Post by Lars Hofstee on Jul 8, 2011 15:05:12 GMT -5
Character Name:[/s]
Lars Hofstee
Country:
The Netherlands
Gender:
Male
Age:
20, though he turns 21 at the 26th of July
Camp guide or teen?:
Camp guide
Appearance:
Lars isn’t an exception to the fact that the Dutch are the tallest of the world. He is a very tall man, approximately 200 centimetres long (205 if you count his hair), with a rather muscular body. Along with his often serious expression he can come across as rather intimidating. He has a small, curved scar above his right eyebrow.
His chosen hairstyle also doesn’t make him seem any shorter. He has light brown hair that he styles in an upward fashion. One a rare occasion he will leave it down, for example when he’s feeling lazy and doesn’t have to go out that day. Though he doesn’t like it getting in his face, and thus it is most commonly seen upwards.
As for clothes, Lars doesn’t really bother to keep up with all the latest fashion trends and just wears what he’s comfortable in. He does make sure that it looks decent and is clean. He is rarely spotted without his trademark white and blue scarf wrapped around his neck. Even sometimes in the summer. When it’s really hot he’ll make the scarf wet and wear it to cool down.
Personality:
One look at the guy will already tell you that Lars is not a person you want to mess with. Being tall, muscular and straight-faced, he often comes across as rather intimidating. He never had a problem with this himself though. He is very direct in both words and actions to the point people might consider him as rude. He isn’t the most talkative out of all people, as (especially in his younger years, it’s changed a bit over the years) he believes actions say more than words.
You wouldn’t say it at first, but once you get to know him he’s a good guy. You’d have to make the effort to push past his uncaring exterior first, but those who manage to get a place in this guy’s heart have a good friend.
He likes to be physically active. During a game he won’t go easy on people. He likes to get rough. Fights are often just a game to him. This attitude occasionally ends in him unintentionally hurting someone. Sometimes he doesn’t even realize he hurt them and thinks they’re just a sore loser. He is a bit of a sore loser himself as well. He is pretty competitive, especially when it comes to sports.
Lars can be a bit of a pervert sometimes. If he’s checking someone out, age isn’t really that important to him. He has been seen with lovers who were younger than himself. Though contrary to popular belief, he does take care not to go under a certain age and makes sure it’s consensual. While he is generally rather rough, he can be surprisingly gentle when he’s with a (potential) partner. Still, he has a bit of trouble with expressing his emotions, so that makes for some uncomfortable situations sometimes.
He is fluent in the language of sarcasm. He often uses this to hide he’s uncomfortable in a situation, to distance himself from a certain situation/person, or just when he thinks someone said something incredibly stupid.
Despite his tough exterior, Lars has a few hobbies and interests that are considered all but manly. But honestly, he couldn’t care less what others think about it.
Lars is pretty open minded considering sexuality. He also has a pretty laid back attitude about some kinds of drugs.
Likes:
✓ Being in charge. He doesn’t do good as someone’s subordinate;
✓ Cigarettes/his pipe. Lars is a smoker and can’t get through the day without his beloved nicotine. He also smokes other substances, from time to time;
✓ Coffee. Just like with his cigarettes, this is one of Lars’ daily needs. His day will rarely start without a strong cup of black coffee;
✓ Football (for all you Americans, this means the kind of football that you actually play with just your feet). Absolutely Lars’ most favourite sport. He’s pretty good at it, too;
✓ Ice skating. On natural ice it’s the best. On artificial ice it isn’t bad either;
✓ Bikes. This is the Dutchman’s preferred way to get himself to the places he needs to be. A car is just expensive and bad for the environment. If he can’t go by bike, he’ll either go by foot or public transport;
✓ Beer. Alcohol is not an unknown substance for this guy. He likes getting wasted every once in a while. The Dutch brands have his preference, of course. Though he also doesn’t say no to a good glass of wine, or something stronger;
✓ Lars has a weak spot for cute things, like rabbits and young women;
✓ Gardening. It’s calming and productive. He can’t stand the sight of a messy garden. During the spring his own garden is, of course, filled with tulips;
✓ His siblings. He might pick on them, and they annoy the heck out of him sometimes, but they’re still family.
