Post by roderich on Jul 23, 2010 22:28:18 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: Republik Österreich
Name: Roderich Edelstein
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: ~24
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Violet
Height: 5'7"
Weight: ~150 lbs
Appearance: Roderich always keeps his appearance neat; you will probably never see him with his hair messed up or wearing anything but neat, proper clothes unless you happen to be there when he wakes up. He often gets teased for taking such particular care of himself, but he takes pride in his appearance and would not ever consider going out looking anything less than his best. His features are soft and refined, almost feminine, and he carries himself gracefully. Thin and lithe, Roderich is physically quite weak, so he is not very muscular at all. The glasses he wears are not for vision, as his eyes are perfectly fine. However, he believes his face to be plain and wears the glasses to remedy this.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality:
Roderich is very much a proper aristocratic type. Although he had been more aloof and prone to fighting when he was younger, he realized that battle was not his strong point. Because Gilbert and Elizaveta always used to beat him up and tease him due to his poor fighting skills, he more or less gave up on fighting and focused more on things he's good at, namely composing music, playing various instruments, and baking. This drove a wedge between him and Vash, who wanted him to focus on becoming a better fighter. With all these burdens, Roderich decided to hide behind his "young master" demeanor as a way to keep from being hurt again and to prove that he is good at something, despite what Vash and Gilbert might say.
When he is around the people he is comfortable with, he acts more like himself and drops the aristocratic persona. He's very modest about most things due to the teasing he was often subjected to as a child, although he responds well to compliments. He's also quite optimistic, and prefers the happier things in life over dwelling on the unhappy things. Roderich likes to keep things clean and in order, and gets irritated when
Roderich struggled for a long time to find something he was good at, and once he finally found it, he lost the one friend who had supported him every time he got beat up in his childhood. Therefore, he seeks approval from the people he likes out of fear that he'll lose his friends again, although he doesn't do this in an obvious way. He prefers subtlety and will often talk in circles to avoid saying the wrong thing. Even though he may not say a lot, he is always willing to listen to his friends if they need him and does whatever he can to help then if they're feeling down, even though sometimes he is a bit awkward when it comes to comfort.
Although he may seem arrogant because of his aristocratic attitude, he actually doesn't think very highly of himself in most cases. He is somewhat nitpicky about the flaws of others, only because it reminds him that he is not the only one who isn't perfect.
While he does everything in his power to avoid conflict, this does not mean he is afraid of fighting at all. He's gotten better as time went on, but has grown tired with wars and finds them to be meaningless and would prefer to talk about the problems instead of fighting like barbarians.
Likes:
★ Cake
★ Playing/composing music
★ Art
★ Warm, sunny days
★ Peace
★ Culture
★ Relaxing
★ Reading
★ Sewing
★ Recycling/conserving things
Dislikes:
✖ Fighting
✖ Loud noises
✖ Disrespectful people
✖ Having Mariazell pulled on or his cheeks pulled/poked (I am looking at you, Gilbert.)
✖ The ocean/marine animals
✖ Spending money needlessly
✖ Throwing things away that can be used
✖ Being picked on/teased
Fears:
☣ Roderich has an intense fear of the ocean and marine animals. This may or may not be due to the fact that Austria is a land-locked nation.
☣ Becoming lost in unfriendly territory; he is not very intimidating and most other nations are physically stronger than he is.
☣ Roderich also fears becoming useless. He worries that anything he has to offer the world is trivial and that he will be easily forgotten.
Secrets:
♦ Even though he has been married many, many times, Roderich has been in love only three times; once with a human and once two separate nations. He has only ever told one of these people he loved them. However, there is also a childhood love Roderich himself considers to be his first, though he is hesitant to count this among the other three.
♦ Although his notion of romance is skewed due to his frequent loveless marriages, Roderich is a closet romantic.
♦ Even though he was humiliated by his defeat in the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, Roderich actually respects Old Fritz. He will never admit it, though.
♦ Even though he projects himself as a perfect, charming gentleman with a somewhat prude demeanor, Roderich is actually quite capable of being just as raunchy and cruel as most others.
