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Post by Prussia on Jul 1, 2010 0:18:23 GMT -5
Nation: Kingdom of Prussia
Name: Gilbert Weillschmidt
Gender: Male
Appearance of Age: About 23
Hair Color: Silver/Snowy white
Eye Color: Crimson
Height: 5'8''
Weight: 125lbs (A lot of weight has been lost since the Berlin Wall incident. Though most of his current weight is muscle.)
Appearance:
Personality: First off, he has an ego. A BIG ego, and he's not afraid to show it off by complimenting himself whenever he gets the chance to do so (almost always referring to himself as “awesome” in some way.) He thinks he's the best, and he'll say it to anyone's face who thinks otherwise and do whatever it takes to prove it. He enjoys seeing other people twitch, and will do anything to get a rise out of someone; he's a master at teasing people and getting them riled up. Still, despite his egotistical ways, he's much more sensitive than people give him credit for. When someone he really cares about is upset or in trouble, Gilbert will do his best to make it better again, even if the means of doing so are sometimes unorthodox… In the end, his ego is really just for show and something he built up to give himself confidence that he's never truly had.
He claims to love being alone, but truly; he hates it more than anything. Because of his fear of being alone, he often forces his presence on other and makes up a ridiculous excuse to why he is there in the first place and refuses to leave until he's forced out. More than anything, he just wants someone to notice him and say he's worth something; to be wanted. Even if it’s only by one person. He grins when he's sad and tucks any negative feelings away until he's ready to burst and it is likely this which is the cause of his quick temper. He can hold a grudge for years on end, but he can forgive and forget just as quickly as he gets upset; it all depends on the situation. He's unpredictable, and he likes it that way.
Despite his rough-around-the-edges and seemingly obnoxious personality, Gilbert is as loyal as they come. If he has someone he really cares about, be it just a friend or that special someone, he'll lay his life down without a second thought to keep them safe. Of course, he'll still tease them to the point where one would want to rip their hair out, but he'd never have ill-intent behind it. Once be finds someone he cares about, he'll latch on and do anything it takes to keep that bond safe. No matter what the price, his loved ones [as few as he has] mean the world to him.
All in all, he can be a bit of an ass, but a lovable ass. It's rare that he goes a day without writing in his journals (he has an entire libraries-worth tucked away in a secret location.)
Likes: + Pancakes + Birds + Swords + Gambling + Cute things [Though he wouldn't admit it openly.] + Playing flute and violin [Gasp! Guilty pleasure~] + Teasing others + Roderich [Hahaha.] + Trying to re-build his country + Vital Regions
Dislikes:
- Vodka - Being cold - Snow - Sunflowers - Frying pans - Being told what to do [however, a certain master is the exception to the rule.] - Losing - Being alone [Won't admit to this, either.] - People mentioning Frederick the Great; it depresses him - Anyone mentioning WWII or the fall of his country
Fears:
~ The smell of Vodka ~ Being alone (especially in the snow) ~ Being forgotten by everyone ~ Losing what little he has left ~ Being hated by his brother (or Roderich) for the things he's done in the past
Strengths:
Swordsmanship: Having used a blade since the day he could hold one, Gilbert has trained with the sword all his life. He can blades of all sizes and lengths, both single and dual-handed, though he much prefers the fencing-style of fighting and blades.
Deception: When it comes to deception, he's second to none few. He knows how to work his way out of trouble and sweet-talk men and women alike to get the information he wants (usually free beer or food.) He knows what disguises to wear where and how to get around the rules--after all, he takes all kinds of jobs and needs to get around. …Not to mention he’s ridiculously good-looking. Pretty-faces go a long way.
Loyalty: Once he befriends someone (as this is very rare for him to do) he doesn't take that bond lightly. He'd go to the ends of the earth and to hell and back for the people he cared about, even if he doesn't have much to offer given that he is no longer a nation. There are very few people he could ever imagine risking his life for, but he'd never leave an ally alone in a dangerous situation. He takes loyalty and trust a lot more seriously than one would think. However, if someone loses his trust or betrays him... watch out, is black list is a bad place to be. It's near impossible for someone to earn back his trust if they've lost it.