Dislikes:
✗ Disrespect. Lars is a very proud individual. If you touch his dignity, you will have to face the consequences;
✗ Spending a lot of money. Ever heard of “going Dutch”?;
✗ Not being in control of a situation. He will mostly just try to avoid situations like these;
✗ He can’t stand it when people are careless with something. He sees to it that he takes good care of his things;
✗ People touching or messing up his hair. He doesn’t like it getting in the way, which is why he gels it up every morning without fail. There are very few occasions on which he will not do this;
✗ Using the car. Like stated before, they’re just expensive and bad for the environment. Not to mention there are enough cars on the road already;
✗ Messy things. Especially messy gardens and kitchens piss him off;
✗ Losing. Depending on the game he can be rather competitive and doesn’t like to lose.
Fears:
♦ Lars nearly drowned once, when he was ice skating and fell through the ice. Since then he always makes extra sure the ice is thick enough to skate on before going on. This is not something he should worry about during summer camp though.
♦ His siblings getting hurt. He can be rather protective of them and makes sure to keep an eye on them.
History:
Outside of camp, Lars is a student. He’s training to become a PE teacher. And he smokes. Now you might think that’s not the smartest combination, and you’re absolutely right, it isn’t. And he knows that very well. He has tried to kick the habit a couple of times already, but can’t seem to get rid of it. He has given himself a limited number of cigarettes he’s allowed to smoke a day though. He does need to watch what he’s doing to his body and try to keep it healthy.
Lars had a pretty normal childhood. He grew up with a mom, a dad and his younger siblings. He was a rough kid that occasionally got into fights with others. When he became a little older and entered his rebellious faze, he got the wrong friends and got into a lot of trouble. This is also where his smoking habit finds its origins. He strayed back onto the right path soon enough though, as he grew older. Part of that rebellious side he will probably never completely get rid of. But hey, life wouldn’t be fun if you play by the rules all the time.
Lars has been going to the camp ever since he was 12. Most of his time was spent outside, playing football and other games with the other boys of the camp, swimming in the lake, climbing in trees, the normal things boys of his age do to keep themselves busy. He had a lot of time to thoroughly explore the camping grounds. He knows them like the back of his hand, which will certainly come in handy during his time as a camp guide. It’s his first year as one, you see. He has mixed feelings about not being one of the campers anymore. Though he does like kids, and also enjoys bossing people around, so he’ll be fine.
(( I’ll probably edit this a bit and get more specific about the history with his family once we get a Belgium and/or Luxembourg and we had a chance to discuss things. ))
Journal Sample:July 8th, 2011
To Do:
• Get new football.
[/ul]
Notes:
- Left tap in the boy’s bathroom is still broken, get someone to fix it.
- Football match has to be rescheduled. Ball is flat.
(( He doesn’t keep a journal, but he has a little notebook in which he keeps lists and notes of what he needs to do and remember. ))
Roleplay Sample:
(( You already know how I RP him, so I’ll keep it short. ;D ))
The winter of 1944 – 1945, the Hungerwinter
It had literally been a few years since he’d gotten a decent night of sleep. As Netherlands creaked an eye open he rolled onto his back. His bed was hard and the room was cold. He moved his sore body out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen. The cupboards were empty, as usual. He knew there wouldn’t be a crumb to be found anywhere, he just looked out of habit.
Netherlands glanced to the side, meeting his reflection in a mirror that hung from the wall of the small apartment. He truly was a sight to behold. His clothes were damaged and not nearly warm enough for the season. They hung loosely over his frame, which was way too thin for a man of his size. Netherlands sighed and looked down, not wanting to look at himself any longer. The war and the hunger of his people had definitely left its marks on him. It hurt to look at. Him, a nation once so great, reduced to this.
Despite it being a exceptionally cold winter, he had stopped feeling the cold two weeks ago. He didn’t know whether he was just too cold to feel anything else, or if the pains and rashes from the war overpowered the freezing feeling. His body hurt constantly from the many battles being fought on his soil. He had bruises all over, and the wound that the bombing of Rotterdam left didn’t show any signs of healing yet. He could still feel the resistance of his people, but it was lessening a bit every day. He feared the day that feeling would stop altogether. He heard rumours of the Allied forces trying to push Germany back and liberate the countries currently in his grasp. He could only hope they would be in time.
