Post by geist on Jan 10, 2011 2:14:40 GMT
• BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
Name --- Ludwig Beilschmidt
Nation --- Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany)
Aliases ---
National
Heiliges Römisches Reich/Imperium Romanum Sacrum (Holy Roman Empire)
--- Outdated; no longer exists
Deutscher Bund (German Confederation)
--- Outdated; no longer exists
Norddeutscher Bund (North German Federation)
--- Outdated; no longer exists
Deutsches Reich (German Empire)
--- Outdated; no longer exists
Großdeutsches Reich (Greater German Empire)
--- Outdated, negatively linked to his history
Westdeutschland
--- Outdated politically, but still widely used
Personal
Lutz --- A rarely-used nickname
West --- Only Prussia really uses this, but that makes it special
Potato bastard, wurst head, [German food]+[derogatory word], etc. --- Harmless, though annoying
Apparent age --- 20
Actual age ---
Proto-Nation: 1,210
Nation: 1,048
Modern Nation: 139
Gender --- Male
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Eye color --- Sky blue
Hair color --- Blond
Height --- 180 cm (5'11")
Weight --- 80 kg (176 lbs.)
Skin tone --- Fair, burns easily
Defining features --- While Ludwig doesn't have any especially unusual or unique attributes to his appearance, his eyes are probably his most attention-getting feature: they are a very vivid shade of light blue, and are usually keenly narrowed in focus.
Like all nations, Ludwig has his share of scars. The oldest of these are faint enough to escape all but the most careful notice; they are the territorial splits and military losses he suffered as the Holy Roman Empire. Several burns cross his chest and back, all from the firebombing of his cities during the Second World War; the largest two mark the devastating attacks on Dresden and Hamburg. A jagged scar from the Battle of Berlin runs downwards over his heart; this scar is distorted by a much larger and much more recent one, the lingering damage of the separation of East and West Germany and the wall around West Berlin.
Ludwig has only one small tattoo: a series of slightly faded numbers on the inside of his left arm. The tattoo is a mark of national guilt for the vast purges of "undesirable elements" such as Jews, gypsies, Communists, ethnic Poles and Serbs, and homosexuals undertaken by the government during World War II. As many German citizens were killed as well, Ludwig finds it a bitter reminder, and does not try to draw attention to it.
Additional features --- Ludwig is physically built: he has broad shoulders and a well-defined muscular physique, the result of decades of daily exercise and training. Rightly so (in his opinion) he works out to stay healthy, and isn't concerned with how "buff" he appears: despite the troubles he has been through, Ludwig is still in very good shape, and is quite strong.
When it comes to clothing, Ludwig favors more simple, modern styles, and although he isn't too picky about what he wears, he always dresses tidily. Dirty or torn clothes are not acceptable, and he seldom wears anything uncomfortable or needless (the Eisernes Kreuz he sports on a silver chain around his neck being the one notable exception). Additionally, he's always preferred darker colors; as the Holy Roman Empire, he often sported a dark tunic and cape, as well as a large gold-trimmed hat.
Part of this put-together look is is hairstyle: he almost always combs his hair back away from his face, which accentuates his rather sharp features and makes him look stern, almost severe. Considering that when he wears his hair naturally, Ludwig appears more relaxed and even younger at times, he definitely uses the combed-back style on purpose - although it has the added bonus of keeping his vision clear when he's working.
The iconic green uniform he is often seen in as an adult is likely that of a Waffen SS member, although the darker cuffs indicate that it could also be a Schutzpolizei uniform. Aside from his Iron Cross, Ludwig wears no military decorations or indication of rank on this uniform.
|-|-The Internal-|-|
Personality ---
Despite all the changes that he has gone through over the years, Ludwig's personality has remained relatively unchanged. At the most superficial level of observation, Ludwig is a diligent and hard-working man who takes it upon himself to make sure that no matter what the situation, everything runs smoothly. Efficiency and thoroughness hold the highest priority, and as he seemingly expects these virtues from everyone, he won't hesitate to reprimand or discipline anyone who wastes time or strays from the tasks at hand. Unafraid to take control of a situation, Ludwig is a natural leader, but perhaps a little too demanding and bossy to be considered a pleasant one. However, he takes his responsibilities very seriously, and believes everyone else should too. He is also completely mindful of rules, and hesitates to break them even if they are unnecessary or possibly even incorrect.
