Post by Ludwig Weillschmidt on Mar 13, 2010 9:33:23 GMT -5
Canon Character Application
((This app is very fail, and I think I Gary-Stu’d Ludwig (though I tried really hard not to), so tell me anything I need to fix and I’ll fix it right away!))
Character name: Ludwig Weillschmidt
Age: appears to be 20…but he’s appeared that way for a while…
Gender: Male
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 140 lbs
Appearance:
((I’m not being lazy; I swear! I just have way too much fun with these pictures!))
Personality:
At first glance, most people find Ludwig unapproachable and downright scary. They see him as the most perfect example of a stoic and sometimes wonder if he even has emotions. But that’s only because they don’t know the whole story.
It’s true that Ludwig is something of an introvert. He relishes the few moments he has to himself and can often be seen sitting alone with only a book or his sword for company. And, honestly, he never had a problem with it. He was always comfortable with himself and who he is, and he never really cared about a sociality, anyway.
But that isn’t his only side. With the proper coaxing and lots of beer, it’s possible to bring out Ludwig’s wild side. But he tries not to slip up in that respect too often. After all, he would rather be in control of his own actions, thank you. However, he doesn’t always require alcohol to have fun, considering that his idea of fun is not getting completely drunk and vandalizing anything in the immediate vicinity.
Ludwig always seeks to perform to his full potential, so he always does what he needs to do, and does it well. His tendencies as a perfectionist are also applied to other aspects of his life, sometimes to a fault. He always tries to “protect the order,” which often leads to others fearing him when he does.
Being a mage-warrior, Ludwig is relatively skilled in both physical battle and magic. However, he is reluctant to use these skills unless it is absolutely necessary. He doesn’t enjoy fighting in the least, but sometimes he must.
He is also very protective of those he cares about. If anyone even thinks of hurting someone under his care, well, let’s just say he has the muscle power to back up any threats he might make. He tries to avoid unnecessary conflict, but he will not allow harm to come to the people he loves.
The ‘people he loves.’ They’re the only thing holding back the loneliness from Ludwig. After all, who wouldn’t become lonely if feared unnecessarily, as Ludwig often is? Still, even with those few he truly cares for, he always felt as though there was a hole in his heart, a hole that Gilbert and the few friends he can make are more than willing to fill. And, although Ludwig may seem embarrassed by any displays of affection from them, he isn’t. It’s just that he finds it hard to show affection himself. But he tries, anyway, because they care about him enough to be there for him. So Ludwig cares, too.
Class:
Magic Knight (first choice) or Knight (second choice, will need to edit app)
Likes:
- studying magic
- practicing swordsmanship
- beer
- reading
- sitting under a tree to relax
- observing the passerby from under that tree
- potatoes
- his dogs
- his few moments of solitude
- his brother Gilbert
Dislikes:
- unnecessary conflict
- when the people he loves suffer
- Gilbert’s rambunctiousness and tomfoolery
- too much excitement and noise
- disorder
- not performing to his full potential
- headaches
Strengths:
- Loyalty. If he has agreed to help someone, he will do it, despite the headaches it might give him.
- Strength. He is strong both physically and emotionally and adept at hiding pain.
- Courage. He is almost unaffected by fear and is able to face just about anything.
- Intelligence. He catches on quickly to whatever he is learning when he puts his mind to it.
- Stubbornness. He does not give up easily, for better or worse.
- Protectiveness of Order. He keeps his space and his life clean.
Weaknesses:
- Emotion. Since he can hide pain so readily, he often buries his pain and sadness away.
- Ludwig is an introvert. He often is locked up inside himself and does not really enjoy conversation.
- Inapproachability. He often comes across as frightening due to his inwardness, which causes others to think him unapproachable.
- Stubbornness. He does not give up easily, for better or worse. (yes, it’s both a strength and a weakness)
- Protectiveness of Order. He sometimes keeps his space and life too clean.
- Affection. He can’t show it. He just can’t.
History:
Ludwig never could understand what had made Gilbert desperate enough to leave. All he knew was that his brother had never been happy in their home with their parents, and had left them. Ludwig never found out all the details of his brother’s life after he had left, but he knew enough.
After Gilbert ran away, Ludwig was distraught. He remained with his parents for a few years afterwards, but never stopped worrying about his brother, hoping that Gilbert would eventually be found safe. So, at twelve years of age, he too left home (without his parents’ knowledge or consent) in search of his brother. But he never found the Gilbert he had known.