Violin and Flute: While he can't cast magic by playing them like a bard, he has quite the experience with both. While he favours the flute and has played it longer, but his skill with a violin is nothing to turn one's nose at. The flute was taught to him by Frederick the Great, but the violin he learned on his own to impress show off to Austria.
Tolerance: He has a very high tolerance for alcohol, but once he is wasted, he’s pretty much gone until the next morning (and sometimes a little after that.) He can be pretty comical when he is drunk, but his temper also is much shorter than normal. It is a two-sided coin, really, but he’s not incompetent (which is good.) He can still tell enemy from foe, but his methods for dealing with both are somewhat… ridiculous.
Weaknesses:
Quick temper: Depending on the subject, his temper can be set off easily. Once he's mad, his self-control tends to fly out the window and he'll often end up acting stupid. He could easily hurt someone without meaning to in his rage (physically or mentally) and he can get quite loud when he's shouting.
Carelessness: Often times he has a "act first, think later" look on life. He will act impulsively in almost any situation, and this often gets him in trouble or hurt. He'll speak before he considers what he is saying more often than not, and his cruel teases can often hurt without him realizing it.
Mental Phobia Issues: Due to tragic events in the past (read: the Berlin Wall) there are some things that just set Gilbert off the wrong way. Sometimes the reactions are so bad he tends to fall into a state of shock and it's very difficult for him to come out of it. If these fears are provoked; his reactions can often reach the critical point where he will stare into space and tremble, re-living memories of his past and sometimes even being reduced to tears. These fears include: the scent of vodka, sunflowers, the sound of metal pipes scrapping against the pavement, frying pans being used as weapons, dark rooms, being touched below the waist, and being bound or tired down in any way.
Stubborn: Fairly self-explanatory. This tends to be both a blessing and a curse at times. He doesn't know when to give up, and if he wants something to get done, he won't stop until it is.
History:
Teutonic Order
Prussia started off as the Teutonic Order, which was a group of "knights" formed to aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured. Since they were also a military order during the middle ages, they acquired the well-known name of the "Teutonic Knights". Joining at first was fairly easy, but since the numbers were small at first, whenever they needed help, volunteers and mercenaries were always easy to acquire. They later moved to help protect Hungary against the Turks during the 12th century after the Christian forces of the middle east were defeated. Then, in 1225, they were expelled by force in 1225 after allegedly attempting to place themselves under Papal instead of Hungarian sovereignty.
Then some stuff happened. FAST FORWARD!
In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald. Which kinda sucked for the Order... but they managed to get on their feet again. So some years passed and the Order was awesome and picked a lot of fights until 1515, when the Holy Roman Emporer married into an alliance with Sigismund of Poland-Lithuania. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made a marriage alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania and the Emperor was kinda shitty to the Order after that. At least, until 1525, when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism and become the Duke of Prussia.
Later on, the order was disbanded for a bit, but it has been reestablished in Vienna (how sweet of you, Roderich~), and is know more commonly known as the "German Order". However, the popular symbol now known as the "Iron Cross" was a design on the Order's uniform that was passed from the Order, to Prussia, and eventually to Germany (and Austria as well, I believe.)
The motto of the Order was: "Helfen, Wehren, Heilen" or "Help, Defend, Heal."
At one point in time, it was considered a great honour and goal to be in the Teutonic Order. People from countries all over would strive to be able to join them.
Brandenburg-Prussia
So this was actually a fairly short period.
Anna, granddaughter of Albert I and daughter of Duke Albert Frederick married her cousin (>>; oh baby) who was a Duke in Brandenburg and the nation's joined together. Yay.
