Republic of Austria [Roderich Edelstein]

These streets so fixed and solid
Were shimming with hate

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"You‘ll burn out and fall,
If you aim for the heavens, like a flame loving a star.
Be careful of your love,
Brilliant child, the cold sea of death welcomes all."[/center][/size]

And everything that I relied on
Disappeared

Country: Republic of Austria/ Republik Österreich
Name: Roderich Johann Edelstein
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Profession: Bookstore Owner -Has been sole proprietor of Edelherz Books for the last two years.
(Edelherz books is located in the Highlands next to the station serving trains leaving and returning to the Highlands)
Highlander or Lowlander?: Highlander

All the strangers look like family
All the family look so strange

Appearance:
Roderich Edelstein is a five foot eleven inch tall, thin, lanky Caucasian youth. His thick chestnut colored hair is cut to lie just below the top of his ears. It’s mostly straight but has a slight wave when it gets a little too long. One stray lock of hair playfully curls above his right temple. High cheekbones and a broad forehead frame mysterious eyes nearly violet in coloration. Resting on the bridge of his nose, thin copper wire half-frames grip feather-light oval lenses like two small picture frames that showcase his captivating eyes. One small dark mole accents his chin just below the corner of his mouth on his long angular face.

Attire:
He tends to wear more formal clothing when working. He is especially well-known for his old-fashioned gray and lavender pin-stripe coat with the large leather patches at the elbow. (It was his step-father’s old school coat). His other clothing is more varied in style. He often wears refitted/repurposed second-hand clothing, since he refuses to borrow money from his family and he is still trying to pay back the money spent to buy the shop. However, he can sew well enough to do minor things such as sew buttons back on, hem, mend/patch some things just enough to hide minor wear and tear. Newer clothes or radically repurposed clothing comes about when he’s either finally saved up enough or is feeling adventurous (or desperate) enough to let himself be a dressing model/guinea pig for a friend out of necessity.

He does have his pride however, so he is very careful with how he dresses and pays attention to style and form. Thus he has settled on adopting an older eccentric style that always looks conservatively nice. Finally, he is never seen without a 2 1/2inch sun shaped pendant on a thin braided black leather cord. On closer inspection one will see that it has small holes in it. It can only play a few notes, but it’s enough for tuning purposes. He wears it all the time because it was one of the few things he has that his grandmother Beilschmidt gave to him before she passed away.

Personality:
Roderich or “Roddy” as he is known to his friends and family is normally soft-spoken, and rather quiet. When he does speak up or answers a question, he is straight-forward in his manner of speech and can come off as a bit brusque or harsh to those people who prefer to “soften” any opinions or truths that others may find difficult to hear. However, he is no harsher than his brothers and his style of speech could be considered more eccentric and flowery in comparison.

Normally a rather serious, loner type of young man, he’s not the type to try to be the center of a party. He generally prefers to interact with people in a one on one or very small group basis.

He is known to have a rather engaging smile, musical laugh and a wickedly dry sense of humor, as evidenced by his habit of interjecting well-timed barbs and remarks that can break a room and victim down into laughter. Even if he doesn’t mind the company of others, he usually doesn’t feel the need to seek out. He rarely plans and initiates invitations to a larger gathering, but will usually accept it should he receive one as he doesn’t mind the occasional party.

He can also be a little distracted and distant when he’s internalized his focus and has gotten lost to an idea or composition in his head. One of his passions is music and that is when he comes out of his shell as a performer. When he is playing an instrument he is no longer shy about being the center of attention because he believes that at that point in time, it is the music that stands center stage while he is merely a background conduit for the music to flow through on its way to the audience.

He’s a young man who is intellectually curious, energetically enthusiastic about things he passionately likes, a natural loner, (who can be good company when and only if he wants to), dutiful, frugal, efficient, and fiercely independent. He can be a bit proud and hates to admit when he is wrong. He also doesn’t like to admit to needing help by asking for assistance. He is frugal through necessity, so that he can be extravagant for the things that he likes. He takes serious any task assigned to him even ones he dislikes, as long as it doesn’t crowd out those tasks/things he’s truly passionate about. Though he appears to be quite the romantic, he’s less of a romantic at heart than his half-brother Ludwig. He tends to take a more logical and practical response to matters of the heart. Finally, he is someone who likes efficiency and organization as long as it doesn’t come at the cost of natural beauty and artistic vision. In other words, he thinks chaotic beauty is as important as sterile order.

Such dichotomies as these can make him seem rather enigmatic at times to even his to closest friends and family.


