Broken • Realistic • Trying

Mr Kensington is one exaggerated split of his host's- Alistar's- personality, and exists as both an online persona, and a guide to his mental realm.

As Alistar began to discover his- then her- gender, he attempted to hide away his male days due to dysphoria; this unknowingly denied Mr Kensington his existence. Mr K was consumed by the Void alongside other traits that his host disliked to think about, and whether it be verbally violent outbursts from their childhood, or the constant worry that old moods will resurface, he was born in amidst neglect and paranoia. It did not serve him well.

Despite some awful traits, Mr Kensington also represents Alistar's fight to be a better person. He serves as a reminder that we are not all Good or Bad, but a mixture of both. What doesn't kill us may make us tireder, but it certainly prepares us to fight our inner Void.

Both Marionettes share thier vessel's illness', including constant, varying levels of pain, brain fog episodes, fatigue, and memory issues. This can lead to moments of silence and coping, or the annoyance of forgetting; although a negative part, it is a core part of their being.

Appearance Notes

• His 'On the Strings' Outfit and Colour Guide.
• He is literally black-and-white, and has no pigment of colour.
• The two circle-cheeks are permanently painted onto his skin (not a style choice, like a lot of people assume).
• He's ball-jointed, like a doll. However his skin is still a flesh-like substance, and can move more humanly. These are also detachable, and will often fall off under strain.
• He has five ring-hooks in his body: head, hands, & feet. If in a stable place, these will always be on; if not, they will always be off. (If legs aren't shown, and you think the extra strings might get in the way, you can skip the leg strings.)
• The Kensingtons font is always written in serif- This to be exact. If you're going to write their speech in any art, please at least use serif.

The Strings

The Kensingtons are living Marionettes, but that wasn't always the truth. Once something akin to human, their metaphysical bodies- where-ever they were at the time- began to splinter under the mental and bodily strain of chronic illness. As the pain grew, their joints began to shift, and mobility became a problem; The vessel's mind had started violently shutting down, and with this, the Void began to swallow them- and Alistar- whole.

Alistar was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- as well as depression- not long after, and swiftly began medication. As he began to work on his predicament, the Marionettes were given their aid: reaching from the Static above, strings fell to take the weight off both physically and mentally, and they were settled into the newly-formed British Revisionary Broadcasting studio.

But inevitably, strings under heavy weight will always snap, and the Kensingtons will fall alongside their vessel.

On the Strings

When On his strings, Mr Kensington seems a little up his own arse; he's a tad sassy, he seems critical in his words, and he's almost always smirking over something. Yet, if you take the time to look closer, there's something off: his hair's a bit of a mess, his suit is lightly askew, and he looks ever so tired. Why? Because he is. He's a broken man in every way- abused, ignored, denied existence- but he's also stubborn beyond measure, and stubborn people don't know when to give up.

He's a kind man though, and he always tries to be his best. He's the logical one, the thinker to Miss K's feeler. He'll offer help when it seems right, he'll bluntly tell the truth because people deserve to hear it, and he fights ever-so-hard for the idea of a peaceful existence. Unfortunately, he's always exhausted, or distracted, and keeping up stability is a harder task to the ill. With his mind preoccupied on negative thoughts, that outlook will sometimes bleed into his words; he'll say something that comes off a little nasty, but won't realize until too late...

And then that mistake eats him from the inside out.

Off the Strings

As the strings struggle with their burden, the Void will take its chance. The Void is always following, you see, and if you slow down it will only catch up. In his case, it confirms his self-doubts: 'You are a horrible, selfish person', 'Everyone sees you for what you are', 'You try so hard to succeed, but you were born to fail'. And this time- despite logicall- he listens.

When Off his strings, Mr Kensington should be avoided. Limited to-no-movement, he sits in his armchair and disdainfully converses with anyone who comes near him (unfortunately, Miss Kensington- static beside him- is often the victim of this). He becomes a personal mouth-piece for the Void, digging into the weaknesses of those he loves in an attempt to push them away. Loaded questions and vicious answers, he takes the idea that he's seen as an evil person, and gives the world what they want. But still, he will never physically hurt another person; instead, he rips his limbs off as penance, tossing them aside.

He is aware that what he's doing is horrible, and will avoid people if he can, but he is not in control of his mind or mouth at this point.

The Expelling

Eventually he'll overwhelm himself, and begin to expell the Void. Where-as most would cry, his stubbornness becomes his enemy: he wretches, shamefully hiding his face from the 'them' that do not exist. Soon he'll tire himself out and fall silent in his chair. Staring into the static above, and without making eye-contact, Mr Kensington always apologizes to his counterpart in the other chair; and as he begins to explain why he did it, she always interrupts: 'I know. I always know'. As he falls in and out of a sleepless slumber, William will fix him back up, and life will resume.