During the Thirty Years' War, the disconnected Hohenzollern lands were more or less ambushed by various armies, especially the occupying Swedes. The ineffective and militarily weak Margrave George William fled from Berlin to Königsberg in 1637. The guy who came after him, Frederick William I, reformed the army so that the lands could be defended and it wasn't just open for free-march. Then Prussia got into it with Poland for a while, but it ended with a treaty, so that was all well and good. Blah, blah, William became known as the "Great Elector" and things were awesome for a while.
Kingdom of Prussia
This is when Prussia was epic-awesome and everything was amazing. (And the main part that's fun to write about.)
SO...
On the 18th of January, 1701, Frederick William's kid managed to change Prussia from a duchy to a Kingdom and crowned himself the King. The sad thing is, Prussia seemed to think that would offend Poland since some of the land was where Old Prussia laid. Instead, the Holy Roman Emperor would only let Frederick call himself the "King in Prussia" and not "of Prussia". Who knows, really. Seems a bit of a silly reasoning, but whatever. Brandenburg-Prussia was always called "Prussia" back then, and eventually turned into just the "Kingdom of Prussia", which is cool. Frederick I was pretty good and was succeeded by his son, Frederick William I, who really helped Prussia extend its power and land, but damn, was he an asshole.
Frederick William was known as the "Soldier King", and like I said before, he was an asshole. He really helped Prussia become super powerful, but he had this "no shit from anyone" idea. He is known as the creator of the vaunted Prussian bureaucracy and the professionalized standing in the army (which developed into the most powerful in Europe.) In fact, Voltaire said later: "Where some states have an army, the Prussian Army has a state!" He was pretty good with treaties, too, and managed to nab half of Swedish Pomerania in a treaty (and a lot of refugees from Salzburg. Haha, or something.) Still, he was an asshole and was also known for his short temper and violent behavior toward his family.
Finally he died in 1740 and Prussia had it's first official King, who is well-known as "Frederick the Great" or affectionately, "Old Fritz". Now he was a ruler to be admired. Frederick was an amazing flute player, and composed many beautiful orchestral and musical pieces including the Prussian army march. His music is still popular even total (and Prussia insists you look it up on YouTube.)
In 1740, Frederick lead the Prussian troops over the undefended border of Silesia and occupied Schweidnitz; Silesia was the richest province of Habsburg Austria. Sadly, this started a group of wars between Prussia and Austria, but Prussia always won in the end because Austria was Prussia's bitch so all was good there. There were three "parts" of the Silesian wars, but the first two parts are usually combined together and better known as the War of Austrian Succession (Maria Theresa came in sometime around here, too, but that's not my story to tell.)
By 1742, Frederick the Great had acquired all of Silesia and victory was obtained once more after the third Silesian war known as the Seven Years War (Gilbert insists that I mention that he fought Roderich because he had to, not because he hated him. *inner-fangirl is shot*) Voltaire (remember him, who quoted earlier?) a close friend of the king, once described Frederick the Great's Prussia by saying "...it was Sparta in the morning, Athens in the afternoon."
Anyway, Silesia, a region of rich soils and prosperous manufacturing towns, ended up really helping Prussia out and greatly increased the area, population, and wealth of Prussia. Because of the land increase, this, in turn, helped Prussia become even more powerful as well as it's seemingly never-ending success on the battleground against Austria and other powers. This made Prussia one of the most powerful forces in Europe.
All in all, Frederick the Great was Awesome, and made Prussia even more awesome. He introduced a general civil code, abolished torture, and established the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German gymnasium (grammar school), which prepares the brightest students for university studies (which is why Gilbert is pretty damn smart himself... just lazy.) The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States ...Though Alfred's lack of visible intelligence is probably England's fault.
So like, then there were a shit-load of other wars, most of which were won, and stuff was awesome. Prussia really helped the Holy Roman Empire and Germany as a country, especially when they had fallen to the lowest point and they really needed assistance getting back on their feet.
>>; My history is getting a little long so we're going to skip ahead... a lot.
