Oct 9, 2012 11:33:19 GMT -5 |
Post by wolfie on Oct 9, 2012 11:33:19 GMT -5
MATTHEW (CANADA) WILLIAMS
"Never back down"
"Never back down"
I Feel Like We're Summoning The Devil
Nickname/Alias: Mattie (Only his brother seems to call him Mattie and France sometimes)
Gender: Male
Character Type: Country
Country or Country of Origin: Canada
Canon or Original: Canon
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When I look into all of your stupid faces
I think how fun it will be to pound them into dust
Hair: Blond
Height and Weight: 5'11 and about 140
Other Distinguishing Features: He is always wearing a hoodie of some sort
Overall Appearance:
Canada stands at five feet eleven inches, he is tall compared to most nations, while he is short next to others. He has to look up to the taller countries to see their faces. Being about an average height of a human male, he wouldn't stick out too much in a crowd of them, if at all. A bit lighter than his brother, probably light for a human his age, he weighs in at around one hundred and forty pounds, how much he exactly weighs being unknown, but it's most likely an accurate guess. With light toned skin, and a slightly muscular build, he looks a lot like his brother, which portrays into being mistaken for the other country. With blond hair, it only adds to the similarities, even though his is longer, reaching down a bit past his chin, the locks touched with waves. Lighter than the others', it is fairly soft, and usually looks presentable, though he does have one stubborn curl that breaks free from the neat, rippled surface. It almost appears to be a strand that is longer than the rest, most likely only adding onto the effect it produces.
Violet eyes might be one of the things that would make him stand out the most, for even if some of the other countries bare the same base color in their own eyes, it surely isn't a regular human eye color, as found out from browsing his own streets. It's a calm, relaxed color, touched by lavender and other shades of purple. Maybe called amethyst in color, they look similar to the stone, slightly reflective, shimmering surfaces, touched with speckles of darker or lighter colors, possibly even some faint blue.
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Man up or I'll beat you with my peace prize!
Hockey
Maple Syrup (anything maple-flavored, really.)
Snow
Bears
Cooking
Pancakes
Video Games
Family and Friends
Silence
Wilderness
Al even though he forgets his name
Dislikes:
Violence
Loud Noises
Complaining
Being Forgotten
Strengths:
Problem Solving: Canada is a thinker by nature. Always thinking of a long-term outcome instead of what would be satisfactory for a single moment. As such, he is very well adverse in solving riddles and various other problems.
Agile, a strength gained due to years upon years of sport, from hockey to skiing. He has grown to become nimble on his feet, maybe not quite fast, but he definitely has some agility, ready to react pretty quick when most situations present themselves.
Underestimated, for many things. One of those is the underestimation about his strength and skill, which he is just about equal to the person next to him. He is better with weaponry than expected as well, able to use many different kinds, from rifles to different kinds of swords and the like, and it's a great benefit to him.
Weaknesses:
Easily Intimidated, by anyone around him, and thrown in with the shy factor, he is practically a silent, trembling sight. He easily backs down, or agrees to the other, in fear or nervousness, due to being so easily intimidated, and it makes him appear to be the kind of person who agrees to anything, anytime, when in fact he could be mentally cursing out the other, silently arguing.
Shyness, it's a huge disadvantage, as it leaves him often unable to approach someone, whether it be for help, a chat, or some other situation. Playing a decent role in being mistaken, invisible, it adds onto the problems he has, as he isn't able to reach out to someone for help.
Competitive: While not much of a fighter, Canada is extremely competitive when it comes to sports and games. It is a very different side that many do not get the chance to see.
Fears:
Large Crowds: for after being the one off to the side, usually alone or with only a single other person, he has grown to fear large, swarmed areas. They are suffocating, terrifying, and he can't help but feel a wave of panic and helplessness when he is thrust upon a busy place. He would get nervous, internally freaking out, though he could be claiming to be totally fine.
Being Absolutely Alone Or Forgotten, which is probably the largest fear. To be totally alone, no one seeing him period, would be like an absolute nightmare. To go through a week without a single glance at all, or to be not mistaken for his sibling, it would cause this fear to begin to act up, if not sooner. He would be unable to handle the worry, the loss, the sheer loneliness that would be drawn from this, which he feels is just so close, too close and real for liking, and so he really hopes that he'll never be left totally alone.
Secrets:.
