tl;dr post

[ingoodhans]

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles

more like prince dick of the douchebag isles tbh

THE BASICS

NAME: Hans Westergaard
NICKNAMES: None he'll admit.
AGE: 23
DATE OF BIRTH: ~some time in Winter, possibly around Christmas Eve (for maximum irony)

MARITAL STATUS: Single (but looking)
SEXUALITY: Straight (eh, arguably)

OCCUPATION: 13th Prince
HOMETOWN: Copenhagen
CURRENT RESIDENCE: a jail cell the Southern Isles
PARENTS: The Queen and King of the Southern Isles
SIBLINGS: 12 older brothers

QUIRKS: Perpetual liar, excellent dancer, great with horses.
LIKES: Princesses, Sitron, (his horse,) white chocolate and fine booze
DISLIKES: Princesses. His brothers. Being ignored.

OOC INFO

NAME: jan
AGE: 25
AIM: screenname
CONTACT: plurk
TIME ZONE: PST -8

WHO IS THIS HANS?

Hans will never regret Arendelle. He regrets failing, he regrets getting haughty and thinking he'd won--- but he doesn't regret what he did. It was no hard feelings, anyway. He wouldn't have tried to kill Elsa if he hadn't needed to. He would have just as well have married Anna forever if she hadn't dropped in his lap, dying. While he can be vindictive if that whole mess is brought up again, he's mostly just bitter about the whole thing. Would he have enjoyed a life like that? Definitely not. But that's a whole other deal.

The fact of the matter is Hans grew up without love. Because of this, I play him out as pretty much as asshole. He can fake infatuation, caring and knows all the ways to charm a girl (or guy on occasion,) but even when he drops the act, he just becomes spiteful and mean. Things like love and devotion confuse him, since he's never felt them, really. Because he's so self-serving and his family never reached out to him, he believes that to be the norm.

Hans has never had any real romantic feelings for anyone. But that being said, if you wanna rp/handwave some slow-burn AU where Hans slowly learns the meaning of love (gasp!) then that's the only way I can picture a real relationship, (that is to say, one not born from manipulation,) with him. He can flirt and try to initiate something on his end, but it's always with a goal in mind. Always playing at some greater purpose. He doesn't initiate unless he thinks he can get something out of the relationship, so maybe stay away from his dickish ways if you want someone who'll actually love you. However, even then, I like to think I play Hans a little differently in every thread (since he always goes for 'mimic' first,) so if you ever want to get ravished we can probably come up with a reason.

As for the S-Word, I disagree with the notion of Hans being a "sociopath." I think by TV standards he can act in a way that is perceived as "sociopathtic" but Hans is certainly not. (Sociopathy would excuse his actions, if anything.) He's narcissistic, uncaring, and cold, yes, but he understands the value of human life, the weight of other people's actions and even knows that what he's doing is wrong. He just doesn't care because he sees his ambitions as more important. Not because he can't care, but because a life of being treated as worthless and unnecessary has made him seriously bitter, jealous and disinterested in anyone but himself. After all, with no one ever showing him any kindness, he just can't see much value in people. Like him, everyone is out for themselves. Thus, everyone is worthless. (Including himself, see this is where being a self-loathing hypocrite comes in.)

Headcanons

01. Frozen taking place in the 1840s. While there are several estimates that place it back in the 1820s (idk where they got this estimate but I've seen it around,) the fashion present in the ballroom scene and most of Hans' attire is more in line with early to late 1840s' style.
02. Hans' naval background and family name, Westergaard (as far as I know there's no official spelling? this is the most Danish way to spell it, short of writing Westergård.) This name comes from an earlier draft of the movie, where his character was known as Admiral Westergaard. Additionally, his uniform in the final cut of the film is reminiscent of naval uniforms of the time, so I generally go the way of "nobody called him an admiral in the movie but they obviously kept that bit of his design so he must still have been in the navy"
03. The fact that the Southern Isles is Disney!Denmark in the same way Arendelle is Disney!Norway. Since Denmark is composed of several islands, is directly south of Norway, and at the time was ruled by King Christian VIII who had six children, all of which were married off around Europe, to the point where most modern nobility can be traced back to him. So you know, six? Thirteen? Not a stretch.
04. Both of Hans' parents are dead and his oldest brother currently holds the throne. Given that he is decades older than Hans and no doubt has his own children, Hans' standing in the line of succession is actually even poorer than he claims. Disproven by the novel, boo :(

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRINCE

More than a villain, Hans is a twisted human being. He's written pretty shallowly in the movie, so I give him things like self-loathing (born from those years of being told he was inferior to his brothers,) self-doubt (again, same thing,) and an unhealthy need to be noticed and catered to. As the youngest child, he can be whiny and immature... times twelve. He's spoiled, but he's suffered enough in other ways that realizes it-- well, most of it, anyway. Basically, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, which is all well and good if he didn't think his brothers were all born with spoons of gold. Of course, that doesn't excuse, y'know, wanting to kill people. That's just not okay, doucheface.

PERSONALITY

Hans is a real Prince Charming. Kind and generous, a good leader and an excellent conversationalist. He is attentive, proper and chivalrous. He values the importance of one's duty and prioritizes the safety of others before himself. He's even a little awkward and a little goofy-- he's the most perfect prince anyone could ask for. Skilled at seemingly everything, Hans always seems to know just what to say, and exactly what people want to hear. Gosh, he's just so... nice. People love talking to him, and there's really nothing that would make anyone think he's anything but an upstanding guy.

Of course, it's all an act.

Hans is a master manipulator that can best be described as a mirror: he projects what people want to see, and what they see in themselves. Really, he's a cold-hearted schmoozer, willing to do whatever it takes to get his way. To get in people's good graces, Hans reads and mimics the people around him to ultimately further his goals. Whether it be singing-along with some naive princess or offering some well-timed, inspiring words for a terrified queen; Hans can do it all. To this end, Hans does not value people based on their own personal worth, but on how much use they can be to him. He approaches each encounter as a possible transaction and seems to believe that, like him, everyone is in it for themselves.

Hans thirsts for recognition, power, and attention most of all. A life of being ignored by his parents and overshadowed by his 12 brothers has made Hans resentful, selfish and greedy, but ultimately his goals center around proving himself to his family and being acknowledged as more than just the thirteenth son. Although adaptable, Hans prefers to keep up appearances until he's absolutely assured of his victory. It's important to him that his perfect veneer remains untarnished, his reputation pristine, and his public image that of a perfect prince.

Even under his kind, caring guise, he has no problem twisting the circumstances in the background to suit his needs. It's not strange to get engaged in a day if it's True Love, after all! And the crossbow bolt that just happened to knock down a chandelier that knocked Queen Elsa unconscious was really just a coincidence. Really. Hans will play any circumstance in his favor-- all for himself. Major narcissist alert.

However, when the gloves come off (which they do, literally and metaphorically,) Hans becomes... well, careless. Chalk it up to Disney villainy or a loss of sense due to letting loose a little, but when Hans thinks his victory is guaranteed, he gets overconfident. He monologues, he gloats, he lays his plans out so that those around him can stand in awe and wonder of his perfect plan and finally! Finally someone is paying attention to him. He's able to switch personas effortlessly, going from concerned fiancee to cruel, heartless usurper in a quick breath. What a swell guy.

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