew rubbed a hand over his face. His fingers groped for his glasses on the nightstand, slipping them onto his nose once he'd grabbed them. There was a muffled noise as he decided if lying in bed for another hour would be too bad of an idea. Just as he reached over for his Kindle, his fingers touched fur as something warm and large pressed against the bed.

"Oh, it's you," he said with a smile looking over at the fuzzy snout lying next to him looking up expectantly. Most people would be alarmed at the sight of a polar bear in their cabin, but he was very used to it. And Kumajiro was fairly small for a bear, and very tame. Matthew had had him as long as he could remember; the animal seemed to be as immortal as he was.

Looking at the bear's brown eyes, he asked, "What do you want, Kuma?" In response, looking a bit dog-like, the polar bear lifted his head and stared right at him. Matt frequently talked to his bear when no one else was around, it was an old habit going way back from childhood. The animal definitely seemed to understand him; it didn't matter that he didn't say much in return.

The young man pushed the covers off of himself and got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of socks from under the bed when he felt how cold the wooden floor was on his bare feet. While he slipped one on, the bear took the other one in his mouth and left the room. Hey! Matthew thought once he'd realized the sock was gone and saw the flash of white slipping away. Between Kumajiro and Alfred, poor Matt rarely felt like he got any peace.

"Come back!" Half-hopping with one sock on, he followed Kumajiro out and found the sock laying next to the refrigerator. He slipped it on with a long-suffering sigh, but Kumajiro looked unperturbed. Matthew pulled out some pancake mix he kept in his cupboard and was starting to pour it into a bowl when sharp teeth started pulling on his T-shirt.

With a glance down at the bear, Matthew raised his eyebrows at him. There was a comment about spoiled, fat bears but he still stopped making his own meal to open the fridge and pull out some leftover fish. Unwrapping it and setting it on the floor, the bear happily started to eat while he made himself breakfast. Just as Matthew placed his breakfast onto his plate, Kumajiro licked his plate clean.

"Are you happy now?" Matthew asked his companion as he sat down at the table and sipped the coffee that had been brewing. Cocking his white head with a 'Who?' sort of expression, Kumajiro yawned and walked away, completely ignoring him. He settled down by the fire with a plop. Huffing, Matt took a bite of his breakfast and mumbled about his stupid pet... whatever his name was.