Part of the reason Ludwig doesn't stray from the tasks at hand is that he is unabashedly realistic. He doesn't dwell in the realm of the imaginary, the 'what-might-be'; dealing with what is actually there is far more effective than thinking about how it all could be different. He tends to be a pessimist, seeing only what could go wrong. This comes from his reasonable mind and his tendencies toward self-reliance; Ludwig has difficulty putting faith in other people due to the many times he has been let down before, and is a firm believer of the old creed "if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself". As a child, he held a very different mindset, focusing on the ideals of his dreams as opposed to what was in front of him. But countless and merciless defeats left this part of his spirit broken, and for better or worse, it rearranged after his revival.
His attitude contributes to the occasional instances where he overworks or over-stresses himself, although in the continuing mindset of self-reliance, he will refuse anyone's help. He can be clever at times, although when he is indecisive or less than perfectly confident, Ludwig will fall back on the reliable to-the-book methods he knows (with varying results). On very rare occasions, he will seek advice under the "this happened to a friend" guise.
When it comes to other people, Ludwig has few close friends, though he has been working hard at making more. This is due in part to his complicated and violent history, but also to the fact that Ludwig has a hard time relaxing and setting his work-angled focus aside. He even takes his free time very seriously, focusing his attention almost entirely on the activity at hand, be it reading, exercising, cooking, playing with his dogs, or even drinking. In fact, the only times when he can truly unwind a little are when he is by himself; while he works well with his neighbors and friends, the case can certainly be made that Ludwig is a bit solitary, and he suffers no great anxieties when people don't come to visit or invite him out. He does not handle surprise interruptions of those rare quiet moments well.
Augmenting his industrious nature if the fact that Ludwig is quite intelligent, and also very curious. He enjoys learning new information and discovering or creating new things, and he's particularly good in the fields of both science and engineering; when he was younger, he even dabbled in things like philosophy and music. He is also quite happy to share his discoveries with everyone, for the correct price. Ludwig is a great believer in fairness, and does what he can to help those who need it, going so far as to be protective of those weaker than he. He looks down upon bullying, even though he himself hypocritically engaged in it in the past. On the downside, even from a young age he has always been quite stubborn, and holds fast to what he believes in; it takes quite a lot of convincing to change his mind, and he will rarely back down if he is challenged.
Perhaps surprising to some, Ludwig has both a sense of humor and a creative side, although he tends not to display either too publicly. Because he also acts very stern and mature most of the time, the fact that he's still one of the younger modern nations escapes notice frequently; he keeps this naïveté hidden as best he could, though it is painfully obvious at times that he becomes crippled by shyness.
Ludwig is actually an emotional person, but aside from anger (which tends to get results) and embarrassment (even the faintest blush shows up against his pale skin), he seldom shows what he is feeling openly, preferring stoicism instead. It is worth noting that this wasn't always the case: he showed his emotions more freely when he was younger, but has grown out of that childish persona. While he doesn't consider displaying emotions a personal weakness, he can acknowledge that if people know what you are thinking and feeling, they can manipulate you easily. Although Ludwig isn't as bad at reading the atmosphere as some, he tends to be quite direct with his words and actions, and doesn't like to waste time with needless small talk when there is a point to be made. As for anger, while he has learned to be more patient than he was as a child, Ludwig still has a somewhat short fuse, especially in the case of silliness or laziness, and won't hesitate to release his temper.
In all aspects of life, Ludwig is diligently organized: his house and his office are both clean, his daily schedule is managed carefully, and his appearance is always tidy. He dislikes literal and figurative chaos, and if it gets bad enough, he will drop what he's doing to put things back into order. This gives the (correct) impression that he is somewhat of a control freak, and Ludwig will, on occasion, attempt to fix other people's messes for them. While he's certainly not as ambitious as he once used to be, there is no denying that Ludwig wants to be able to hold some influence. Still, despite his age and difficulties, his experiences have taught him how to be more cooperative, and he has advanced in the world because of it.
Likes ---
• Dogs --- Dogs are smart, loyal, friendly, and make very good pets. He has three of them: Blackie, Berlitz, and Aster. Although he likes dogs the best, Ludwig is fond of animals in general.
• Order --- He likes to keep everything tidy and organized - life runs more smoothly that way.
• Books --- While he reads a lot of nonfiction (and manuals, if those count), he's actually quite fond of fictional stories too.
• Wurst --- There are so many different kinds, and they are all delicious.
• Science --- A field that is constantly advancing. He finds it especially interesting, what with all the new discoveries each day.
• Music --- It can be pretty calming. He likes listening to all kinds, but especially rock, and sometimes metal.
