Post by Austria on Sept 15, 2010 0:21:04 GMT -5
Nation: Republik Österreich
Name: Roderich Edelstein
Gender: Male
Appearance of Age: 23
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Violet
Height: 5'7"
Weight: ~140
Appearance:
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 Gilbert certain people mess up his house. Although he places a high priority on being mannerly, he does have a temper if his buttons are pushed. He only lets this side of himself show to people he trusts, however, as he fears angering the wrong person and thus, causing another war, which he does not want. Having constantly been at war for a long period of time made him more or less a pacifist and he avoids conflict for the most part.
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: (I added this because... I felt like it.)
~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.
~Although his notion of romance is skewed due to his frequent loveless marriages, Roderich is really rather romantic. On the flip side, he has a hard time expressing this because it's been repressed for so long and because he's felt so used by his previous spouses.
~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 actually has quite the dirty mind.
Strengths:
Reading People: 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.
Music: 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.
Loyalty: 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).
Sewing: Roderich is actually very good at sewing. He's had to patch up so many of his and other people's clothes to prevent them from being thrown out that he just picked up the skill and got to be quite adept. Going along with this, he's good at conserving just about anything that can still be used.
Being Discrete: 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:
Expressing himself: 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 often 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.
Stubbornness: 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.
Fighting: 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.
History: (If you really want me to, I'll be a good girl and write this in paragraphs later)
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: Historically? Russia, Hungary, Spain, the rest of the Habsburg Empire, Mongolia. Personally? Germany, Prussia, Hungary, Lithuania (a bit of my headcanon showing through there)
Enemies: Historically- Prussia, France, Spain, England. Personally- Russia
Sample Post:
Roderich was stunned into silence by the Prussian's bizarre show of affection; Gilbert had never hugged him before, and although he knew his first thought should have been concerning how incredibly thin the other had gotten... it wasn't. Instead, his first thought was about how fast his heart began to beat at the close contact with the otherformer nation, and why he had that reaction. The three words the albino murmured made his violet eyes widen considerably, any attempt at a vocal response trapped in his throat as he stared at the albino in disbelief. Missed me? What possible reason would he have to miss me? ...I was never one of his friends... The thought brought a hint of melancholy to the brunette's eyes, strengthened when Gilbert retreated back to his two friends seconds later as though nothing had happened.
The trio left before he'd even had a chance to respond, the million things he wanted to say stuck on the tip of his tongue. I missed you too. You have no idea how much I missed you. I couldn't even play music properly after you left. I'm so happy you're back. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. You have no idea how much I look up to you for all you've sacrificed. I love y-
But it was too late; it was always too late for him. Gilbert would always be two steps ahead, in plain sight but just out of reach. Roderich felt like a fool for having such thoughts; thirty years would not magically erase their history or make the other suddenly... change how he felt. Certainly they had been allies during the two World Wars, and they tolerated each other... but there was always tension between them. Granted, after they'd stopped fighting each other the nature of that tension had changed into a different type of tension the brunette couldn't quite name, but it was still there, always looming above them like a storm cloud.
Shaking his head, trying to pull himself back together, Roderich watched the trio head down the street with jealousy in his heart. How many times had he wished to be a part of their friendship? How often had he seen them together and wished he could be accepted? It was his demeanor and he knew it; the Austrian was an aristocrat, and they had reputations to keep. That was what he had to look forward to; always keeping people at an arms length, bouncing around from marriage to marriage as his bosses saw fit, feeling things he could never express, thinking things he could never say. Sighing, Roderich pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold, watching the three friends disappear around a corner before turning in the opposite direction and heading off by himself, needing to take a walk to clear his mind.
Did you read the rules?
Ja, I did. ...can I just quote Gilbird again? You thought that was cute last time.
But, in case I can't...
Aa asoko no bocchan aitsu wa kechi da ze
Damasarenna--
Damasarenna yo---!!
Name: Roderich Edelstein
Gender: Male
Appearance of Age: 23
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Violet
Height: 5'7"
Weight: ~140
Appearance:
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 Gilbert certain people mess up his house. Although he places a high priority on being mannerly, he does have a temper if his buttons are pushed. He only lets this side of himself show to people he trusts, however, as he fears angering the wrong person and thus, causing another war, which he does not want. Having constantly been at war for a long period of time made him more or less a pacifist and he avoids conflict for the most part.
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: (I added this because... I felt like it.)
~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.
~Although his notion of romance is skewed due to his frequent loveless marriages, Roderich is really rather romantic. On the flip side, he has a hard time expressing this because it's been repressed for so long and because he's felt so used by his previous spouses.
~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 actually has quite the dirty mind.
Strengths:
Reading People: 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.
Music: 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.
Loyalty: 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).
Sewing: Roderich is actually very good at sewing. He's had to patch up so many of his and other people's clothes to prevent them from being thrown out that he just picked up the skill and got to be quite adept. Going along with this, he's good at conserving just about anything that can still be used.
Being Discrete: 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:
Expressing himself: 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 often 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.
Stubbornness: 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.
Fighting: 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.
History: (If you really want me to, I'll be a good girl and write this in paragraphs later)
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: Historically? Russia, Hungary, Spain, the rest of the Habsburg Empire, Mongolia. Personally? Germany, Prussia, Hungary, Lithuania (a bit of my headcanon showing through there)
Enemies: Historically- Prussia, France, Spain, England. Personally- Russia
Sample Post:
Roderich was stunned into silence by the Prussian's bizarre show of affection; Gilbert had never hugged him before, and although he knew his first thought should have been concerning how incredibly thin the other had gotten... it wasn't. Instead, his first thought was about how fast his heart began to beat at the close contact with the other
The trio left before he'd even had a chance to respond, the million things he wanted to say stuck on the tip of his tongue. I missed you too. You have no idea how much I missed you. I couldn't even play music properly after you left. I'm so happy you're back. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. You have no idea how much I look up to you for all you've sacrificed. I love y-
But it was too late; it was always too late for him. Gilbert would always be two steps ahead, in plain sight but just out of reach. Roderich felt like a fool for having such thoughts; thirty years would not magically erase their history or make the other suddenly... change how he felt. Certainly they had been allies during the two World Wars, and they tolerated each other... but there was always tension between them. Granted, after they'd stopped fighting each other the nature of that tension had changed into a different type of tension the brunette couldn't quite name, but it was still there, always looming above them like a storm cloud.
Shaking his head, trying to pull himself back together, Roderich watched the trio head down the street with jealousy in his heart. How many times had he wished to be a part of their friendship? How often had he seen them together and wished he could be accepted? It was his demeanor and he knew it; the Austrian was an aristocrat, and they had reputations to keep. That was what he had to look forward to; always keeping people at an arms length, bouncing around from marriage to marriage as his bosses saw fit, feeling things he could never express, thinking things he could never say. Sighing, Roderich pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold, watching the three friends disappear around a corner before turning in the opposite direction and heading off by himself, needing to take a walk to clear his mind.
Did you read the rules?
Ja, I did. ...can I just quote Gilbird again? You thought that was cute last time.
But, in case I can't...
Aa asoko no bocchan aitsu wa kechi da ze
Damasarenna--
Damasarenna yo---!!