•Everett Lance Kingston•

'I want to love, but my hair smells of war and running and running'

ROLE NAME
War of Hearts

CHARACTER NAME
-Given Name-
Everett Lance Kingston

'Everett'
Meaning- This name means 'brave as a wild boar' and he's certainly lived up to this expectation. Though, in his opinion, courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to deal with it. When people say he must be fearless because he's been in war, he scoffs. Any man who has experienced war knows to be afraid, because war is where man's true intentions show. The marriage mart is the same, people fighting for survival and victory, but here people's cards are kept a lot more tightly to their chests. That almost scares him more. Almost. Despite the origin of this name, he rarely goes by it, preferring to use the nickname Rhett.

'Lance'
Meaning- The name 'Lance' means, quite simply, 'servant'. How fitting. Ever since his injury, Rhett has felt like a slave to his body. He just wants to move on, forget everything about the horrors he's seen and return to a better, simpler time. Like before the war, when he was just a stupid young boy with big dreams and a cocky attitude. But every time he moves, he can still feel that twinge where his body is damaged, where the skin doesn't quite feel like his own. He is quite fond of his middle name, though, because it used to be what his mother called him when he was little. Though he doesn't let anyone else call him this of course.

'Kingston'
Meaning- It literally means 'king's settlement', though it's meaning is irrelevant to Rhett. To him, it's always been his family name, and he is downright proud to be a Kingston. He aches to honour his father, to make him proud, that's why he joined the army in the first place. If only he'd known that his father was already proud, maybe he wouldn't have put himself through it all.

NICKNAMES
'Rhett'
Origin- To be honest, Rhett isn't sure where this nickname came from. He reckons it was given to him by his first governess and it just kind of stuck. Even since he was young, the name 'Everett' has only been used in front of incredibly important people. Everyone else simply calls him Rhett. He kept this nickname in the army, despite having several others from his army comrades.

'Lord Kingston'
Origin- ah yes, his title. This one is quite self-explanatory. As soon as he came back from the war, he was gifted the family title. It was, honestly, a little... anticlimactic. All his life he wanted to be trusted enough to claim the family title, to support his name and live up to the expectations he believed everyone had of him. So when he came home from the war, feeling defeated and broken, and he received what he'd always wanted, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel special enough.

AGE
-Current Age-
Twenty Three

-Birthday-
His birthday falls upon the 23rd of June, making his star sign Cancer.

GENDER
Cisgender Male

SEXUALITY
Pansexual
Rhett is quite fluid in his sexuality, meaning he's attracted to who he's attracted to and it doesn't really have much consequence to him. His family was quite a relaxed family, but he still didn't go waving around his desires. Before the war, he kept all his romantic relations on the down low anyway, preferring to keep them to himself, and after he got back... well, he's not sure he's ready for a relationship anyway so he's just gonna have to wait and see.

FACE CLAIM
Reece King

-Description-
Everett Kingston was considered quite a catch before he went to war. His dark brown eyes matched with his beautifully smooth skin seemed to be a contributing factor to his popularity, and although he looks pretty much the same now, there are a few vital differences in his appearance now to his appearance then. A good place to start is with the huge ass scar on his abdomen. Well, it's not actually that big, only about 4cm in diameter, but it's feels big. Being shot in the stomach is no joke, and there was a time when he thought he was going to die. He doesn't dwell on those particular memories. Another difference is his hair. When he joined the army, he had it cut very short, but now its starting to grow, wisps of hair curling around to frame his face. They annoy him quite a bit, and he's always pushing them out of his eyes in irritation. He refuses to cut them. On the whole, he is remarkably similar to his father, appearance wise.

