Post by Alfred F. Jones on Oct 18, 2010 0:06:24 GMT -5
Application Form (For The Hero!)
General
Name: Alfred F. Jones
Age: 16
Nationality: Alfred is a hodge-podge of multiple nationalities, but all of them together equal one thing: Pure-blooded American.
Date of birth: July 4th, 1931
Function: Student
Likes:
AMERICA, being a hero, going on adventures, being helpful, happy endings, football (gridiron), baseball, basketball, making people laugh, Abbott and Costello, Aliens and War of the Worlds, McDonald's, hanging out with friends at the local soda shop
Dislikes:
Rude people, communists, Nazis, sticks-in-the-mud, pessimists, being sad, ghosts, weight scales, marmite
IC
Personality
Alfred is an enthusiastic idealist. He's loud, expressive, a bit obnoxious, and loves taking risks and going on adventures. He has a strong sense of justice, and always believes that "the good guys always win." He has a huge hero complex, and is very sure of himself. He's a bit conceited and loves to be the center of attention. Though, he is an A-B student, he has very little common sense, is extremely dense (he can't read the atmosphere), and is terrible at geography. He will never take no for an answer. He's a bit obsessed with his weight and exercises a lot, making him extremely strong without him even realizing it. Though it seems like this boy is fearless, Alfred is petrified of ghosts and marmite.
Background Story
Before Alfred F. Jones had to relocate to Fond De L'Etang, he was your typical kid living in suburban America during the depression and into WWII. He was born into a middle class family to Johnny and Jane Jones, who were both loving parents to their little Alfie.
During the 1930’s, Johnny worked as a journalist at a local newspaper and did other odd jobs on the side to support his family, while Jane stayed home and took care of the housework and looked after their baby boy. Though the family was under constant stress from the possibility that Johnny could lose his job, they stuck together through everything.
Alfred would always remember the smiles they always put on, so they wouldn’t worry their boy, and even when Johnny finally did lose his job in 1936, the family was always outwardly optimistic. They always made time for their little boy, only giving Alfred fond memories of the time. Every night, they’d flip through the radio stations and listen to a baseball game (the Yankees was Alfred’s favorite team), the action packed stories of the Lone Ranger, or the thrilling tales of the The Detective Story Hour. The boy’s fondest memory being the night of October 30, 1938 when his dad let him stay up to listen to the broadcast of War of the Worlds, and the days after, listening to everyone panic because of the Martian invasion that was to ensue.
It wasn’t until 1941 that the family found a steady source of income. The day President Roosevelt declared war on the Axis powers, Johnny ran out and enlisted in the army. Though Jane did not want him to go, she knew that it was what he had to do and supported him the best way she could: by letting him go. By that time, Alfie was ten years old and was enthusiastic about helping the war effort, too. Between times of rough housing with his friends and school, where he had become somewhat of a class clown, he liked helping his mom with organizing all sorts of drives, selling baked goods at bake sales for the war effort, and growing a victory garden. After the day was through, Jane would help him write a letter to his father.
In 1944, Jane found a job working in a factory to help support her now twelve year old even more than before. To make things worse, for a while, Mr. Jones’s letters stopped coming. It wasn’t until January of 1944 that he would write again, this time addressed only to Jane:
"Jane,
I’m sorry my letters have been few and far between. The boys and I have been really busy trying to fend off the Nazis in Belgium. It doesn’t look like we’ll be here much longer, so I’ll be sure to write again as soon as possible. Tell Al to be a good boy and stay out of trouble. I miss you both more than anything in the world.
Love,
Johnny"
It would be a week before she received one last letter, only this time it wasn’t from Johnny, but from the US Government offering their condolences to the new widow. The letter said that Johnny F. Jones was killed in action by a Nazi soldier.
The family mourned the death, but their lives went on. Jane had to work even harder to support herself and Alfred, but she always kept her optimistic attitude, determined to give Alfred a good life. In 1947, she became ill with the flu, though, she was absolutely sure it couldn’t have been that (she had gotten a flu shot beforehand, but that year the vaccine was a failure). So, just hoping it would blow over, Jane kept working.
