Post by reticence on Sept 21, 2010 3:41:54 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
((ooc - as a note, some of these would differ greatly pre-WWI; I'm doing this application in the present day.))
Nation: Republic of Austria // Republik Österreich
Name: Roderich Edelstein
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: 25
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Amethyst
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150lbs
Appearance: Austria is most commonly described as "aristocratic" in appearance - perhaps this is due to the set of his jaw, the violet tint to his eyes, the mark below lips that are just short of being considered thin. He's a bit thin despite a lifetime of battles; although he was never physically well-suited for war, the age of ambition that he grew and flourished within demanded the wars he faced. Despite that, his hands are a little big compared to his slightly too-thin wrists and like the eyeglasses he wears for no other purpose to prevent him from looking plain, he prefers long-sleeved shirts to mask this dichotomy.
Austria often dresses to the old-fashioned side. Often, it's to recycle clothes that may be decades old but still in perfectly good shape, or perhaps it's something of a subconscious lean toward the times in which he and the Austrian Empire were great. He will often be seen in a cravat or jabot or sometimes a standard enough necktie. Another nation once quipped that he didn't know the definition of "dressing down," but this is untrue - he merely prefers this manner of dress.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality: While soft-spoken, Austria can still anger. He claims to find words inadequate to express more important things (he prefers to let dead composers speak for him through his fingers on a piano or violin), yet still speaks eloquently. Austria as a man is rather stern in a dignified manner, although one may be surprised to find he was taught dignification in the same manner he was taught war - from the Swiss nation that no longer acknowledges his presence unless he must. Such perhaps is the price of ambition. He prefers the indoors to outside, and given the choice, he would sit inside at his piano, violin, or simply a book and enjoy the afternoon. Such an opportunity was rare and cherished as the Habsburgs spread their influence through sword and through marriage.
Although at first he came to understand marriage as merely a political union between nations, he did grow to love those to which he was wed. However, to this day the concepts of love and marriage which may come easily to some are still thoroughly ingrained in the need for economic or political ties - however, one cannot say that there is no passion or love in the music he plays, especially when he thinks no one is looking.
Likes:
★ Music (playing/listening to/reading)
★ Saving money
★ Sweets (for a while, long ago, this would have been classified as 'secrets' but..)
★ In that vein, quite likes food in general - the offer of a good meal is usually a sure way to get to his 'heart' (well. spend time with him, at least)
★ Edelweiss, though this could as easily be filed under 'dislike'
★ Maria Antonia
★ Control (mostly over himself these days, but)
★ Punctuality
★ Being called Austria/Österreich/the equivalent in any language
Dislikes:
✖ Those who are too loud/irritating
✖ Travelling
✖ Losing things (to a minor degree, small things lost due to his own error; to a larger degree, things taken from him)
✖ To a similar degree, his things being touched (especially the instruments) without his consent (some people have blanket consent, some have none ever)
✖ Getting lost
✖ War
✖ Fireworks
✖ The name "Roderich Edelstein" - he used to not mind it, but things changed (Specifically, as Austria ceased to exist as an independent country during the annexation in 1938-1945, then was not restored to independence until after a ten-year Allied occupation, the pseudonym only reminds him of the scant memories he does possess about this time - calling him by 'Roderich' may be taken as an insult depending on the speaker/tone for those who know why he prefers not to use it in current days, using 'Austria' specifically pleases him as an affirmation of his nationhood
Fears:
☣ Losing any more memories
☣ The unified German state (despite his respect for Germany, it's a fear of losing himself again - this time perhaps for good)
☣ Broken instruments (may or may not be symbolic)
☣ Relationships, in a way - to commit fully to someone to have them taken from him. Again.
Secrets:
♦ His glasses are fake (though people close enough to him know it's just plain glass)
♦ Perhaps one of the reasons he favours neckwear is that it may be that his neck is a little too sensitive
♦ There are long expanses of time he can either only barely remember or not remember at all from 1938 until 1945. He doesn't talk about this, even with those he's sure may be able to clear up missing facts.
♦ Spent some time in a wheelchair but refuses to talk about this, as well.
♦ Wholly regrets never having been able to give Hungary a child.
