Post by Alarik Von Brandt on Jul 20, 2019 1:47:16 GMT -5
-Opening-
Discord Username: Ranth
Password 1: Black Hole
Password 2: Moon Pray
Type: Support
Affiliation: Vandenreich
Rank: Shooting for the stars
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-Basic Information-
Name: Alarik Von Brandt
Age: 27
Birthday: April 28th
Blood Type: A+
RP Sample: Nope
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-Appearance-
Height/Weight: 6'4" | 80kg
Physical Description:
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-Personality-
Dislikes:
✯ Light Pollution ✯ Fairly self explanatory- light pollution means Alarik can't see the stars as clearly and that is truly a crime against nature.
✯ Disrespect ✯ In much the same way that Alarik values respect, he looks down on those who fail to show respect to those who deserve, earn or command it.
✯ Cowardice ✯ Being afraid is natural, but failing to do what has to be done as a result is unforgivable.
✯ Being Outshone ✯ Alarik simply can't abide by someone else being able to outdo him when he's trying to show off or keep all eyes on him.
✯ Dull people ✯ Boring people are boring and Alarik won't go out of his way to spend time with people like that because they have a way of sucking the fun out of everything.
✯ Styrofoam ✯ Alarik hates the sound that comes from touching Styrofoam. He hates balloons for the same reason.
✯ Boredom ✯ Alarik can't stand being bored- or more specifically, doing nothing- and will always find something to do to occupy himself when such times arise.
✯ Insincerity ✯ Seeing someone flaking, shirking or otherwise not putting in their best effort is an alien concept to him that he can't relate to. Similarly, being lied to or deceived is not something Alarik can easily forgive - especially not by anyone he would consider a friend.
✯ Gore ✯ Alarik doesn't have the strongest stomach when it comes to gore - be it on the battlefield or even in movies. He managed to struggle his way through basic first aid class back in the day, but the sight of a gaping wound or a protruding bone is enough to make him pale and at risk of throwing up.
✯ Threats to the Vandenreich ✯ it goes without saying, but anything or anyone that poses an active or potential threat to the Vandenreich as an organisation or his comrades within it are automatically in his bad books.
Likes:
✯ The Stars ✯ There is just something about the ocean of tiny lights that brighten the night sky that resonates with Alarik. There has never been a time in his life that he couldn't feel soothed by looking up at them and basking in their soft glow. Used to guide people in both the literal and metaphorical sense as well as simply appealing to his sense of aesthetic, Alarik likes to imagine that the stars are watching over him.
✯ Astrology ✯ Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, Alarik genuinely enjoys indulging in the pseudo science of Horoscopes. Does he believe that being a Scorpio will mean that he's find his true love in the month of October along with a sudden windfall from an unexpected source? No. But does that stop him from keeping up to date with all of the horoscopes of those around him? Absolutely not.
✯ Music ✯ In Alarik's eyes, music is a way of expressing universal truth. For all of the times where he couldn't express his thoughts or feelings as a child because he was required to be the quintessential Von Brandt, he would turn to music as a way to turn his frustration, his hopes and even his dreams into something he could share with the world as a thing of beauty whilst still managing to keep them private.
✯ The Arts ✯ More broadly than simply music, Alarik has a deep respect and appreciation for many of the more classical pursuits from painting and sculpting through to theater and dance.
✯ Appreciating Beauty ✯ The saying goes that beauty lies within the eye of the beholder and Alarik truly enjoys beholding all things that are beautiful. But rather than do so privately, there is an emphasis on the 'appreciation part. If Alarik sees something he likes, he's not afraid to say so - be it a person or thing he's not shy about expressing his thoughts.
✯ Shiny Things ✯ A piece of glass catching an errant ray of sun? A sparkling jewel on a woman's finger? glitter glued to a piece of paper? All these things and more are those that Alarik could happily spend more time than most simply gazing at whilst occupying his head with idle thoughts. If it shines and there's nothing urgently beckoning his attention, Alarik will most assuredly stare at it.
✯ Respect ✯ As one of the key tenants of the Von Brandt family, the importance of both giving and receiving (or in some cases commanding) respect has been ingrained in him from a young age. Alarik understands the difference between respect that is earned and respect that is owed and will always give what is owed- even to an enemy.
✯ Commitment ✯ perhaps because he's been forced to commit to things all his life, Alarik appreciates seeing that trait in others. Conversely, seeing someone flaking, shirking or otherwise not putting in their best effort is an alien concept to him that he can't relate to and makes him feel uncomfortable... and maybe a tiny little bit jealous.
✯ Family ✯ Despite the strict nature of his upbringing, Alarik has never once harbored even a single shred of resentment to his family. He understands why things are the way they are and that the sacrifices that he's made growing up are the same sacrifices that his father once made and his father before him. Nothing great was ever built without sacrifice and the Von Brandt's are unwavering in their loyalty and devotion to one another.
