Post by maikyaera on Aug 31, 2010 19:00:43 GMT 1
Country: Kingdom of Sweden
Real name: Berwald Oxenstierna
Personality:
The first thing to know about Berwald is that he is definitely not as emotionless as he looks. Peoples’ first impression of him, based off his intimidating height and admittedly scary-looking face, is that he is cruel or unkind. This is most definitely not the case; while it’s true that he looks stoic and cold, he’s actually pretty friendly once he loosens up a bit. He also can get quite shy and is embarrassed easily, but depending on who’s around he will either try not to let it show or blush heartily (usually the former). A weakness of his is that he will often be mistrusting of people outside his family, and it may take a while to gain his trust. However, he will be very overprotective of people dear to him, and will stop at nothing to protect these people. He has some difficulty expressing his emotions around certain people (though with others, it’s very easy to tell what he thinks of them), and he tends to mumble quite a bit when he does talk, which doesn’t help with his communication issues. He also can get quite lonely when he’s left alone, and it’s important to him to spend time with his family.
Despite his normal, everyday nice guy personality, he can live up to his looks when need be. The latter part of his youth was spent as a Viking, and when he got older he conquered many lands and transformed into a vast empire. Though nowadays he prefers not to, the man can fight when times call for it, and very effectively at that. He takes great pride in his freedom and independence, and would do anything to protect it. Berwald also tends to think simply sometimes (not to say that he's not intelligent, which he certainly is), and to him things are usually black or white with little in-between. He can have a slight temper sometimes, though it takes a lot to make him lose his patience, and can be stubborn as well. He is playful deep down, though, and does his best to stay agreeable with others.
Likes:
- Sewing
- Debating and arguing
- Making furniture or building in general
- Fixing things
- Cold weather
- Spending time with people he's fond of
- Kids (He’s surprisingly good with children)
Dislikes:
- Russians
- Scaring people (accidentally- if there’s someone he does want to intimidate, his looks can come in handy.)
- Being alone
- Having to talk unnecessarily
- Not being able to help those he loves, but at the same time getting involved in wars
- Having to spend more time around Denmark then is absolutely necessary
History:
((Okay, so I'm not that great with writing out long timelines, so it's highly likely I missed something that was like really important. Uh, so yeah. I tried.))
Viking Age- Sweden expanded to the east, plundering, trading, and making temporary settlements along the way.
Around 1000- Provinces of Sweden merge to form one country, and they become Christianized.
12th/13th Centuries- Continued expansion, took over Finland.
1350- Black Plague. Kills 1/3 of the Swedish population.
1397- Kalmar Union. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are united under Queen Margaret. Denmark is the dominant power. Margaret promised to Sweden that Swedes would continue to have important political positions, but when a relative of Margaret’s, Erik of Pomerania, was elected king, he did not hold true to these promises.
1520- Danish/Norwegian King Christian II is crowned king over the three nations in the Union.
1521- Stockholm Bloodbath. The Danish king had about 80 important Swedish officials and supporters executed due to conflicts between them and the central government. The incident was meant to make the Swedish population lose morale, but instead it only made Sweden grow more rebellious. This proved to be the beginning of the end for the Kalmar Union.
1523- Gustav I elected king and separated Sweden from the Union.
1550- Helsinki is founded by the Swedes
1561- Poland-Lithuania gains control of Livonia, and in response Sweden seizes Estonia, and the major port of Revel.
1610- Ingarian War, in which Sweden attempts to place a Swedish duke on the Russian throne.
1617- Treaty of Stolbovo, which granted Sweden the province of Ingria, a sizable amount of land. This gain in territory laid a significant foundation to Sweden’s time as a great power.
1611-1718- Sweden becomes a great power in Northern Europe, controlling land in Livonia, Estonia, Ingria, Northern Germany, Denmark and Norway.
1700-21- Great Northern War. Sweden’s control over Livonia and parts of Estonia blocks Russia’s access to the Baltic Sea, preventing trade with the west, and Denmark-Norway was interested in gaining back provinces in the Scandinavian peninsula. These reasons, among others, prompt Russia, Saxony-Poland, and Denmark-Norway to unite against Sweden, then at the peak of his power and territorial reaches.
1721- King Charles XXI of Sweden signs a peace treaty that would cede most of Sweden's territory to Russia, giving Russia dominance of the Baltic region, thus ending Sweden’s reign as a great empire.
1743- Sweden cedes southern Finland to Russia.
1809- Sweden formally declared independence and establishes a constitutional monarchy; Finland becomes a Grand Duchy of Russia; Russia also took the Åland islands, retaining his hold on them until the Russian Revolution.
1814- Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden.
1905- Norway declares independence, ending the union formed in 1814.
1914- WW1- Sweden remains neutral.
1921- The League of Nations grants the Åland Islands to (the newly independent) Finland, despite Ålanders wanting to become part of Sweden.
1939-The Soviet Union invades Finland, and Sweden sends volunteers and supplies to help with the war effort while not getting directly militarily involved.
1940-45- WWII- Remains neutral, but allows German troops to cross through to the Soviet Union, also permitting the Germans to use Sweden’s railway system to travel between Germany and occupied-Norway. In addition, the Swedish Navy escorted German military supply ships.
1943- 7000 Danish Jews escape to Sweden from the Nazis.
1944- (October 30) Sweden formally announces his neutrality for WWII.
1986- Sweden applies to join the EU.
1994- Sweden joins the EU.
1995- Same-sex registered partnerships are legalized
2000- The Oresund Bridge is built, connecting the Danish capital of Copenhagen with the Swedish city Malmö.
2002- (June 5) It became legal for same-sex couples to adopt kids.
2009- (April 1) Gay marriage legalized.
2009- (April 17) The Pirate Bay attempts to buy Sealand.
Role Play Example:
Berwald entered his and Tino's shared house quietly, calling "'llo?" softly into the darkness. Peter must be at Raivis's for a sleepover, and he supposed Tino was working late. Very late, he thought as he glanced at the clock hanging next to a large bookcase in the livingroom. He himself wouldn't be out this late normally (or if he was, Tino would be with him, out enjoying each other's company), except that Tino had insisted he invite Mathias to go out drinking to 'catch up', as he put it. Berwald had reluctantly agreed, and so spent the evening sipping beer at the bar while watching Mathias become increasingly intoxicated and hit on girls, ask them out and then come slinking back to Berwald, muttering that they weren't that pretty anyway. Berwald just nodded, waiting for an excuse to bring Mathias home, until finally he just lied and said Peter was waiting up for him and so he should get back home. He had dropped him off to an unamused Niels while Eirik thanked him for bring him home safe.
Berwald turned on a light and looked around the empty house. It felt so empty without the rest of his family here. As he walked up to his and Tino's bedroom he passed a photograph on a table in the hallway. He picked it up and gazed at the familiar faces, smiling fondly at them behind the glass. It was taken in spring, with Hanatamago frolicking in the grass, Peter chasing after her and Tino after him. Somehow Berwald had managed to snap the picture at the moment all three of them were looking at the camera, making for the perfect photo. He put it down after reflecting on it a moment more, continuing into his room. It never felt right coming to bed without Tino, he thought as he pulled on his pajamas. He got into the large bed and settled in, though with no intention of falling asleep. No matter how late his wife got home, Berwald would wait up and get the bed warm for him, knowing how much Tino hated getting into a cold bed, until the two could fall asleep together.
((ffff so fluffy. Sorry >> I wrote that quite a long time ago and was too