Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Feb 19, 2013 20:06:53 GMT -5
Application for "Germany"
The Basics:
Nation: Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
Name of Character: Ludwig Beilschmidt
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Country of origin: Germany
Blood status: Pureblood
School:
House: Slytherin
Year: Third
Job Prospective: While Ludwig likes to imagine he could get a job as a professional Quidditch player, he's realistically studying for a practical (but exciting) job as either a Curse Breaker or an Auror.
Subjects:
Quidditch?: Absolutely. He prefers to play the Chaser position, but can play others in a pinch.
Appearance:
Eyes: Sky blue
Hair: Pale blond
Other features: Ludwig is a very tidy dresser: whether he's wearing a uniform or casual clothes, whatever he's sporting will always be clean and free of wrinkles. And, while he often keeps it hidden under his shirt, Ludwig wears an old Iron Cross medal on a silver chain around his neck. It's a family memento, and he's fond of it.
Character Background:
Likes:
German food: Favorites include spaetzel, strudel, sauerbraten, any variety of wurst, and absolutely anything that includes potatoes.
Dogs: Ludwig loves all animals, but he likes dogs (and Crups) the best. He's still a little sore about not being allowed to bring one to Hogwarts.
Books: An avid reader, Ludwig makes frequent trips to the library to check out new books. While he's a naturally curious person and likes to learn new things, he's also quite fond of fiction, or even fairy tales.
Exercise: Whether in the form of push-ups, jogging, swimming, or Quidditch, Ludwig tries to exercise every day.
The Outdoors: Although he's not especially fond of the sun (his pale skin burns easily), Ludwig loves being out-of-doors in the fresh clean air.
Baking: Making cakes and cookies is a kind of stress relief for Ludwig. He's quite good at it too. While food is made for the Hogwarts students, he's determined to find and use the kitchen anyhow.
Quidditch: Growing up in a pureblooded family ensured that Ludwig got an early taste of this exciting sport. He practiced in his backyard and joined the school team when he was old enough.
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Dislikes:
Noise: While Ludwig likes music and talking to friends and parties, there is a time and a place for all of those things, and if they arise while Ludwig is trying to focus, then Heaven have mercy on your soul. Ludwig hates noise, especially where noise isn't appropriate.
Cowards: Fear is healthy: it keeps you from doing needlessly stupid or dangerous things. However, cowardice is a different matter entirely. Chickening out from every little thing for fear of injury or punishment is not something Ludwig can abide; he looks down on cowards.
Being Teased: Ludwig's knee-jerk reaction to being teased is to shout at people, and besides that, he blushes very easily. As he likes doing neither, he'd just as soon prefer not to be teased at all.
Failure: As ambitious and dedicated as Ludwig is, failure in his mind equates to defeat. Not that he gives up (he's very stubborn that way) but he's extremely harsh on himself (and sometimes his friends) for the smallest mistakes.
Thunderstorms: He used to fear them when he was little. Now, thunderstorms are more of a loud, irritating distraction, but Ludwig still doesn't like them. They make him uneasy.
Nightmares: Ludwig possesses a surprisingly large imagination. At times, this manifests negatively in some truly spectacular nightmares. He's too mature to go running for his parents, but he has a hard time sleeping after having one, and as someone who gets too little sleep in the first place, this presents even more of a problem.
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Personality: If you had to choose only one word to describe Ludwig, that word would be 'serious'. The man takes very little lightly, and whether he's studying, working, exercising, or relaxing, you can bet that he'll be one hundred percent focused. He's notoriously stern, unfalteringly stoic save for the occasional lapse into irritation or anger, observes rules to the very letter, and possesses enough drive and ambition for five people. Ludwig is a veritable dynamo of hard work and efficiency, and you are either helping him or you are in his way.
However, what is also true about Ludwig is that he's somewhat unsure of himself. He works hard and plays hard, true, but he's got little experience with maintaining an active social life. For someone of his age, he's surprisingly naive about some things, and is hesitant to ask people for help, preferring to turn to books instead. It doesn't help that he has a bad habit of reacting to teasing, flirting, or even friendliness with hostility. Ludwig doesn't like being emotionally uncomfortable, and covers up his shortcomings with irritation. Additionally, he's a bit of a pessimist, and tends to see only how something can go wrong, so he's cautious about attempting to change himself or his situation.