History:
Roderich’s childhood wasn’t that unusual from many children: parents that are divorced, then re-married, and the child getting shuffled from home to home all through their childhood. Perhaps what was unusual was the fact that his parentage caused him to cross between the Lowlands and Highlands on a regular basis. His biological parents had both lived in the Highlands when they were married, but when they divorced, his father Markus Edelstein chose to stay in the Lowlands for his practice. Dr. Edelstein was born a Highlander, but when he finished his medical training as a doctor, he chose to start up his practice in the Lowlands rather than working in Highlands. He currently runs a clinic down there and lives in a modest two bedroom apartment across the street chosen for more for its convenience rather than its amenities. (Roderich has always kept some clothes and items there in the second bedroom since childhood for whenever he visits.) His father’s family, the Edelsteins, do however have a modest home in the Highlands, where Roderich’s great aunt and grandfather live. (After his grandmother died, his grandfather’s sister gave up her condo and moved in with him to look after her elder brother who has severe arthritis.) As his father’s only child, Roderich will eventually inherit this from him as his aunt (his father’s sister) and cousin were killed in a tragic accident when he was just 11. His former uncle is now remarried with a young child and visits his father regularly as they have been friends since childhood, but Roderich sees him only occasionally.

Roderich owes a lot of his refined aristocratic appearance to his mother who is a tall and elegant woman with long blonde locks and hazel eyes. His unusually colored eyes and chestnut wavy hair were inherited from his biological father along with many of his personality traits. His natural musical ability, however, came from his mother. His mother currently plays and teaches violin and piano at the University level and started him on the piano and violin when he was five. She currently plays in the Highland Symphony as well. Roderich, though he continues to play and even performs a couple weekends a month at the little coffee shop adjoining his bookstore, never wished to make a career out of music much to his mother’s chagrin. She had hoped he would continue in her footsteps and not take his talent for granted as she was very proud to make it out of the Lowlands due to her innate abilities. This is not as uncommon as one might think, as talent doesn’t care about rank, and just as many artists live and work in the Lowlands as the Highlands. [Actually it’s probably more since the arts don’t pay any better in Solus than they historically ever have on Earth. Only a few of the most successful or those with family connections and support can hope to make enough of a living to pay for a Highland residence.] So it was only with great sacrifice from her family and the support of a benefactor that helped get his mother the instrument and the training that she needed to cultivate her talent. He still visits his mother’s parents, Granny and Papi, in the Lowlands quite often as he and Ludwig adore them. His stepfather’s grandparents, who he also liked, have since passed away. He has never been as close to the relatives on the Edelstein side though.

His biological father, Markus Edelstein met his mother, Maria through a friend after one of her concerts. They fell in love and it was she that convinced the young newly graduated medical student of the need for doctors in the Lowlands. She would later regret that decision as Markus is perhaps too dedicated of a physician. Initially, everything started out fine and Markus came home early in the evening, but then he started working later and later. Eventually due to Markus’ late hours working, he started to sleep at the clinic some nights rather than returning home. He was the only physician in the clinic and once word got out, it was highly frequented and the workload was often too much for one doctor. But his father believed in it so he often stayed until he saw the last patient. Eventually the long lonely nights at home began to be a strain on their marriage. His mother thought a child might cause him to spend more time at home. She was wrong and the marriage quickly started unraveling at the seams.

Eventually the lonely woman met a widower who was an administrator at the University where she just recently started work. They met through their children. They both had young sons of similar age that they dropped off at the University daycare. Though she didn’t intend to do so, she fell in love and soon his parents’ relationship ended in divorce. Though neither of them held any great bitterness toward the other. It was more or less just a parting of life paths. Roderich’s father had already taken an apartment across from the clinic before Roderich was two years old and then simply stopped coming home by the time he was three. His mother divorced Markus Edelstein a year later and shortly thereafter married Mr. Beilschmidt and moved in with him. So in the end, the divorce wasn’t a surprise to anyone except perhaps young Roderich.

Roderich is currently the second of three sons in the Beilschimdt family. His mother married his step-father before he was 5 and less than a year later his half-brother Ludwig was born. His other brother (step-brother actually) is similar in age to himself. However, while he and Ludwig are surprisingly close despite the age difference, he and his stepbrother are not. They have more of a love-hate relationship. They seem to live in one continual argument even despite the fact that they often ended up crossing paths in school and even bonded over their half-brother. The reason for this is because Roderich often ends up the victim of his step-brother’s jokes and antics. So he has never been quite as close to him as he is to his baby brother, Ludwig, on whom everyone says he dotes on.