PERSONALITY

Rhett is a very different person now to the person he used to be. One could say that beforehand, he was the epitome of spoiled. Why wouldn't he be? He had everything he wanted served to him on a silver platter. He was fed love and attention on golden spoons and his head was filled with promises of grandeur and victory. This bred a child who believed the world was his own to claim. Though, like all humans, he had his Achilles heel: pleasing his father. There was always this pressure he felt on his chest, like the sky had finally given way, whenever he thought about becoming lord. It was this intense desire to live up to his father's expectations that drove him to join the army. This was where things changed, and he knows that he'll never get a chance to go back and enjoy those problem free days again, where his biggest issue was escaping his writing tutor or kicking a ball with his friends. Simple things that seemed monumentos then. Not anymore.

Where to properly start with Rhett? Well, his general manner is probably a good place to start. He is cold. That is a fact that is indisputable to anyone who's ever met him post-war. An intense fear of people betraying him has caused him to do the most human thing there is: shut everyone out. Whilst some describe it as a wall around his heart, he prefers the metaphor of defences. They're only there to keep out the bad people, the ones who want to take his tender heart and throw salt into the wounds. People who take the time to navigate said defences and show they don't mean him harm... well, they'll meet a very different boy indeed. So he's callous to strangers, yes. He does what he believes he needs to in order to keep himself safe, whether that be throwing around a few insults or retreating when things get too much. Snappy, sharp and irritable are just a few adjectives one could use to describe him upon first meeting, and probably second as well. Perhaps you'll get to see some of his crude and slightly dark sense of humor. He does enjoy making people a little uncomfortable when they're prying.

That being said, Rhett is actually quite a romantic. It isn't something he talks about very often, since it is a topic he feels bears his heart too openly, but it's there. You see, all throughout his life, Rhett's been a lover. Once he values you as a person, all you will receive from him is unconditional love and support. He is witty and kind and will treat you as if you're worth more to him than everything else. He has only a few who he is close to, so he clings all the more tightly to those who he does trust enough to show his fears. And believe me, he has plenty of those. He wishes that war wasn't one of his personality traits, but how could it not be? Every time he closes his eyes, he's back on the front lines, cold and hungry and scared. Terrified. There is water in his shoes and his hair and his clothes, and he is no longer the child who can hold the world. He is powerless. A subject to whatever higher power lives beyond the clouds. His father keeps telling him move on, but in reality, it never really felt like he left.

Above all, Rhett hates pity. He doesn't need sympathy and sorrowful words that barely sound sincere. No. Every time someone says something about how awful it must be, he wants to scream. He wants to lift up his shirt and show them the small scar that feels so big and make them understand that he may be hurt but he's alive! He's surviving! He may not be perfect but he's trying! But of course he can't. Because society dictates that he must be polite and courteous to those around him, and not ever show them the ugly truth that lies beneath the pretty broken boy. The lie, that war didn't hurt him in any other way apart from physical, is much nicer to look at. And as we all know, the ton much prefer pretty things. Soft silk is always preferably to broken glass.

One of Rhett's coping methods is his routine. He is borderline obsessive over his diet and exercise, always trying to extend his life so he won't have to face death again for as long as he can. What he really needs is peace. Someone who can cradle his head and take away all the thoughts and the fears and the anger and let him feel calm again. That's all he needs. To be able to breathe.

HOBBIES

Boxing
Out of all his hobbies, Rhett finds this one the most useful. Sometimes, there isn't enough space in his head to think properly. It's like he is sharing his head with all the bits of himself he wants to ignore, and boxing helps to quiet the raucous. He started when he first came back from the war. Still injured and barely recovered, he needed something to occupy his mind. So he chose boxing. Despite all the objections from doctors and family, he did it, and it made him stronger. Both mentally and physically. Sure, it hurt, but what was progress without pain?

Running
The purpose of this is pretty much the same as boxing, but this one he also does as part of his obsessive desire to extend his life. He ran even as a child, to let off steam when he wanted to be wild and unruly. Some frowned upon it, said it was ridiculous for him to be running when he could be learning skills such as fencing or writing or horse back riding, but Rhett just ignored them. He never was particularly fond of other people's opinions.