Other stuff...
Eventually, Prussia slowly began to lose it's power because people were assholes. Although, it continued to stick pretty tight with Germany and tended to bark when people messed with the Germans too much. Alas, as part of their war aims the allies sought the abolition of Prussia. Stalin was initially content to retain the name, Russia having a different historical view of its neighbour and sometime former ally. In Law #46 of February 25, 1947 the Allied Control Council formally proclaimed the dissolution of Prussia. (Italics direct quote from wikipedia.) In short, a lot of people blamed Prussia for Germany going insane with Hitler and claimed that it's "military past" was the cause of "evil" in Germany. Which is bullshit and we all know it. The Prussians had always been against Hitler and even attempted to assassinate him. Many times.
Happily, there is New Prussia in Canada, and the Kingdom of Prussia in the US now. So Gilbo is pretty damn happy about that.
Note for the humour: the tuba was invented in Prussia. Hurhur.
...So, yeah. >>; That was pretty long. No one is expected to write as much as me, for the record.
Allies: Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and though he won't always admit it, France. (He can get along really well with Denmark and America, too.) Hungary. ...For the most part.
Enemies: Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, and Russia. And sometimes France. He tends to get into fights with Poland a lot, too, but there are times when those two can get along like best friends. Hungary's frying pan is another one.
Sample Post:
Being albino had never been something Gilbert particularly enjoyed, nor hated. It was different, and he enjoyed that, it made him unique. Of course, it also made him stand out, and when in the middle of a bloody battle field in the middle of the summer it had often proved to be a disadvantage (even if he were garbed in his country's uniform), but as with most things, there were two sides of of the coin, and snow often proved to be in his favour. His white hair and skin easily blended in with the backdrop and his eyes were easy enough to close to and avoid being detected because of their bright colour He'd learned long ago how to rely on only his ears and sense of smell, and though the training had rarely been put to use, he was grateful to have it now.
We shouldn't be here... he thought bitterly, glaring down at the ground from the tree he'd taken up several hours previous. I told West he should have just found a way to off the mad-man before he took power, and look where we are now. The sadistic bastard is starting to lose it. The Prussian had woken up earlier than usual (likely because of the cold, as, despite his strong muscles, he was rather small) and silently slipped on his knee-length white coat, pants (also white) and gloves. He would have been much happier with a black or dark blue like most of the other soldiers, but the colour of his coat had been both a strategic choice and rebellion. He'd enjoyed the annoyed twitching that had started in the eyebrow of his brother's boss when the Führer had seen his "different" attire, but, happily, he'd gotten away with little more than a glare and a satisfied smirk.
The sudden sound of crunching snow alerted Gilbert to someone's presence, and he instantly stiffened. Crimson eyes carefully scanned the landscape around him, hand moving slowly toward the Luger P-08 he kept hidden within the folds of his coat. It was little more than a standard handgun, but he was good with it, and he'd left his sword (as he'd always preferred them over guns) back in his tent. Who is...? West? A slender silver eyebrow quirked upward in silent question as he saw the familiar shape of his younger brother moving toward his tree in the snow, completely oblivious to his presence. What is he doing out here so early? Shouldn't be shouting about training or whatever...?
Snorting silently, he leaned forward, taking care not to knock any snow off the tree he'd was sitting in to alert the other of where he was. It took several minutes, but Ludwig finally neared enough and finally past under him and that's when he struck. A wide grin split across his pale features and he quickly hooked his legs around his the branch below him, swinging down and dangling from it as he threw out his hand, using his forefinger and thumb to mimic the shape of a gun with his hands and pressed the tip of his forefinger to the top of the German's spin. "Bang," he mocked in an amused tone, giving his brother a soft prod. "If I were Russian, you'd be dead, West. Didn't I teach you to always look up and down when scouting?"
Did you read the rules?
D< I AM TOO AWESOME TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION! The awesome me WROTE the rules! I don't have to answer this. Kesesesesese~
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