Around those he trusts, Ludwig is a bit more relaxed: he smiles and laughs easier, and doesn't put up such a stern front. There are good aspects of his personality that shine through his seriousness on a daily basis, however. For someone who gets irritated with others frequently, Ludwig is surprisingly patient, and often forgives transgressions that aren't so serious. He's also kind, although it may not often show, and he's downright protective of weaker things (especially small animals, like dogs or cats). While he's not the type to refuse help to anyone in need, be warned: if you aren't in need, Ludwig absolutely isn't going to help you (and if you ask him to do your homework, he'll report you for cheating). He's remarkably stubborn in his observation of rules that way.
While his knowledge of human interaction might not be great, Ludwig is both clever and intelligent. He's determined to be top of his class, and wants to land a nice job that he can both work hard at and enjoy. But now that he's made it this far, even he realizes that perhaps he could afford to loosen his strict standards just a little.
Pet?: Ludwig wanted to bring a dog, but given the confines of student housing, had his request politely but firmly turned down. Using his birthday money, he bought a European eagle owl instead, and rather rebelliously named it Hund, or "dog" in German.
Background: Born on a cold fall morning, Ludwig is the second and youngest son of an official at the German Ministry of Magic and his equally hard-working wife. The Beilschmidt family that he is part of is an old one in Germany, renowned for not only producing some very impressive witches and wizards but also for making some spectacularly poor decisions. The efforts to keep the magical blood in the family pure have met with more of the latter kind of reaction, which is why from the moment he could talk, Ludwig had very high expectations thrust on his shoulders.
As his parents deemed Muggle schools unacceptable, Ludwig was homeschooled by a tutor for most of his formative years. The boy had a natural gift for learning as well as an inborn curiosity for things, and proved to be a very hard-working student. While he had his rebellious moments, rule-breaking was punished very harshly in the Beilschmidt household, and Ludwig quickly learned to toe the line. Although he had some playmates from other magical families, more often than not Ludwig spent his free time in the company of his direct relatives or by himself, engrossed in a book. He loved to climb trees and play out of doors as well, and when he received a toy broomstick for Christmas one year, he could hardly be kept away from it.
When Ludwig reached the appropriate age, he was enrolled in Germany's wizarding school. While he continued to be an outstanding student, his restrictive upbringing affected him negatively: he didn't make many friends. He was eventually able to shed the beliefs about blood purity that he'd been taught, but for the time being, the damage had been done: many of Ludwig's classmates had been torn between dislike and fear of him. He graduated in the top of his class, but without much hope for the future.
Since he was accepted to continue studying at Hogwarts, however, Ludwig is determined to improve himself. He still had a lot of pressure to succeed (and he wants to, besides), but he also feels a little lonely, and is working as well as he can manage between study sessions, classes, and Quidditch practice, to correct that.
Relations with other characters:
Lili Walser: Ludwig is Lili's cousin on his mother's side. The two spent some of their holidays together when they were younger, and would practice Quidditch in the large backyard of his family's home.
Slytherin Students: He can name them by sight, even if he's not especially close or friendly to most of them.
Sample:
(from a Steampunk AU)
It was by far one of Ludwig's most intricate ideas yet. The steam engine he'd been working on looked almost like a toy compared to the massive machines used in trains or boats or airships, but Ludwig hadn't been able to shake the idea of a personal transport out of his head. So the better part of the last month had found Ludwig occupied with shrinking everything that made up an existing steam engine and trying to make the whole thing run just as efficiently, on a far smaller scale. He wouldn't know whether or not this design would work until he powered the entire thing up, but it was a test Ludwig was looking forward to, as he carefully started welding another expertly bent pipe into place on the engine block.
The door of his workshop slammed open with a massive bang and shattered Ludwig's focus; both the gas torch and pipe slipped from his hands, the pipe landing rather perfectly on his foot. Biting back the curse that rose to his lips, Ludwig flipped up his visor and glared around for the intruder, and he didn't take long to find him: the other man announced himself rather loudly.
"Francis," he replied, his mouth a thin, irritated line. As much as he wanted to snap at the other man, manners overrode his emotions - for now. "What brings you here today--" His voice dropped abruptly off as what looked like a small army of children followed Francis into his workshop, immediately scattering in several different directions to examine the tools, parts and projects carefully organized around the large space. Ludwig felt his heart sinking and, picking up the torch and pipe quickly and setting them on a high shelf, he strode over to the other man.
"So what can I do for you and why did you bring an entire nursery school with you-" Ludwig couldn't finish his question as that very moment, one of the children attempted to eat several screws. Quickly moving the parts out of reach, he turned back to Francis, his expression more hassled than before. "What I was saying before," he simply grumbled, folding his arms across his chest in an almost challenging way, although his eyes were now scanning the room anxiously as the children fanned out further. If he hadn't known better, Ludwig would have suspected some kind of coordinated attack.
The rest
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