• Exercise --- Health is important. Ludwig goes for a jog every morning.
• The outdoors --- Whether it be mountains or the sea, he enjoys being outside and exploring new places.
• Cooking --- He's actually quite good at it; his speciality is cakes, although he is quite shy about admitting that.
• Beer --- Oktoberfest, anyone? Beer is good at other times of the year too, although he gets noisy if he has too much.
• Prussia --- Despite not technically being a nation anymore, Prussia still effectively created and raised him, and he's always looked up to the older man.
• Cars --- And driving fast on the Autobahn. He can appreciate a good piece of machinery.
• Engineering --- It takes some thought to design something that is both efficient and attractive, and he likes the added challenge.
Dislikes ---
• Messes --- Both the physical and metaphorical kinds; regardless of the type, he has to clean them up right away.
• Feeling helpless --- While he will allow others to rely on him, he hates the feeling of having to depend on someone else - that essentially, one would be good for nothing.
• Cowards --- Being afraid is one thing, but he dislikes those who are perpetually afraid and who will do anything to escape consequences.
• Ignorance --- Both willful and unconscious ignorance are inexcusable - if the information is out there, what reason could you have for not learning it?
• Wasting time --- The day is short enough as is, and he isn't going to give up precious hours to useless pursuits.
• Thunderstorms --- He's never really liked them, and has trouble sleeping with all the noise.
• Mooching --- While he will gladly help those in genuine need, he can't stand people coming to him for assistance when they could just as easily fix their problems themselves.
• Reminders of the past --- Yes, he did some terrible things. And he knows that. There's no need to keep rubbing it in.
• Bullying --- Picking on someone or something weaker than you is pretty despicable.
• Violence --- He's dealt with enough of it to know it rarely, if ever, solves problems.
• Always being the responsible one --- He doesn't really mind keeping things in order, but the fact that so few other people willingly help out is a little irritating.
• Being labeled a pervert --- It's just pornography... honestly...
Fears ---
• Being left alone. While it's true that he is a solitary person, he treasures the close friends he actually has, and worries about what might happen if he lost them.
• A repeat of the past. Elements of the ideology he maintained throughout the Second World War still exist not only in Germany but throughout the world, and despite his best efforts to eliminate them, he's actually quite afraid that they might some day gain back power.
• Economic collapse. He hasn't fared too badly in recent years, but considering that the economy is one of his very few veins of influence, he could suffer badly should it fail.
• Nightmares. For someone as grounded as he is, this seems a little ridiculous, but he has some very bad ones, and dreads them happening.
• Separation. The reunification happened so recently that even if this is a somewhat irrational fear, it's a very strong one in his mind; he dreads being split in two again.
• Failure. Because of how stubborn he is, and how much he believes in the power of hard work, he doesn't like to think that there are things he can't accomplish. He doesn't want to let himself down, or let anyone else down, and is very hard on himself when he can't achieve a goal.
Lesser known facts ---
• He's actually a fairly accomplished musician, and though he would never consider himself as skilled as Austria, he can play the piano and violin fairly well.
• He is also a good singer, though he would never let anyone catch him actually singing.
• While he absolutely doesn't miss the fear or violence of World War II, he does sort of miss that feeling of standing on top of the world and letting nobody get in his way of what he wanted.
• It takes a lot for him to get drunk and he rarely goes that far, but when he does, he actually becomes pretty easy-going, even fun to be around. Unless he had an especially bad day - in which case, he gets angry.
• He likes to give food, and sometimes shelter, to stray animals that wander near his house.
• Probably from reading so many fairy tales as a child, he actually does have quite a big imagination. He just chooses not to use it frivolously most of the time.
• Due to having inherited a great deal of his territory from his predecessor, he still possesses a few lingering memories as the Holy Roman Empire. As they aren't directly relevant to his current status as a nation, however, they can be hard to pin down and focus on.
• He is still somewhat bitter towards Russia for dealing so harshly with the GDR, and towards America and Great Britain for failing to take action for so long towards reunification, despite his efforts to persuade them.
• Alright, he actually is a little bit of a pervert, especially when it comes to BDSM. But who amongst them doesn't have something like that to hide?
Goals ---
• Improve relations with neighbors and friends even more.
• Discover some big scientific breakthroughs.
• Continue to make amends for everything.
• Repair the economic and political damage done to the former GDR.