Strengths: Punctuality, strategy, musicianship, cooking/baking, frugality
Weaknesses: Endurance, possessiveness, homebody, specific nations (more a weakness in wish to indulge in simple things or want to protect, though what is there to protect from these days)
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
((ooc - Austria/Habsburg house has a ton of history; I tried to par it down to major points!))
- 900s - First appearance of the term that would later become "Österreich" when the territory was given to the House of Babenburg
- 1156 - elevated to duchy status
- 1236 - Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick II (who shared the name of the current Duke of Austria) gave permission to the Bohemian King Wenceslaus I to invade Austria - Vienna became an imperial free city with the escaped Duke
- 1239-1246 - Duke Fredrick II and the Holy Roman Emperor of the same name made up and steps were made to bring Austria toward Kingdomhood, but the Duke's willful daughter refused to marry a man ~30 years her senior in 1245 (she later married three times); the Babenburg House ended with this Duke and the duchy was up for argument for years.
- 1276-1282 Rudolf I took back Austria as well as three other provinces into royal domain. In 1282 he lay the groundwork of the House of Habsburg into his sons. This house would reign over various expanses in Europe in the great Austrian Empire for centuries to come.
- 1438 - First Habsburg becomes Holy Roman Emperor - a tradition that would continue until the fall of the Holy Roman Empire with only one exception
- 1477 - The marriage of Archduke Maximilian the duchess of Burgundy added the Low Countries (what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Germany and France)
- 1496 - The marriage of Phillip I and Joanna of Aragon brought Spain and its Italian, African, and New World acquisitions/appendages into the Habsburg House - this marriage was one of a set to strengthen against growing French influence/threat
- 1526-1618 - Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I expanded into Bohemia and non-Ottoman-occupied Hungary. Long War. A good amount of provinces converted to Lutheranism while Austria and the Habsburg hereditary provinces remained Catholic
- 1618–1648 - Thirty Years' War. Attempt to re-Catholicize converted provinces, and while a major origin was the reconciliation of religion, it turned into more conflict between France and the Habsburg house, fighting for European dominance. Habsburg supremacy was curtailed, Holy Roman Empire was decentralized, Catholic church's influence declined rapidly, huge civilian deaths in territories/provinces.
- 1672–1679 - Third Dutch War against England/France
- 1688 - 1697 - Nine Years' War against the French
- 1699 - All of Hungary returned to Austrian control by the Treaty of Carlowitz
- 1701–1714 - War of Spanish Succession against France, Bavaria, and some Spanish. Loss of Spain in the Austrian empire but retained the Spanish Netherlands, Naples, Milan, Sardenia - however, Spain was prevented from entering into the French line of rule here too
- 1733–1738 War of Polish Succession - loss of Naples and Sicily to Spain in exchange for Parma
- 1740–1748 War of Austrian Succession - loss of Silesia to Prussia, loss of Parma, Piachenza, Gustalia to Spain; France withdrew from the Netherlands (also, in 1745 House of Habsburg shifted to House of Habsburg-Lorraine with Maria Theresa's marriage to Francis of Lorraine)
- 1754–1763 Seven Years' War - alliance with France (and others) against Prussia (and others) to try to reclaim Silesia and failed - France and Austria were still allied when:
- 1770 - Marriage of Austrian Maria Antonia (Marie Antoinette) to the Dauphin Louis XVI of France
- 1778 - 1779 - War of Bavarian Succession - Austrian empire vs Prussia and Saxony with little changes except another Austrian territorial gain
- 1792 - 1802 - French Revolutionary Wars. France declared war on Austria (that alliance during the Seven Years' War = no more because of awkward relations between Austrian leaders (Leopold II supported the revolutionaries, but was the brother of the Queen, so); Austria lost the Austrian Netherlands (i.e., Belgium), islands, parts of Italy, et cetera
- 1803 - 1806 - War of the Third Coalition: Austrian territories in Bavaria and Italy were ceded to France and Austria had to renounce its claim on German holdings. The Austrian emperor Francis I renounced his Emperorship of the Holy Roman Empire at the end of this war and the resulting treaty and Napoleon reorganized the empire.