Canada is stronger then he looks
Any Quirks/Habits:
Canada yelps if he is startled
Overall Personality:
Compared to his brother, he is like a polar opposite in personality, no matter how alike they look. Loud, hyperactive, overly cheerful, none of those words can describe him, not in the least. He's like the shadow, the quiet, bashful brother, who can't get out of the dark trail left just for him. He is like a fog, always there, yet not, lurking around the room, but not always noticed. It is more often than not he is mistaken or overlooked, something that has happened for as long as he can remember. It's like he is stuck within a curse, unable to escape the unforgiving invisibility he is stuck with, carrying it along. It's as if he were a ghost, reaching for a friend, a person, someone who can see him, but no one can, none able to bring him out of the curse. It's not all the time, but often enough to declare the young nation invisible.
He's friendly once you get to know him, a sweet, kind person, who would love nothing more than to be recognized, and have someone to talk to. He's the kind of person who would help anyone, whether he wants to or not, due to the fact he can't speak up, but it does give off an air about him that he is a very caring nation. The fact that he hates war and fighting could play into that, as he could be helping others on the fact that he'd rather get it over with, than cause a fight from saying no. Quite honest most of the time, it only adds to the benefit of claiming him as a friend, for who wouldn't want a nice, truly honest friend by their side, whether others could see him or not?
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I'm the hero!
Canada's full history Here
New France and colonization 1534–1763
1524: Francis the first of France sponsored an explorer to navigate the reign between Florida and Newfoundland to find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
1534: Jacques planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land in Francis the first.
1600: A trading post was established at Tadoussac by a merchant and a captain of the royal navy.
1604: A North American fur trade was granted to Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts.
1605: That spring under Samuel de Champlain, the new settlement St. Croix settlement was moved to Port Royal then it was abandoned in 1607.
1608: Champlain founded what is now Quebec City which would become the first permanent settlement and the capital of New France.
In 1609 Champlain himself discovered Lake Champlain.
By 1615 Champlain had traveled by canoe up the Ottawa River through Lake Nipissing and Georgia Bay to the center of Hudson Country.
During his voyages Champlain aided the Wendat (aka Hurons) in their battle against the Iroquois Confederacy.
September 29, 1621 a charter for the foundation of a New World Scottish colony was granted by James IV to Sir William Alexander.
In 1622, the first settlers left Scotland. They initially failed and permanent settlement in Nova Scotian settlements were not firmly established until 1629 during the end of the Anglo-French War.
Canada under British rule (1763–1867)
With the end of the seven years war and the treaty of Paris (1763), France ceded almost all of its territory in mainland North America, except for fishing rights off Newfoundland and two small islands where it could dry that fish.
The new British rulers retained and protected most of the property, religious, political, and social culture of the French-speaking habitats, guaranteeing the right of the Canadians to practice the Catholic faith and to the use of French civil law (now Quebec law) through the Quebec Act of 1774.
American Revolution and Loyalists
During the American Revolution there was some sympathy for the Americans cause among the Canadians and the New Englanders in Nova Scotia.Neither party joined the rebels , although several hundred individuals joined the revolutionary cause.An invasion of Canada by the Continental Army in 1775, to take Quebec from the British control was halted by the Battle of Quebec by Guy Carleton with the assistance of local militias.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the British with the British North American colonies being heavily involved.Greatly out gunned by the British Royal Navy, the American War was focused on an invasion of Canada. The American frontier states voted for war to suppress the First Nations raids that frustrated settlement of the frontier. The war on the border with the United States was characterized by a series of multiple failed invasions and fiascos on both sides. American forces took control of Lake Erie in 1813, driving the British out of western Ontario, killing the Native American leader Tecumseh, and breaking the military power of his confederacy.The war was overseen by British army officers like Isaac Brock and Charles de Salaberry with the assistance of First Nations and loyalist informants, most notably Laura Secord.
Rebellions and the Durham Report
The rebellions against the British government took place in the upper and lower regions of Canada.In Upper Canada, a band of Reformers under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie took up arms in a disorganized and ultimately unsuccessful series of small-scale skirmishes around Toronto, London, and Hamilton.
In lower Canada, a more substantial rebellion against the British rule.Both English- and French-Canadian rebels, sometimes using bases in the neutral United States, fought several skirmishes against the authorities. The towns of Chambly and Sorel were taken by the rebels, and Quebec City was isolated from the rest of the colony. Montreal rebel leader Robert Nelson read the "Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada" to a crowd assembled at the town of Napierville in 1838.The rebellion of the Patriote movement were defeated after battles across Quebec. Hundreds were arrested, and several villages were burnt in reprisal.
Pacific Colonies
Spanish explorers had taken the lead in the Pacific Northwest coast, with the voyages of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774 and 1775.By the time the Spanish determined to build a fort on Vancouver Island, the British navigator James Cook had visited Nootka Sound and charted the coast as far as Alaska, while British and American maritime fur traders had begun a busy era of commerce with the coastal peoples to satisfy the brisk market for sea otter pelts in China, thereby launching what became known as the China Trade.