He picked up his scarf, wrapped it around his neck. He grabbed the shovel that stood next to the door and stepped outside. It was still dark outside. The streets were empty, apart from a few people quickly making their way to wherever they needed to be, using the cover of the darkness. Netherlands made his way to the nearby fields of a farm. He remembered how these fields used to be covered in a sea of beautiful tulips, in every colour you could imagine. When he closed his eyes he could still see them, he could almost smell their sweet scent and feel their soft petals. But as soon as he opened his eyes again there was nothing but bare, frozen land. There were holes in the ground from where the people had dug up the tulips bulbs. There was little hope there were any left, but Netherlands didn’t know where else to search for food. So took the shovel in a tight grip and started to dig at a spot that seemed mostly untouched.
The ground was cold and hard, and covered in snow. The humans couldn’t dig through the frozen ground anymore. He himself was weakened as well, but still stronger than the average human. Slowly but surely he broke through the frozen dirt. Sweat ran across his forehead and down his back. His hands hurt from hours of digging, and the constant hunger he felt made him dizzy.
His face lit up when he saw something between some loose earth in the hole he had created. It was covered in dirt, still stuck in the ground, but it was definitely enough to make the Netherlands dig with renewed energy. It didn’t take him long to get it out of the ground. He wiped off most of the dirt, and yes, in his hands he held a small tulip bulb. He never thought he could be so happy to see a single measly tulip bulb, but right now it meant the world to him. He brought it to his lips, planting a small kiss on it before putting it in his pocket.
He rested for a moment before heading back home. Something caught his eyes as he walked back towards his apartment. It was a young woman trying to quiet down her crying daughter in the streets. The girl was about ten years old. She looked cold. It wouldn’t have surprised him if the tears on her little cheeks froze on the spot.
Over the centuries he had seen his people hurt many times. Though never did it hurt any less. Quite on the contrary, it only seemed to hurt him more every time. He was responsible for these people, and here he got himself occupied by another country.
But even though he couldn’t do much about the Germans right now, there were some thing he still could do to help his people. And as long as he could do that, he would.
He approached the woman and her child. When she noticed him at first, she seemed a bit fearful, pulling her little girl close. He realized he must be somewhat odd looking, a man even thinner and more battered looking than anyone else, carrying a shovel through the streets. He didn’t lose eye contact with the woman while walking towards her, which somehow seemed to calm her down a bit. Netherlands knelt down next to the little girl and put down his shovel. He took off his scarf and wrapped it around the child’s neck, who stopped crying and looked at him with large eyes. He offered her a small smile.
As he stood up, he took the tulip bulb out of his pocket. He took the woman’s hand and wrapped her fingers around the bulb. She looked at him as if he was crazy, giving away food and clothes in this time. “Thank you.” She said in a soft voice.
Netherlands gave her a nod, picked up his shovel and resumed walking. When he glanced back at them over his shoulder he saw the little girl waving at him. At that moment he knew he had done the right thing. He could make do with a bit of food and clothing less. Taking care of his people was more important. They were his future, after all. He didn’t know what kind of future, but he hoped it was bright. And hoping was all he could do now.
It had literally been a few years since he’d gotten a decent night of sleep. As Netherlands creaked an eye open he rolled onto his back. His bed was hard and the room was cold. He moved his sore body out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen. The cupboards were empty, as usual. He knew there wouldn’t be a crumb to be found anywhere, he just looked out of habit.
Netherlands glanced to the side, meeting his reflection in a mirror that hung from the wall of the small apartment. He truly was a sight to behold. His clothes were damaged and not nearly warm enough for the season. They hung loosely over his frame, which was way too thin for a man of his size. Netherlands sighed and looked down, not wanting to look at himself any longer. The war and the hunger of his people had definitely left its marks on him. It hurt to look at. Him, a nation once so great, reduced to this.