Strengths:
Born out of his desire to avoid war and conflict, Roderich is very adept at reading people. This way, he knows what to say and what not to say and he can pick up on subtleties other people would miss. That being said, he focuses more on minor details and tends to miss the obvious things staring him in the face. Roderich loves composing music of his own and can play almost any instrument he can get his hands on. He favors the piano and stringed instruments, though. Because he keeps a lot of his feelings to himself, music is used as a way for him to express those feelings.
Because there are so few people he is close to, Roderich latches onto them hard. He does the best he can to keep those he loves happy and would even follow them into war if it was necessary (although he would try his best to mediate before things get that far).Something else that goes along with his desire to keep the peace, Roderich is able to be very discrete about things. If he has a problem with someone, he can approach them about it without sounding rude. This also goes along with how much he hates rude people and does not wish to be viewed as someone crass and uncultured.
Weaknesses:
While he's very good at expressing his emotions through music, he finds it very hard to do so vocally. He often has trouble saying what he means because he talks in circles to avoid conflict. Because he suppresses the "bad" emotions so much, that is what he has gotten used to, making it difficult for him to talk about the "good" emotions as well.
Roderich got tired of being pushed around all the time when he was younger and didn't like that he was the weak one physically most of the time. Therefore, when it comes to the things he believes in, he will not back down because he feels at least he can be strong in this way if not physically. Is also stubborn because he wanted to prove that he could be good at something when he failed at being a soldier, so he refuses to give up on anything he wants to do.
Roderich has always tried his hardest to be a good fighter, but he didn't really understand why it was necessary and often didn't pay attention when Vash was teaching him. Still doesn't understand why wars are necessary when people could just sit and talk about things instead of turning to violence.
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
996: "Austria" first comes into being as the territory of the Babenberg March. Young Roderich is thrown into the disputes of the time, but remains mostly innocent and naive throughout it all.
1156: Austria is elevated to a duchy by the Privilegium Minus issued by Emperor Frederick the I.
1246: Frederick the II is killed. After his death, the status of Austria is debated for several decades. During this time, Austria was briefly under the control of a Czech king until he was defeated by the German King, who gave Austria to his sons. Roderich became somewhat disillusioned during this time, as it was internal forces in his lands breaking him apart instead of external.
1278: The Habsburg Monarchy begins. The Habsburgs were kicked out of Switzerland before coming to rule int Austria; this causes a rift to form between Roderich and Vash, splitting apart their friendship.
1606: The Teutonic Knights come under Habsburg control after being dissolved since 1525. Roderich keeps quiet about the new development, though he is happy to have the Knights working for him
1618-1648: The Thirty Years war, which caused a huge depopulation of the German states due mostly to starvation of the people. Roderich becomes incredibly ill during this time
1741: Maria Theresa cedes most of Silesia to Frederick II of Prussia after the War of Austrian Succession; after being betrayed by Prussia twice during the war, as well as being abandoned by England, Roderich becomes bitter.
1756: The beginning of the Seven Years' War. As revenge for humiliating Austria and taking Silesia, Empress Maria Theresa revitalized the army following Prussian standards and worked to gain important allies to strike back at both Prussia and England. Although Austria and his allies have Prussia surrounded, they cannot defeat the Kingdom.
1865: Prussia and Austria successfully band together to take Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark to add to the German states. They rule over the two new states together.
1866: Seven Weeks' War. Under Otto von Bismarck, Prussia decides to unify the German states; however, after Austria refuses to cut ties with their non-German territories, Prussia does not include Austria in the new German Empire.
1867: The beginning of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the Compromise of 1867. Hungarians were tired of being downtrodden by the Austrians and wanted more say in government. The solution was a dual-monarchy. Roderich and Elizaveta were married and managed to be happy during this time; Elizaveta was one of the three people Roderich has loved.
1918: Germany is defeated in WWI and the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses when Hungary, backed by the allies, decides to cut ties with Austria and be its own nation. Roderich is crushed and weakened by the loss.
1938: Austria is annexed by Germany. The Austrians welcome Hitler and the Nazis with open arms. Roderich goes to live with Ludwig and Gilbert during this time.
1945: As World War II comes to a close, Austria is occupied first by Russia, then by France, England and the US. This occupation lasts 10 years.
1955: The allied occupation ends and Austria declares eternal neutrality.