In 1789 war threatened between Britain and Spain on their respective rights; the Nootka Crisis was resolved peacefully largely in favor of Britain, the much stronger naval power. In 1793 Alexander MacKenzie, a Canadian working for the North West Company, crossed the continent and with his Aboriginal guides and French-Canadian crew, reached the mouth of the Bella Coola River, completing the first continental crossing north of Mexico, missing George Vancouver's charting expedition to the region by only a few weeks.In 1821, the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company merged, with a combined trading territory that was extended by a license to the North-Western Territory and the Columbia and New Caledonia fur districts, which reached the Arctic Ocean on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
Confederation
The seventy-two resolutions from the 1864 Quebec Conference and Charlottetown Confederation aid out the framework for uniting British colonies in North America into a federation.They had been adopted by the majority of the provinces of Canada and became the basis for the London Conference of 1866, which led to the formation of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. The term dominion was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing colony of the British Empire, the first time it was used about a country.With the coming into force of the British North America Act (enacted by the British Parliament), the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia became a federated kingdom in its own right.
World Wars and Interwar Years 1914–1945
First World War
The Canadian forces and civilian participation in the First World War helped to foster a sense of British-Canadian nationhood. The highpoints of Canadian military achievement during the First World War came during the Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele battles and what later became known as "Canada's Hundred Days". The reputation Canadian troops earned, along with the success of Canadian flying aces including William George Barker and Billy Bishop, helped to give the nation a new sense of identity. he War Office in 1922 reported approximately 67,000 killed and 173,000 wounded during the war.This excludes civilian deaths in war time incidents like the Halifax Explosion.
Interwar
As a result of the first world war, Canada became more more assertive and less deferential to British authority; it became an independent member of the League of Nations. In 1923 British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, appealed repeatedly for Canadian support in the Chanak crisis, in which a war threatened between Britain and Turkey. Canada refused.he Department of External Affairs, which had been founded in 1909, was expanded and promoted Canadian autonomy as Canada reduced its reliance on British diplomats and used its own foreign service. Thus began the careers of such important diplomats as Norman Robertson and Hume Wrong, and future prime minister Lester Pearson.
Great Depression
Canada was hit hard by the worldwide great depression that began in 1929.Between the years 1929 and 1933,the gross national product dropped 40% (compared to 37% in the US). Unemployment reached 27% at the depth of the Depression in 1933. Many businesses closed, as corporate profits of $396 million in 1929 turned into losses of $98 million in 1933. Canadian exports shrank by 50% from 1929 to 1933. Construction all but stopped (down 82%, 1929–33), and wholesale prices dropped 30%. Wheat prices plunged from 78c per bushel (1928 crop) to 29c in 1932.
Urban unemployment nationwide was 19%; Toronto's rate was 17%, according to the census of 1931. Farmers who stayed on their farms were not considered unemployed. By 1933, 30% of the labor force was out of work, and one fifth of the population became dependent on government assistance. Wages fell as did prices. Worst hit were areas dependent on primary industries such as farming, mining and logging, as prices fell and there were few alternative jobs. Most families had moderate losses and little hardship, though they too became pessimistic and their debts become heavier as prices fell. Some families saw most or all of their assets disappear, and suffered severely.
Second World War
Mobilization
Canada's involvement in the second world war began when Canada declared war on Nazi Germany on September 10, 1939, delaying it one week after Britain acted to symbolically demonstrate independence. The war restored Canada's economic health and its self-confidence, as it played a major role in the Atlantic and in Europe. During the war Canada became more closely linked to the U.S. The Americans took virtual control of the Yukon in order to build the Alaska Highway, and was a major presence in the British colony of Newfoundland with major airbases. Mackenzie King — and Canada — were largely ignored by Winston Churchill and the British government despite Canada's major role in supplying food, raw materials, munitions and money to the hard-pressed British economy, training airmen for the Commonwealth, guarding the western half of the North Atlantic Ocean against German U-boats, and providing combat troops for the invasions of Italy, France and Germany in 1943-45. The government successfully mobilized the economy for war, with impressive results in industrial and agricultural output. The depression ended, prosperity returned, and Canada's economy expanded significantly. On the political side, Mackenzie King rejected any notion of a government of national unity.