Unlike his brothers, Roderich spent much of his childhood bouncing between two cities and two fathers. His real father never remarried so thankfully he doesn’t have a stepmother to add to the mix. Since his stepfather basically raised him, Roderich loves him and refers to him as “dad,” just like his brothers. When referring to his real father he switches between using “father” or “Markus.”

Thankfully the story of his career is less complicated; it started with the visits to his father in the Lowlands. There was a bookshop on the corner of the station that he liked to visit when he waited for the train to the Lowlands. He loved it because it had both new and used books and the owner never minded if he sat and read a book while he waited until it was time for the train to arrive. Eventually at the age of 16, he started working there on Saturdays. A year later he started working summers as well. His parents never minded since the owner let him study when he wasn’t busy. Thankfully, the owner waited to retire and sell the store until after Roderich finished his coursework at the University and got the degree that all three of his parents’ insisted upon, but that he himself felt little need to get. [He finds education important, but prefers to get most of his knowledge from books studied on his own than sitting through a lecture in a classroom. He is also confident in his own talents and figured that he would find his way without a degree had he not had one. After all he never planned to go into medicine like his father and has little interest in it beyond basic first aid.]

Roderich has now been the sole proprietor of Edelherz Books for the last two years. He currently still lives at home to save money until he begins to make back enough to pay off the money borrowed to purchase the shop.

Recurring nightmare:
Bits and pieces of the events that came after the “shot heard round the world” that eventually toppled his empire and within four decades ended with an iron curtain separating him from his beloved partner. (Essentially WWI and forced dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire with a bit of WWII mixed in.)

The only constant I am sure of
Is this accelerating rate of change

Likes:
Family -especially his younger half-brother Ludwig

Books of Course! -All knowledge can be found there.

Bookstores-He owns one after all.

Coffee, Coffee Houses and Small Cafes

Fine, Delicate Desserts and Sweets. -He’s got a bit of a sweet tooth

Fine Cuisine –( Basically recipes with fine ingredients. Ex. Shallots instead of onions or pork loin instead of pig knuckles)

Music-He likes and studies a variety of genres. He also does some composing as a hobby.

Cleanliness and Order-Though not to the same degree as Ludwig, he doesn’t mind a little chaos when he’s deep into a project or enjoying company.

Nature (ex. The sun reflecting on the sea when the dawn of a new day is breaking.)

Routine and Predictability -He’s a creature of habit

Discovering Something New That He Likes - Pleasant surprises

Dislikes:
His Step-Brother -ok, not really. It’s a love-hate sort of thing.

The Medical Field- He doesn’t actually like dealing with sick people and blood, but through his father’s work he’s become somewhat indifferent to it and can do what needs to be done without too much reserve. Some things still hold way too much ‘ick’ factor for him to do though.

Instant Coffee -He’ll drink it only if desperate

Wasteful habits

Storms - He once got stuck on tram when the power went out during a bad storm when he was young.

Dissonant , Experimental, Repetitive or Badly Derivative Styles of Music

Having His Life Already Predetermined and Dictated to Him

School-He was a good student, but he prefers to study only the things that he is interested in.

Loud, Obnoxious Self-Centered People Who Assume That Everyone is Interested in What They Have to Say

Being Pranked- He dislikes surprises, especially nasty ones.

Prearranged Blind Dates -(same reason as above.)

Downside up, upside down
Take my weight from the ground

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Roleplay Sample:
She could hear the violin music over the pitch of the storm before she made it to the glass double doors. The notes slipped in an out of tune as the changing pressure and humidity affected the pitch. But it didn’t detract from the tune but seemed to add some indefinable emotion to the tension between the notes emitted from the wood instrument and the sounds of the storm outside as wind and rain and debris scraped and pounded the glass outside between the pounding bass roll and sharp claps of thunder and lightning.

She paused before the open doors watching the young man in the room as he played. She couldn’t help but want to listen a moment before interrupting him, rarely could he be coaxed to play anything on the violin since his mother’s death. It was a rare treat to hear him play.

Roderich Edelstein stood there with his eyes closed, lost to the music, on the opposite side of the room on the thin metal service balcony that allowed access to the hanging plants and small potted trees and bushes that set closest to the floor to ceiling windows. She stood there listening trying to pick up what tune he was playing before she began to realize it wasn’t anything she’d ever heard. In fact it almost seemed as if he was anticipating each clap of thunder and gust of wind and filling in the spaces between with running arpeggios, quick, sharp pizzicatos, and long low undulating bowed holds.