Despite it being a exceptionally cold winter, he had stopped feeling the cold two weeks ago. He didn’t know whether he was just too cold to feel anything else, or if the pains and rashes from the war overpowered the freezing feeling. His body hurt constantly from the many battles being fought on his soil. He had bruises all over, and the wound that the bombing of Rotterdam left didn’t show any signs of healing yet. He could still feel the resistance of his people, but it was lessening a bit every day. He feared the day that feeling would stop altogether. He heard rumours of the Allied forces trying to push Germany back and liberate the countries currently in his grasp. He could only hope they would be in time.
He picked up his scarf, wrapped it around his neck. He grabbed the shovel that stood next to the door and stepped outside. It was still dark outside. The streets were empty, apart from a few people quickly making their way to wherever they needed to be, using the cover of the darkness. Netherlands made his way to the nearby fields of a farm. He remembered how these fields used to be covered in a sea of beautiful tulips, in every colour you could imagine. When he closed his eyes he could still see them, he could almost smell their sweet scent and feel their soft petals. But as soon as he opened his eyes again there was nothing but bare, frozen land. There were holes in the ground from where the people had dug up the tulips bulbs. There was little hope there were any left, but Netherlands didn’t know where else to search for food. So took the shovel in a tight grip and started to dig at a spot that seemed mostly untouched.
The ground was cold and hard, and covered in snow. The humans couldn’t dig through the frozen ground anymore. He himself was weakened as well, but still stronger than the average human. Slowly but surely he broke through the frozen dirt. Sweat ran across his forehead and down his back. His hands hurt from hours of digging, and the constant hunger he felt made him dizzy.
His face lit up when he saw something between some loose earth in the hole he had created. It was covered in dirt, still stuck in the ground, but it was definitely enough to make the Netherlands dig with renewed energy. It didn’t take him long to get it out of the ground. He wiped off most of the dirt, and yes, in his hands he held a small tulip bulb. He never thought he could be so happy to see a single measly tulip bulb, but right now it meant the world to him. He brought it to his lips, planting a small kiss on it before putting it in his pocket.
He rested for a moment before heading back home. Something caught his eyes as he walked back towards his apartment. It was a young woman trying to quiet down her crying daughter in the streets. The girl was about ten years old. She looked cold. It wouldn’t have surprised him if the tears on her little cheeks froze on the spot.
Over the centuries he had seen his people hurt many times. Though never did it hurt any less. Quite on the contrary, it only seemed to hurt him more every time. He was responsible for these people, and here he got himself occupied by another country.
But even though he couldn’t do much about the Germans right now, there were some thing he still could do to help his people. And as long as he could do that, he would.
He approached the woman and her child. When she noticed him at first, she seemed a bit fearful, pulling her little girl close. He realized he must be somewhat odd looking, a man even thinner and more battered looking than anyone else, carrying a shovel through the streets. He didn’t lose eye contact with the woman while walking towards her, which somehow seemed to calm her down a bit. Netherlands knelt down next to the little girl and put down his shovel. He took off his scarf and wrapped it around the child’s neck, who stopped crying and looked at him with large eyes. He offered her a small smile.
As he stood up, he took the tulip bulb out of his pocket. He took the woman’s hand and wrapped her fingers around the bulb. She looked at him as if he was crazy, giving away food and clothes in this time. “Thank you.” She said in a soft voice.
Netherlands gave her a nod, picked up his shovel and resumed walking. When he glanced back at them over his shoulder he saw the little girl waving at him. At that moment he knew he had done the right thing. He could make do with a bit of food and clothing less. Taking care of his people was more important. They were his future, after all. He didn’t know what kind of future, but he hoped it was bright. And hoping was all he could do now.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
OoC Information
Name:
Free, Lars, Peanut Tree, take your pick or make up your own. As long as I know it’s me, I’ll answer.
Timezone:
GMT+1
Experience:
Almost one and a half year. I play several characters, of which Netherlands is my main character. He was also my first, so I’ve got the most experience with him.
Contact information:
I’ve got MSN and Skype. If you want it, send me a PM.
Anything else?
Fishies are food, no friends—- I mean....[/blockquote]