• Keep moving forward and modernizing (and showing all those older nations how it's done).
|-|-The Past-|-|
History ---
(Very condensed)
P/C = Proto-nation & child
C = Child
T = Teen
A = Adult
P/C
800 --- Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans
842 --- The Oaths of Strasbourg are pledged
843 --- The Treaty of Verdun ratified
919 --- Henry the Fowler elected king of Eastern Francia
C
962 --- Otto the Great crowned emperor by the pope; Diploma Ottonianum ratified.
1075 --- The Investiture Controversy breaks out between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.
1122 --- The Concordant of Worms ends the Investiture Controversy.
1158 --- The city of Munich founded.
1228 --- Emperor Frederick II takes Jerusalem via politics in the Sixth Crusade
1246 - 1273 --- The Interregnum. Local political maneuvering begins to destroy imperial authority.
1312 --- Henry VII crowned first Holy Roman Emperor since Frederick II.
1350 --- The Black Death
1356 --- The Golden Bull of 1356 issued by the Reichstag.
1438 --- The Hapsburg dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors begins.
1455 --- Gutenberg Bible published.
1433 - 1495 --- Holy Roman Emperors take more interest in their local states; the empire begins to lose stability.
1512 --- Empire renamed Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation).
1517 --- Martin Luther publishes "95 Theses"; the Reformation begins.
1519 --- Carlos I of Spain becomes Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
1524 --- German Peasants' War begins; thousands of peasants massacred.
1556 --- Charles V abdicates; the Holy Roman Empire ceases to be anything significant.
1618 - 1648 --- The Thirty Years' War; large pieces of territory are taken from the Empire.
1648 --- The Peace of Westphalia.
1683 --- The Battle of Vienna; the army of the Empire under Polish leadership ends the advance of Ottoman forces.
1740 - 1748 --- The War of Austrian Succession.
1749 --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe born in Frankfurt.
1763 --- The Peace of Hubertsburg.
1770 --- Ludwig van Beethoven born in Bonn.
1789 --- The French Revolution begins.
1803 --- The War of the Third Coalition begins.
1805 --- Napoleon I of France defeats Austria at the Battle of Austerlitz.
1806 --- Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicates; the Empire is formally dissolved.
-----------
P/C
1810 --- Friedrich Krupp launches the Krupp steel business.
1813 - 1814 --- The War of the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon I driven out of Germany.
1815 --- The German Confederation founded; comprises of 39 consolidated states of the former HRE.
1816 --- Georg W. F. Hegel publishes Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences.
1834 --- Prussia creates the Zollverein to stimulate economy and trade amongst the states.
1848 --- The Revolution of 1848; attempt at German unification fails.
1848 --- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
1862 --- Otto von Bismark named Chancellor of the Confederation.
1866 --- The Seven Weeks' War occurs; Prussia defeats Austria.
1866 --- German Confederation dissolved; North German Confederation created under Prussian rule, excludes Austria.
1870 - 1871 --- The Franco-Prussian War.
1871 --- The German Empire formed; King William I of Prussia proclaimed German Emperor (Kaiser).
C
1879 --- The Dual Alliance between Austria-Hungary and Germany created.
1882 --- Italy joins; the Triple Alliance created.
1885 - 1890 --- Prussian deportations; Poles expelled en masse from Germany.
1888 --- Year of Three Emperors; ends with Kaiser Wilhelm II on the throne.
1914 --- German economic power surpasses rest of Europe.
T
1914 --- World War I breaks out. Battle of the Marne. First and Second Battles of Ypres.
1915 --- Italy leaves Triple Alliance.
1916 --- The Battle of Verdun.
1918 --- The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Hundred Days Offensive. Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates; WWI ends.
1919 --- Treaty of Versailles signed; Weimar Republic created; National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi) founded.
A
1922 --- Treaty of Rapallo signed with Soviet Union.
1923 --- French and Belgian troops occupy the Ruhr region.
1926 --- Germany admitted to League of Nations; Treaty of Berlin.
1929 --- Great Depression begins.
1933 --- Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany; Dachau opens; Weimar Republic ends; Third Reich begins.
1935 --- Reichstag passes Nuremberg race laws.
1936 --- German troops occupy the Rhineland.
1936 - 1939 --- Aid sent to General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
1938 --- Austria and the Sudetenland annexed; Kristallnacht.
1939 --- Invasion of Czechoslovakia; invasion of Poland; World War II breaks out; "Pact of Steel" made with Italy.
1940 --- Invasion of France; Tripartite Pact; North African Campaign begins; Blitz bombing of Britain begins.
1941 --- Blitz ends; invasion of the Soviet Union; gas chambers at Auschwitz operational.