Combat
The Battle of the Atlantic began immediately, and from 1943 to 1945 was led by Leonard W. Murray, from Nova Scotia. German U-boats operated in Canadian and Newfoundland waters throughout the war, sinking many naval and merchant vessels, as Canada took charge of the defenses of the western Atlantic.The Canadian army was involved in the failed defense of Hong Kong, the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid in August 1942, the Allied invasion of Italy, and the highly successful invasion of France and the Netherlands in 1944-45.
Conscription
The Conscription Crisis of 1944 greatly affected unity between French and English-speaking Canadians, though was not as politically intrusive as that of the First World War.Of a population of approximately 11.5 million, 1.1 million Canadians served in the armed forces in the Second World War. Many thousands more served with the Canadian Merchant Navy. In all, more than 45,000 died, and another 55,000 were wounded.
Post-war Era 1945–1960
Prosperity returned to Canada during the Second World War and continued in the proceeding years, with the development of universal health care, old-age pensions, and veterans' pensions.The financial crisis of the Great Depression had led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a crown colony ruled by a British governor.In 1948, the British government gave voters three Newfoundland Referendum choices: remaining a crown colony, returning to Dominion status (that is, independence), or joining Canada. Joining the United States was not made an option. After bitter debate Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province.
1960–1981
1960 is what became known as the quiet revolution it took place in Quebec, it overthrow the old establishment which centered on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec and led to modernizing of the economy and society.Québécois nationalists demanded independence, and tensions rose until violence erupted during the 1970 October Crisis.[173] In 1976 the Parti Québécois was elected to power in Quebec, with a nationalist vision that included securing French linguistic rights in the province and the pursuit of some form of sovereignty for Quebec. This culminated in the 1980 referendum in Quebec on the question of sovereignty-association, which was turned down by 59% of the voters.
1982–1992
In 1982,the Canada Act was passed by by the British parliament and granted Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on March 29, while the Constitution Act was passed by the Canadian parliament and granted Royal Assent by the Queen on April 17, thus patriating the Constitution of Canada.Previously, the constitution has existed only as an act passed of the British parliament, and was not even physically located in Canada, though it could not be altered without Canadian consent. At the same time, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was added in place of the previous Bill of Rights.The patriation of the constitution was Trudeau's last major act as Prime Minister; he resigned in 1984.
On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 was destroyed above the Atlantic Ocean by a bomb on board exploding; all 329 on board were killed, of whom 280 were Canadian citizens.The Air India attack is the largest mass murder in Canadian history.
The Progressive Conservative (PC) government of Brian Mulroney began efforts to gain Quebec's support for the Constitution Act 1982 and end western alienation. In 1987 the Meech Lake Accord talks began between the provincial and federal governments, seeking constitutional changes favourable to Quebec.he constitutional reform process under Prime Minister Mulroney culminated in the failure of the Charlottetown Accord which would have recognized Quebec as a "distinct society" but was rejected in 1992 by a narrow margin.
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You've got it backwards! Backwards!
Hurry up and throw it! If you don't hurry up and throw it, you'll go "boom"!
"W-wait!"
Too late. Even though he tried to protest in the beginning, Arthur began to lead him through the section. It was absolutely embarrassing how he was being dragged to the different divisions of this part of the store. Matthew never would have dreamed of coming anywhere near this area. And secretly, he wondered what Alfred would think if he knew about this...not like he was going to tell him or anything!
'Curiosity didn't kill the cat. It ended him up in the porn section of a store...' he sighed and thought to himself.
Every which way he turned, he was introduced to something new. And really, he didn't know what to think. At first, he thought he could keep his calm. But, then he started talking about 'vanilla books', which confused him. What the heck did that even mean?
Then there were the straight and gay book sections. He turned red when Arthur pointed to a book. Curiosity getting the better of him again, he picked it up and looked at it. He'd just have to go along with it, especially since Arthur was being 'nice' enough to show him around. There was just no way he could deny him his fun, especially looking at him.
'Well, Matthew Williams. I hope you learned your less---' his thought process cut off, he stared at the book. STARED at it. Slowly, the blood started going to his head again and he slammed it shut in embarrassment. WHAT HAD HE JUST SEEN? WHAT WAS THAT?!
Shakily, he placed it back on the shelf, "...Oh, and Matthew," the Canadian turned to his friend and just gaped at the magazine. And turned even redder at the poster comment. W-why would he want something like that?
"O-okay, s-so..." he tried to collect his thoughts and ask questions, if only because he had bits of curiosity left or because he didn't want to insult his friend. "F-first off, what is a 'vanilla book'? D-does that mean it's just plain, no pictures? A-and why would I want to paste a poster on my ceiling?"
Okay, maybe it was just out of pure curiosity.
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I Summon thee from far away lands, come forth!
You called?
Timezone: EST - 5.00
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