OOC
GAME: Private storyline.
PB: Hayden Christensen
IC
NAME: David Samuel Kipling
PARENTS: Richard and Alice Kipling.
SISTER: Older sister Christina, now Christina Harvey. Married and with a daughter.
BIRTHDATE: October 1st, 1981
AGE: 28
ZODIAC: Libra
diplomatic and urbane; romantic and charming; easygoing and sociable; idealistic and peaceable.
indecisive and changeable; gullible and easily infuenced; flirtatious and self-indulgent.
OCCUPATION: Middle-level advertising executive at Sterling Cooper.
FIRST IMPRESSION: "Uh, is he usually such an arrogant pig?"
PERSONALITY: Self-assured and organised. Bit of a control freak; needs to have everything just so and following his directions. Confident in his position and territorial about it. Has high expectations of others — but to be fair, he sets even higher standards for himself. Has a tendency to push too hard and go too quickly and burn himself out. Easy humour, but sometimes a bit too sharp when he teases. Was practically an only child — not used to sharing. Is perfectly capable of working well with others, but becomes increasingly ill-at-ease and tetchy if he feels like he has too little influence going on. Way too good at getting himself wrangled up in complicated relationships with women. Isn't directly chauvinistic, but sometimes dismisses women too quickly, which reeeally doesn't get him on their good side. An avid reader, though he never mentions it much.
HISTORY: Born and raised in Seattle, Washington. His sister Christina was much older than him, and had already moved out by the time he hit the double digits. David's paternal grandmother was big on religion, and raised her son, Richard, with a strict hand and a fierce adherence to the Bible. After the sudden death of his brother, however, Richard's faith was permanently shaken after that; it became a point of unspoken contention within that branch of the family. He doesn't attend religious services with them anymore, and Christmas in particular has become an awkward affair in the Kipling household. Alice, on the other hand, came from a much larger and boisterous family, all of whom still flit in and out of her life.
While growing up, both parents were harsh on David as a child, and constantly expected the best — if he came home with B's, the immediate question was "Why not an A?". They didn't mean to strongarm his life, but the Kiplings were used to their Christina falling perfectly into line; so much so that after David started studying literature at university, and even had one freshman year of intense reading under his belt, they coerced him into switching to business.
He enjoys where he ended up, so technically speaking, David's alright with it — but there's still an undercurrent of petulance somewhere deep down in his psyche. Consequently, he becomes his worst when he feels powerless, and reacts with hostility. For that matter, he's especially threatened by competent women who don't take any of his shit. See: the older sister who gives him hell for all his mistakes. Despite his creative talent and executive flair, David's a fair bit high-strung at work — but much much more relaxed outside and at home.
A couple years back, it turned out that Richard Kipling was cheating on his wife with a mistress about as young as David himself. They went through a messy divorce, wherein Mrs Kipling weighed entirely on Christina and the two women bonded in crying fits and venting sessions in the bathroom, growing closer than ever before. David and his father, on the other hand, just kind of waited awkwardly through the whole process. David worries that perhaps he should've been there for his father and talked to him throughout — but instead, disgusted with what he'd done, David kept avoiding him.
Then the divorce went through. Richard and Alice split; father and son missed their chance to bond. Now the tables are turned. While Richard still demands professional brilliance from his son, David has started relentlessly criticising his father's personal life. Having been disappointed by his father's actions, David is now taking it out by forcing him to run in metaphorical circles just to win back his respect.
He's had a relatively smooth ride out of university, having majored in business and minored in digital design. Has been working for Sterling Cooper for about four years now.
RANDOM FACTS:
• Really loves peanut butter.
• Has an assortment of favourite words — 'conniption' is one of them.
• Keeps a dog-eared copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' in his desk drawer.
• Gets lunch from Subway far more often than he should. (Italian herb and cheese bread; steak and cheese sub.)
• Favourite vacation activity: surfing.
• Pulled pigtails in kindergarten. ;)
• Online usernames are usually based off Rudyard Kipling's poetry.
PERSONIFYING SONGS:
"nature boy"; nick cave & the bad seeds
"poor little rich boy"; regina spektor