- 1809 - War of the Fifth Coalition: Loss to France, loss of Salzburg, parts of Poland, all its remaining Adriatic territory and part of Croatia among others to France and its compatriots
- 1812 - 1814 - Contributed to France's war against Russia (which ended in huge defeat) then switched sides to battle against France - with Austrian help, French forces were forced back into France and Napoleon left the throne while Louis XVIII retook it.
- 1848 - Revolutionary movements throughout the Habsburg Austrian Empire
- 1866 - Austro-Prussian War resulted in movements away from Austrian power toward Prussian and stimulation toward the unification of German states (excluding Austria)
- 1867 - Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created a dual monarchy between Austria and Hungary; Austrian side shifted toward constitutionalism with Parliment
- 1908 - Bosnia and Herzegovina annexed by the Austria-Hungary
- 1914 - 1918 World War I - assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) triggered the Great War (among the imperialistic leanings of Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, et al).
- 1919 - Signing of Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, dissolving the Austro-Hungarian Empire, granting independence to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and others and reducing Austria merely to a republic. The treaty also prevented Austria from entering a political or economic union with Germany without the express permission of the League of Nations
- 1934 - Austrian Civil War - 4 day war between socialist and conservative-fascist forces with victory by the latter and declining the multi-party system; Austrofascism (which abolished freedom of press) lasted until 1938 - although Austrofascists were against unification, the leader's anti-Hitlerite status led to his assassination and even though the following leader held the same ban, by that time Hitler's influence was strong enough to force his resignation in 1938...
- 1938 - 1945 - Austrian Anchluss (annexation) to Germany, unifying the two - Austria ceased to exist as a country.
- 1945 - 1955 Austria occupied by the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Army, and France
- 1955 Independence
- 1995 Joined the EU
Allies: This changed almost every year, it seemed. Nations would become allies more often through Habsburgian marriages (Spain, for example) than annexation or conquest (Hungary, Bohemia (later Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic). Various nations are referenced in the history section!
Enemies: Like allies, this could change with every battle/war. France and Prussia were the two that stood on the enemy side most often, but they still allied with Austria at times. Enemies are also referenced in the history section more specifically due to these easy changes.
Sample Post:
She was gone. He felt it in the orchestra of his heart, a single string broken before the piece could be complete. She was gone. He had entrusted her to France, and his people had murdered her. She wasn't without faults - who was? Especially in aristocracy twisted and inbred and so self-satisfying they could only be mistaken for each other had they not always tried to outdo each other in fashion, in frivolity. Some had accused Austria of it as well - and surely, he'd had no small part in stopping the games of court, the ridiculous habits and posturing of his noblemen. It was what they wanted; it reflected as well in his stiff posture, in unnecessary spectacles set just so, in each crease and curve of cravat and coat. Marie wasn't an innocent, but he loved her. France had loved her. And now she was gone.
Fourteen days, a fortnight. Days longer than it would have taken to switch horses, but it was a secret - and he barely got out without notice as it was. Under cloak and hood he rode, stopping only when he needed, and finally: Paris. Or, what seemed like what once was Paris. He could almost hear cruel, mad laughter the moment he looked upon the city from the distance: it was dischordant, hellish. Still, he rode forth, marvelling that blood was not pooled in her streets, that the hooves of the horse did not slip in it as he walked it through the city. The cries of the men of 'Virtue by Terror' rang sharp and somehow just, their whole belief enveloping words with supposed truth only by the bass of voices, the metallic threat behind them. It was nothing but madness. Poland and Prussia could wait. Austria needed to be here - the confrontation long in coming.
He didn't see the newly fallen dragged away, didn't hear the joviality of the onlookers, only thrust the reins of his horse to a stableman and strode to France's door, pushing his way inside. The doormen knew his face (the older ones, at least) and knew better than to follow through on their protestations - even the "Monsignor Bonnefoy is not well, you cannot--" only met a cold glance as staircases were quickly ascended and heavy doors to bedchambers were pushed open.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon? While I was waiting to eat my delicious Italian pasta, I thought rule perusal would be a fine idea~
Random fun fact about yourself: Oh hi. I uh. I think I know more these past months about Austrian History than maybe US History, and.. my US History isn't too bad. But besides that, I like musicals and I cosplay...?