Ludwig wandered for eight years, trying desperately to find Gilbert, but without success. At some point, he considered just giving up, letting Gilbert go. But he never could bring himself to give up hope. After all, Gilbert had to be somewhere, right? Unless he was dead… But Ludwig never let himself think that, swearing that he would never give up on his brother.
Realizing that he had no hope of finding Gilbert without some sort of skill, Ludwig took a short hiatus from his search for his brother to find someone who would teach him to use a sword. And he found a master who did more: he taught Ludwig in the ways of both the sword and magic. He excelled at swordplay, but was never able to rise beyond the intermediate level of magic. He didn’t mind, though. He couldn’t mind; he had no more time to stay. He’d spent almost four years in training, years that could have been spent in search of Gilbert. He left as soon as he was able, but not without thanks to his master.
On the day of his twentieth birthday, his world changed, even though he was unaware of the change at first. That night, he awoke in a cold sweat from a dream of Gilbert. And from that dream, he had the first intimation of what had been going on in his brother’s life since he had left. The discovery wasn’t good; Gilbert was dying. Even though he wasn’t a religious man, Ludwig set out to the nearest church and prayed, begging God to save his brother. He wasn’t aware until much later that Gilbert had been saved, just in a different way. That was the night Gilbert’s time stopped, the night he became a vampire. Unbeknownst to Ludwig, his own time stopped on the same night. On his way home, he was stopped by a strange man who said that he had heard Ludwig praying. He told Ludwig that Gilbert would live, and that he could give Ludwig a gift to help him in his quest. Though he was hesitant, Ludwig accepted. He didn’t realize at first what he had agreed to, or what had happened to him.
In fact, it took Ludwig over ten years to realize the change. He should have been thirty, he realized, but he still didn’t look a day over twenty. He ignored this abnormality until he caught the attention of a mage who sensed immediately upon meeting Ludwig that something was wrong. It was then that Ludwig discovered that he was no longer growing older. He was still mortal, but time had frozen for him. Ludwig knew that the mysterious man he had met ten years ago was the one responsible. That man had given him a gift and a curse: he could no longer age, but he had more time to do what he set out to do.
And that is still his goal: to find Gilbert and be his brother again, for he knows Gilbert has lived for far too long without one…
Sample Post:
Hmm… sighed Ludwig as he sat comfortably with his back against the trunk of the tree, picking up a stray cherry blossom that had fallen to the ground. He blew at it gently, and that small breeze was enough to carry the pink petals away until they fell to the ground again.
Perhaps it seemed odd, a grown man sitting under a cherry tree, playing with the fallen blossoms, but Ludwig didn’t care how strange it looked. It was a way for him to unwind, to clear his head. And, considering everything the decisions he needed to make about his life, it was good to have a clear head. After all, the information he’d just received was proving a difficult pill to swallow. Was he truly…frozen in time? Would he never age again? Would he ever be able to find Gilbert? Should he continue training, now that he had the time? What was he to do?
All in all, he supposed he ought to just stop and answer one question at a time. Or perhaps he was getting ahead of himself by even trying to answer questions. Perhaps, for now, he just needed to try to wrap his mind around his new discovery. After all, the thought that his time had frozen was a sobering one. If it was true, then it meant that he would never grow older, that he would stay twenty years of age forever. He wasn’t normal anymore.
But he wasn’t immortal, either. He could fall ill, or be injured or even die, just like any other human. So he was human, but at the same time…not. So, what was he, then?
A freak, his ever-irritating inner voice replied. You’re a freak of nature, Ludwig. It’s no wonder the powerful mages cringe when they see you, really. They can sense it, you know. They can sense that you’re wrong…
“Stop this,” he chided the voice. “It’s true that I’m not normal anymore, but I can still find my brother. I can still do what I set out to do. I can still make something of myself!” His fist pounded onto the blossoms, causing some stray petals to fly.
He forced himself to calm down after the sudden outburst. “Calm down, Ludwig; calm down,” he muttered, running his fingers through his short blonde hair. “Just do what you have to do, and do it well.” With that, he rose, placed a gentle hand on the sword at his hip, and set off.
What would fate throw his way, next?
Did you read the rules? Britannia beam? Okay…
((Again, I fear I may have Gary-Stu’d Ludwig (even though I tried very hard just to make him a driven person with a mission, not a Gary-Stu), so if I did Gary-Stu him, tell me how to fix it and I’ll do so ASAP!))