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Information
Jun. 20th, 2030 12:43 pmABOUT
name
germany
alias
ludwig [beilschmidt, spiegelmann, etc.]
age
174+ (chronological)
young adult (appearance)
birthday
3 october (german reunification)
gender & pronouns
cis male (he/him)
orientation
demi-biromantic
demi-bisexual
family
prussia, older brother
germania, grandfather
PERSONALITY
Serious. Irritable. Overly honest. Humourless. Socially awkward. Loyal and trusting, sometimes to a fault, usually of authority. These are some of the words used to describe Ludwig, the human personification of Germany, and though he'd like to contradict others on some of these things, he finds he usually can't.
In truth there are several layers to Ludwig, each as genuine as the last. On the surface, the image he projects is indeed that of a bureaucrat: hard, no-nonsense, with a strict adherence to rules and policies that, to others, make no sense to enforce. When he's not leading at world meetings, however, he can be mellow and even charismatic, capable of connecting with others over mutual interests and exhibiting a sense of sarcasm. Beneath that, reserved for his friends, there's Ludwig the thinker — a man who, in his downtime, treasures German Classicism and Romanticism, reads Kafka and Hofmannsthal, and listens to cycles of Brahms while tinkering with clockwork for whole afternoons. Beneath even that, there's Ludwig the lonely, cleaning up after dinner parties all by himself and contemplating life's meaning in the dark. Despite this, there are no fabrications in Ludwig's presentation, even when his behaviour is outright contradictory; no matter what, others get the sense that he's telling the truth about who he is, and though he doesn't know it, this same quality that he dislikes in himself is one for which he is often admired.
At the heart of things, perhaps the best picture of Ludwig's personality is something he says in his own character song, Germany's Anthem ~I am German-Made~: "Something like justice, something like faith, something like love, are things I always fight for."
In truth there are several layers to Ludwig, each as genuine as the last. On the surface, the image he projects is indeed that of a bureaucrat: hard, no-nonsense, with a strict adherence to rules and policies that, to others, make no sense to enforce. When he's not leading at world meetings, however, he can be mellow and even charismatic, capable of connecting with others over mutual interests and exhibiting a sense of sarcasm. Beneath that, reserved for his friends, there's Ludwig the thinker — a man who, in his downtime, treasures German Classicism and Romanticism, reads Kafka and Hofmannsthal, and listens to cycles of Brahms while tinkering with clockwork for whole afternoons. Beneath even that, there's Ludwig the lonely, cleaning up after dinner parties all by himself and contemplating life's meaning in the dark. Despite this, there are no fabrications in Ludwig's presentation, even when his behaviour is outright contradictory; no matter what, others get the sense that he's telling the truth about who he is, and though he doesn't know it, this same quality that he dislikes in himself is one for which he is often admired.
At the heart of things, perhaps the best picture of Ludwig's personality is something he says in his own character song, Germany's Anthem ~I am German-Made~: "Something like justice, something like faith, something like love, are things I always fight for."
HISTORY
Ludwig knows very little about who he is.
The thought strikes him as preposterous, especially because he knows exactly who he is. He remembers where he was at all the integral moments of his country's existence, can recite its history, especially military, from top to bottom with terrifying accuracy. He's been a monarchy and a dictatorship and a democracy, lived well over the human lifespan with little indication of aging, and now he spearheads the European Union with France in an effort to build a more peaceful Europe. Ludwig is Germany, and that fact feels as natural to him as the veins that run underneath his skin, bluer than the Rhine.
And yet, something feels off — something he can't quite place. Where other nations talk about their early childhoods, centuries spent as toddlers in open fields, Ludwig can't remember being smaller than the desk at Austria's house, or younger than the boys just entering secondary school today. The thought sometimes bothers him, but not enough to investigate, and no one — not his older brother, not France, not Austria or Hungary or the Italies or anyone who should have been around longer than him — has marked anything peculiar about his circumstances. Occasionally, in the moments before he falls unconscious for the night, he sees the ghost of a boy who looks like him in the distance, wearing a dark cape and a tricorn hat.
Ludwig is Germany — but what that means, and who that is, is a question he's not sure he's ready to confront.
The thought strikes him as preposterous, especially because he knows exactly who he is. He remembers where he was at all the integral moments of his country's existence, can recite its history, especially military, from top to bottom with terrifying accuracy. He's been a monarchy and a dictatorship and a democracy, lived well over the human lifespan with little indication of aging, and now he spearheads the European Union with France in an effort to build a more peaceful Europe. Ludwig is Germany, and that fact feels as natural to him as the veins that run underneath his skin, bluer than the Rhine.
And yet, something feels off — something he can't quite place. Where other nations talk about their early childhoods, centuries spent as toddlers in open fields, Ludwig can't remember being smaller than the desk at Austria's house, or younger than the boys just entering secondary school today. The thought sometimes bothers him, but not enough to investigate, and no one — not his older brother, not France, not Austria or Hungary or the Italies or anyone who should have been around longer than him — has marked anything peculiar about his circumstances. Occasionally, in the moments before he falls unconscious for the night, he sees the ghost of a boy who looks like him in the distance, wearing a dark cape and a tricorn hat.
Ludwig is Germany — but what that means, and who that is, is a question he's not sure he's ready to confront.
ABILITIES
• Immortality: Nation-tans are immortal unless two things happen: 1) their government dissolves, and 2) their cultural identity among humans disappears. As long as Germany remains a country and people identify as German, Ludwig cannot (permanently) die, and he regenerates from injuries that would annihilate a simple human being. If, by some chance, he is dispatched through an especially bloody manner, he will reconstruct himself from the soil in a matter of days. The mental scars from such an event, however, remain.
• Superhuman Strength: Ludwig can deadlift objects up to 500kg with minimal effort. However, his strength pales in comparison to America.
• Superhuman Endurance: Ludwig can withstand far more than a normal human. Killing or maiming him takes serious effort.
• Time Warping: Normal creatures that are too close to nation-tans for too long eventually stop aging. Animals seem to be fine, but humans will begin to exhibit signs of being mentally unwell, eventually leading to what some would call "insanity."
• Multiple Languages: Ludwig has picked up a number of languages both recreationally and for diplomatic reasons over the years. In addition to these many spoken languages, he also knows DGS (German sign language) and reads Latin and Ancient Greek.
• Superhuman Strength: Ludwig can deadlift objects up to 500kg with minimal effort. However, his strength pales in comparison to America.
• Superhuman Endurance: Ludwig can withstand far more than a normal human. Killing or maiming him takes serious effort.
• Time Warping: Normal creatures that are too close to nation-tans for too long eventually stop aging. Animals seem to be fine, but humans will begin to exhibit signs of being mentally unwell, eventually leading to what some would call "insanity."
• Multiple Languages: Ludwig has picked up a number of languages both recreationally and for diplomatic reasons over the years. In addition to these many spoken languages, he also knows DGS (German sign language) and reads Latin and Ancient Greek.
MISC
• Has three dogs: Aster (Hovawart), Blackie (German Shepherd), and Berlitz (Doberman). All three were acquired at different points in the 1970s.
• Picked up the cello after seeing it in concert sometime in 1870.
• He loves reading and writing. Most of the latter is poetry.
• Picked up the cello after seeing it in concert sometime in 1870.
• He loves reading and writing. Most of the latter is poetry.
CREDIT
ART BY K-Y-T-S-K-O | CODE BY 10BILLIONGHOSTS