She leaned her head against the doorframe to stare at the handsome man across the room. Her eyes traced the silhouette of his pale chiseled features with every lightning flash. The music had descended to low hypnotic undulating tones now. A sudden large clap of thunder shook her out her reverie. She noticed that Roderich had dropped to his knees on the metal floor. The music slowed and trailed off as he stared into the inky blackness with the intensity seen only in geniuses or madmen.

“Roderich?” She softly queried his name. “Roddy, come on, we need to go now.”

He stopped playing, but didn’t look at her, his lips moving in some silent mantra.

She sighed and reached out to the large set of shutter rods near the door. Suddenly a metal shutter snapped across the window in front of Roderich blocking out whatever vision he saw in the stormy sky.

She walked over toward him. “Roddy?”

He looked up suddenly seeing her for the first time. “Oh, hi. What are you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be down helping Dad in the clinic?”

She carefully took the bow from his right hand and grabbed his elbow in her left and helped him stand in the narrow confines of the balcony. “Yes, I should, except for some reason your father thought I needed to go track you down. Just In case you happened to miss the raging storm right outside that window, and the wailing of the warning sirens going off every five minutes telling you to get your ass somewhere surrounded with rock and metal, rather than 12 feet up in the air and surrounded on all sides by glass.”

“Oh,” His eyes opened in surprise as her reply finally registered. He cocked his head listening to the muted siren that had started up again and could be faintly heard through the shuttered windows. “Hm, I suppose we should move to one of the safer rooms, like the cellar.” He motioned her forward.

She sighed and shook her head as she started back around the balcony. Nearly through the double doors she stopped, suddenly remembering something she had meant to ask. Her back still to him she asked,

“Roddy, um, what were you staring at earlier?”

Whistling lightly to himself, he mumbled only partially listening, “When exactly?”

She leaned against the doorframe and looked back at him. “Right before I came up to you, before I closed the shutters.”

Suddenly the tune died away, and there was a deafening quiet. Fearing she had crossed a line despite their history, she began damage control. “I’m sorry, just ignore my question. It was impolite of me to. . .”

He cut her off, speaking just above a whisper, like a sinner confessing. “I thought that she had come back. I thought that my music and her violin had called her back from the storm.” He shook his head sadly. “I came up trying to drive the ghosts of old memories away and all I did was bring them to life. Suddenly, I could see her in the flashes of light alive and smiling and reaching out her arms to me.”

“Thank you for coming after me.” He looked up at her sheepishly, one lock of chestnut colored hair drooping out of place over his right temple. It was like a little accent character, drawing her in as it outlined the shape of the violet colored eye framed within the small round lens of his glasses.

She looked away for a moment feeling the warm flush of desire creep up her cheeks. She snapped back quickly in embarrassment, “Well it’s just lucky for you that you weren’t dragged to the land of the dead then.”

He tilted his head puzzled, “Why is that?” Then suddenly noticing the crimson flush to her cheek . He gave a casual lop-sided smile as he leaned on the other door frame across from her. “You mean you wouldn’t call my spirit back from the Storm?”

“No” She pushed him aside and started back down the hall, “And I’ll tell you why.” She turned and waited as he collected the case nearby and began putting the violin away. She began counting off on her fingers. “One, I don’t believe in spirits, ghosts, lost souls or whatever. Two, I can’t play the violin, and you really don’t want to hear me try unless the goal is to drive things away.”

He clicked the case shut and picked it up waiting for her to finish

She paused a moment and gave a mischievous smile, “And three, I sure as thunder would never play Orpheus to your misbegotten Eurydice.”

“Ah poor soul, scorned and condemned by thy love in one blow.“ He feigned pain as he looked to the heavens for redemption and held a hand to the imagined wound over his heart. Though the devilish smile blew the effect of fatally wounded pride.

She stuck her tongue out in reply over her shoulder as she turned dash down the hall before he could catch up.

Falling deep in the sky
Slipping into the unknown

Out of Character
Name/Nickname: Roderich, Roddy, or Austria, it doesn’t matter to me
Timezone: GMT-6 or if on DST then GMT-5
Any other information:
There’s room left there for one of the other German speaking countries (like Prussia or Luxembourg) to take the role of the third brother or for Germania to take the role of the Ludwig’s father in case any potential RPer wanted to be related. If not that is fine as well.

If we get a Hungary, I’m more than willing to have some sort of previous or current relationship that can run anywhere from childhood friend to ex-girlfriend. Just send me a message.

You pull me in…
P u l l

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