1942 --- Wannsee Conference; bombings of German cities; Battle of Stalingrad.
1943 --- Battle of Kursk.
1944 --- D-Day.
1945 --- Battle of Berlin; Hitler commits suicide; WWII ends; Germany split and occupied by Allied forces.
1945 - 1946 --- Nuremberg Trials.
1947 --- Reconstruction of industry begins.
1948 --- Berlin Blockade starts.
1949 --- Berlin Blockade ends; Federal Republic of Germany a.k.a. West Germany established.
1950 --- Korean War breaks out; West Germany's "economic miracle" begins.
1952 --- East Germany closes borders against West Germany.
1955 --- Military occupation of West Germany ends; West Germany declared sovereign and joins NATO.
1961 --- Construction on the Berlin Wall begins.
1969 --- Adoption of Ostpolitik.
1970 --- Treaty of Moscow and Treaty of Warsaw negotiated.
1973 --- West Germany joins the United Nations.
1972 --- Summer Olympics held in Munich.
1976 --- West Germany helps found the G6.
1982 --- Helmut Kohl elected Chancellor.
1989 --- Berlin Wall opened.
1990 --- "Two-Plus-Four" negotiations; West and East Germany reunified; Berlin named new capital city.
1998 --- Gerhard Schröder elected Chancellor.
2002 --- Germany adopts the euro.
2005 --- Angela Merkel elected Chancellor.
2010 --- Fiscal intervention on behalf of struggling European countries; Germany pays off the last of the WWI reparations to France.
|-|-The Style-|-|
Roleplay example ---
(1922, Treaty of Rapallo)
"Is this really what we should do?"
No one had been hurt worse by the Treaty of Versailles than Germany had; even his still-healing wounds from the war seemed to lessen in painful intensity whenever someone brought up that hated document. Yet even now, on their way to sign a treaty that would surely antagonize - or at least worry - France and Great Britain and America, the blond man found himself once again playing the devil's advocate, questioning the reasoning of something he'd wanted to do for so long.
The man walking next to him, Dr. Rathenau, gave him a searching stare, and asked in turn, "You do not want this?"
"That's not it," Germany hastily corrected, a frown crossing his face. He'd spent many late nights discussing this with the chancellor, and many sleepless hours on top of that listing the possible consequences in his head. But everywhere around him, he saw struggle. The Communists and anarchists had overthrown the Bavarian government in Munich and declared themselves a separate state. The strike called for during the Kapp Putsch had nearly killed what was left of the economy. People lugged bag-fulls of Papiermarks to the shops each day, fighting for the ten loaves of bread that the shopkeeper had managed to obtain. He could sense it all: the political violence, the unrest, the anger, the disappointment, the slow and tormenting spiral towards total collapse.
And this was the first public step in fighting back.
But it had to be as careful a process as surgery. Frustratingly, Germany still didn't know whether or not the Allies were going to honor the conditions set forth in the treaty, especially once they saw some honest dissent. As immaturely tempting as it was to rub their oversight in their faces, Germany knew they could easily turn around and destroy the nation in return.
And so the idea for this new treaty had arisen. Russia hadn't been part of the Versailles agreement - he had been off having his own revolution, and despite having named him as a target during the Great War, Germany was now determined to get the powerful nation on his side. The pretense was, of course, to help each other's economies. Surely Britain or France couldn't find fault with him for that.
Dr. Rathenau's voice broke through Germany's musings. "You shouldn't second-guess yourself or the chancellor," he went on to explain. "If the decision's been made, it would be in poor form to undo it." The blond glanced away briefly, eyes fixed on a painting they walked past so that the Minister of State wouldn't see him scowling. He knew how to deal with his own misgivings. What he wanted was knowledge on how to handle the situation if things went poorly. When he looked back, his expression had returned to its normal seriousness.
"I suppose it's become a bad habit of mine," Germany answered with a shrug. The Minister may or may not have understood that this meeting wasn't just about testing the limits of the Treaty of Versailles. Some of the provisions had already been broken in secret, and even now, the training manuals for the air force Germany wasn't allowed to have were being rewritten. But that wasn't information he was going to share. Why make the old man worry? He was, essentially, just there to help start putting the gears back in the machine.
"This will be good for us, for the economy," Germany remarked abruptly, as a uniformed man opened a door for the duo. "I'm not sure why I was even hesitating." The Minister nodded, satisfied, and Germany turned his attention to the table at the end of the room, where two tall figures sat. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."
|-|-The Player-|-|
Username --- Geist
Age --- 23
Time zone --- GMT +9