Horse Riding
This is due to Rhett's intense love of horses probably. What can he say? There used to be days where he spent all day lot hours riding on horseback with his father, or sometimes his cousins. The horses always seemed so hardworking and friendly, and they honestly bring a bit of light into Rhett's life. He regularly goes to the stables to hang out with the ponies, and sometimes he evens tells them stories so he feels less alone.

LIKES
•High intensity sports
•Feeling warm
•Rainy days
•Personal space
•Being alone (sometimes)
•Being with people (sometimes)
•When he's not scared
•Horses
•Small spaces

DISLIKES
•Feeling terrified
•Being alert all the time
•Being alone (sometimes)
•Being with people (sometimes)
•Feeling cold
•Nightmares
•Soup

OPINIONS ON THE TOPICS ;

— SEXISM
Whats the point? Quite literally, he cannot see a single reason why women shouldn't be able to do whatever they want. It's been proven to him time and time again that women are not merely creatures to woo and actually have brains and ideas and desires beyond marriage. This is an opinion he will voice if it comes to it, because he cannot think of a single argument against it. Perhaps men are scared that if women get too much power, they might take over. What a stupid fear.

— THE MARRIAGE MART
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Does that sum up his feelings accurately enough? To say he is displeased at having to participate is an understatement. As if he isn't anxious enough already, now he has to go find himself a wife. Whoopee. To be fair, a lot of his hostility towards this is due to fear. The whole thing terrifies him. Normal people find it hard enough without flashbacks and trauma, how on earth is he supposed to manage it? Though, of course, he has briefly entertained the prospect of finding someone he truly loves, someone who can deal with all his bullshit and love him regardless. It wasn't a completely distasteful vision.

— THE ROYAL FAMILY
It is definitely a little biased, but Rhett is honestly a little bitter towards the royal family. He knows in theory that they're not responsible for what he went through- they didn't make him sign up, they didn't force a gun into his hands- but still. It was their emblem he was wearing when he watched friend after friend fall into the dirt. Their emblem that got stained with endless amounts of blood. Just seeing their family crest on a bad day can trigger a flashback, and that's never fun, especially not in the middle of a gathering.

— HOMOSEXUALITY
As stated previously, Rhett has always been a rather fluid person when it comes to sexuality, and honestly doesn't see anything wrong with it. Of course, he understands that people tend not to like the topic of homosexuality, claiming it scandalous or sinful, when in reality he thinks they're just scared of difference. When someone has something that others don't understand, people get angry. It is a tragic reaction brought about by fear, and Rhett wishes he could explain. Difference shouldn't be feared. That only leads to violence, and that is something he understands all too well.

EXTRA
• Part of Rhett's PTSD is something called re-experiencing, where he involuntarily relives parts of the war. This mainly happens in nightmares, though he prefers to spend his nights doing more productive things than sleeping, but sometimes it happens during the day. He has flashbacks when triggered, and it's horrifying. He's back on the field with blood on his hands and his cheeks and in his mouth, and he watching everything burn. Or sometimes it's people dying. Those are the worst. Whilst the mental aspects are hard enough, he also gets physical symptoms when having a flashback, such as trembling, nausea, and sweating. He prefers to disappear during these moments.

•His injuries consisted of being shot in the stomach, and also the right shoulder. He was bed ridden for weeks, and returned home on permanent leave because he now sometimes struggles to move his right arm properly due to the nerve damage. He can still use it normally, but occasionally it seizes and becomes hard to use.

THEME SONG

'Soldier keep on marchin' on
Head down 'til the work is done
Waiting on that morning sun
Soldier keep on marchin' on'
-Soldier

'Run boy run!
This world is not made for you
Run boy run!
They're trying to catch you
Run boy run!
Running is a victory
Run boy run!
Beauty lies behind the hills'
-Run Boy Run

'I'm scared to death that
I won't make it out of here alive
Did somebody say
I feel we're sinking deeper with more
Speed the more we strive'
-Close to the Sun

AESTHETIC

~The End~