At that time, Alfred was doing well in school (with the exception of geography). He still kept his reputation as the class clown and was often disciplined for his actions, but he wasn't a bad kid. He was athletic and he was on many different sports teams for his school, including the football, baseball, swim, and basketball teams and even tried a bit of acting. He still enjoyed listening to the radio with his mother after a hard day of school and work, respectively.
Around April 1947, Alfred was pulled out of school, and was sent to the hospital. What he found there would stick in his mind forever. His mother laid almost lifeless in a hospital bed. She told Alfred what had happened through a weak smile saying she'd get better. After listening to the radio together and having a conversation that stretched long after visiting hours, the nurses escorted Alfred out of the room. She won't make it through the night.
By September, plans had been made for Alfred to move to an orphanage in France. He packed up a few outfits, the family radio, his record player and records, and his typewriter and headed to the nearest international airport. Though he didn't like the idea of moving to France (he couldn't even find the country on his map), he knew he had to do it and make the best of a bad situation. He had to be optimistic; that's what his parents would have done in this situation and would have wanted him to do, too.
Extras
- While Alfred's father was in Europe, he liked to send a gift or two back to the family once in a while. Once he sent an American aviator jacket, and though it was large on Alfred when he first got it, he fits quite nicely in it now, and he's worn ever since.
- He can see fine without his glasses; he just wears them for show.
- Ever since he was five years old, Alfred always starts his day bright and early, and although the main portion of his breakfast may be different everyday, he always eats it with a bowl of Wheaties and ice cold milk.
- He's fairly good at mechanics and figuring out how things work.
RP sample
"Alright, Al. This isn't the blue print to make an atomic bomb. It's got to be here somewhere." Alfred pondered to himself as he stared blankly down at the map in front of him. France: it had to be on here somewhere. Why was this always so hard for him? The boy could take a part a bike and put it all back together and even name all fifty states and their capitals in reverse alphabetical order, but this. . . This was hard stuff.
Out of curiosity, Alfred took his eyes off of the map for a moment to look up at the wall clock. It had been thirty minutes already?! He had spent a half an hour staring at a map, and all he had accomplished was wasting a half an hour of his life. "Really?" He could see his parents now, both of them disappointed and repeating each other, "Well, he never really good at geography. . . "
"Wait, That was it!" His dad was in France for a couple of months wasn't he? Yeah! So it had to be close to England and Belgium, wouldn't it? Finally a break through.
Eagerly, Alfred went back to scanning over his map, this time in search of Belgium or England, but still he had no luck. At this point, he didn't know what to think. In a split second he got up from his seat and slammed the book on the desk. "Mrs. Robinson!" He cried out, breaking the silence of the quiet classroom and making everyone look at him. "This atlas is defective!" From her desk, the old woman gave a harsh to the boy.
"Is that so?" She asked. The woman was clearly less than amused "Why do you say that?"
"Because," he bellowed. "There's no France, England, or Belgium on this map!"
With closed eyes, the old woman gave a sigh, and started to rub her temples. "Are you sure you're on the right pages."
"Absolutely! Page 37." This response only made the woman give a deeper sigh.
"You should be on page 73, Mr. Jones."
"What?" Alfred questioned, giving an honest look of confusion, earning him an outburst of giggling and snickers from his classmates. He flipped through the atlas until he reached page 73. ". . .Oh." Lo and behold, it was the map he was supposed to be using, the map of Europe.
"Now, if you don't have any further interruptions, Mr. Jones, I suggest you get back to work."
"Yes, ma'am." the boy sat back down in his chair, and went back to work.
OoC
ways to contact you outside of the RP! It's not necessary though
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The best way to contact me is through PM, though if you would like my email, I will give it out when asked.
Did you read the rules?:Um. . . yeah! It said something about mentioning hedgehogs and how they are the coolest animals ever.