Allies:
Long War: Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Spain, Persia
Thirty Years' War: Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria, Hungary, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, Norway
War of Spanish Succession: England, Dutch Republic, Prussia, Portugal
War of Austrian Succession: England, Russia, Saxony, Hanover, Sardinia
Seven Years' War: France, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Saxony
Austro-Prussian War: Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover
World War I: German Empire, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
World War II: Germany, Japan, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Thailand, Bulgaria, Iraq
Enemies:
Long War: Ottoman Empire
Thirty Years' War: Sweden, Bohemia, France, Saxony, Ottoman Empire, England, Brandenburg-Prussia
War of Spanish Succession: France, Spain, Bavaria, Hungary
War of Austrian Succession; France, Prussia, Spain, Bavaria, Sweden
Seven Years' War: Prussia, England, Hanover, Portugal
Austro-Prussian War: Prussia, Italy, Hamburg
World War I: France, England, Russia, Italy, the United States, Japan, Romania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal
World War II: Soviet Union, the United States, China, Poland, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealad
Sample Post:
Glancing at the Lithuanian as he walked to the door, Roderich couldn't help but notice the crestfallen look in the other's eyes. At first, he couldn't help but worry he had seemed overbearing and presumptuous in the appropriate time to usher his guest to his room; what if Toris had something else in mind? Not wanting to trample the other nation's freedom, the Austrian almost stopped to ask if there was something he would prefer to do instead. However, when he couldn't see any disappointment, irritation or anything else besides exhaustion, Roderich decided he'd made the right choice and continued leading the Lithuanian to his room.
When Toris complimented his home again, the Austrian almost found himself replying in the usual way; with thanks and permission to visit his guest's home, which he assured them would be just as magnificent in it's own way. Although Roderich had his preferences when it came to his home, he was able to appreciate everyone else's; homes should fit their owner, and he liked seeing the unique personality of the homes of his friends. However, just before he could open his mouth to respond, he remembered that Toris really didn't have a place to call home anymore. And the one he did have must be in shambles... the brunette refused to bring it up and possibly embarrass the Lithuanian or remind him of what he'd lost. Instead, he replied with a smile and a soft "Thank you" as he reached the room.
As he turned to say goodnight to his guest, the Lithuanian took his hand and murmured goodnight and for some reason, the violet-eyed man couldn't look away. There was a kind of vulnerability in the other nation's eyes that made him want to protect and comfort the other man in any way he could. But at the same time, there was a defiant strength burning in the emerald hues that couldn't be ignored and upon seeing that fire Roderich had an irrational urge to ask Toris to become his Knight. He missed having the security of a Knight, and he knew the Lithuanian was strong, a good fighter, loyal and fair, all things a Knight should be. Ever since his previous Knight had left a gaping hole in his life, Roderich couldn't help but feel as though he needed something to take Prussia's place by his side, if only to act as his security blanket and make him feel safe once more.
But no; fate would tear them apart in the morning and he would instead gain the brunette's excitable blonde partner. Thinking that it was unfair to want to use the kind-hearted Lithuanian to suit his own needs, Roderich smiled and squeezed his hand before stepping back to allow him to step inside the guest room. "Gute nacht, Toris," he said gently, his voice almost whisper-like. But something felt... off. The idea of going to sleep down the hall and leaving the Lithuanian to face the morning by himself didn't feel right. There was something so inviting about the other nation that Roderich was almost addicted to his presence. He wanted, so badly, to just drop formality and have an actual conversation with him, open and honest. He wanted to know the Lithuanian, while he still had the time to. It struck him as incredibly sad that he had never had the chance to get to know him before this, but he couldn't just let the opportunity go.
Just before Toris could slip into his room and close the door, the Austrian rested his hand against the door, stepping just outside the threshold. "I... hope you don't find me rude for asking, Toris, as you look quite exhausted, but I was thinking... if you would like some company before you turn in for the night..." pausing somewhat awkwardly, Roderich cut himself off, unsure of how to continue but hoping the other nation would understand his intent and allow him to stay. He wasn't sure what he wanted, exactly; all the brunette knew was that he didn't want to waste any of his precious little time with Toris.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon? Too busy eating Italian Pasta.
Random fun fact about yourself: I prefer odd numbers to even numbers; the only acceptable even number is 4. Also, I assign letters and directions as 'even' or 'odd' as well.