✯ Coffee ✯ Maybe it's just the addiction of many years spent using it as a crutch during long nights of study, but Alarik's day will always feature at least one cup of coffee before he sets his mind to any meaningful task. if he goes without his fix, he simply can't operate at his best and if god forbid he goes multiple days without any of that sweet sweet bean juice he'll become irritable and
✯ Reading ✯ Another of Alarik's escapes. When he reads, he doesn't see words on a page but rather images in his head as the events within the pages unfold like a movie. As such, he can often lose himselves for hours in the trials, tribulations, triumphs and heartbreaks of the characters that live within the pages. Although he will (and often does) read from any genre, science fantasy is his guilty pleasure.
✯ The Vandenreich ✯ Alarik has always been raised to respect and trust in the Emperor and so how could he not relate to his fellow Vandenreich on a personal level? When they all share something- or rather, someone- so pivotal to what makes them the way they are, it would seem impossible to be at odds with any of his peers. He trusts in his comrades when push comes to shove even despite some of their more... unique personality traits and at times slightly different methods of achieving desired outcomes.
Flaws:
✫ Show off ✫ In order to influence, one must first have an audience and in order to have an audience, one must first capture their attention. In light of that, Alarik will often go out of his way to capture the spotlight and although this is a means to an end, it can understandably rub people the wrong way.
✫ Vain ✫ Alarik takes great pride in his appearance. This doesn't merely relate to having smooth skin or being blemish free, but rather everything from the clothes he wears to the cologne he wears are always carefully selected based on the occasion, the people in attendance and his aims for the outing. This often means he sacrifices a great deal more time to preparing himself than most as he won't go out into any social situation without looking his best unless under pain of death.
✫ Overconfident ✫ Sometimes Alarik has a tendency to make a plan or prediction in order to achieve a desired outcome and assuming that his calculations are flawless only to be reminded that human nature is by its very nature unpredictable and there's truly no accounting for stupidity. Thus, there are times when he's supremely confident in achieving a particular outcome only to be proved hopelessly wrong.
✫ Spoiled ✫ Although being born into privilege certainly has its... privileges, it also has a number of unforeseen drawbacks. For one, there are an assortment of menial tasks that he's never had to bother with because there has always been someone there to take care of it. Notable examples include cooking, cleaning and ironing. But a greater flaw to the lifestyle he was born into is that he cannot easily relate or empathise with the 'have nots' of the world. He is aware of the concept of poverty, but he has never come into contact with it.
✫ Perfectionist ✫ As someone who has had perfection expected of him in everything, it has become habitual for him to work on something until he masters it. This creates problems in two main ways. The first is that he either won't give up on something once he starts, or he won't start at all if he doesn't think he can do it to perfection. The second is that he sometimes takes for granted that not everyone has his... zeal towards doing a good job and that sometimes 'good enough' really is... well... good enough.
Habits:
✫ Performing ✫ When in company, even with his closest friends, Alarik defaults to playing the part of the perfect son of the Von Brandt family. This isn't a conscious decision on his part at this point but rather something that has become so ingrained in him that no matter what he might be doing in his private time, he won't let that bleed into his public image.
✫ Gesturing ✫ Alarik is an expressive speaker. This is a learned trait as all of the greatest orators in history have used gestures to great effect and so, like so many things, Alarik has had the art of using gestures and body language to emphasis his words and drive home his arguments to the point where he doesn't think about them, they just happen on their own.
✫ Smiling ✫ At a glance, Alarik might seem to be the happiest individual on the planet as he seems to always be smiling at least a little bit. This is actually another conscious trait turned habit where his 'resting face' actually has just the tiniest bit of energy put into preventing a frown. This tends to make him more approachable whilst also engendering feelings of trust and safety in those around him.
✫ Relaxing ✫ Although the opportunity doesn't necessarily come around often, when the chance to relax and be on his own without the social pressures of day to day life, Alarik will not hesitate to relax with a book or play music with the stars as his audience.
✫ Stargazing ✫ On any given night, Alarik will often set aside half an hour or so to simply gaze at the stars overhead. He has a telescope set up in his home so that he can observe distant stars and astrological events with the greatest clarity that money can buy, but sometimes just lying on ones back and looking up at the sea of stars is the perfect way to end the day. And by sometimes... it's actually almost always.
Fears:
✫ Death ✫ Alarik has worked too hard and sacrificed too much to welcome an early death- even if it's in the line of duty. As such, he treasures his life and won't go out of his way to put himself or anyone he cares about into the kind of danger where the threat of death is real.
✫ Failure ✫ From the very beginning of his existence, success was the name of the game and anything less than that was tantamount to blasphemy. As such, Alarik has an inborn aversion to failure to the point that the threat of failure can actually make him feel physically ill and historically, most of his nightmares growing up all revolved around failing tests.
✫ Pain ✫ Alarik has been trained as a warrior, but he is no hardened veteran and he's not the sort to just shrug off crippling injuries. As such, Alarik has a very much human aversion to pain in all of its forms. A trait that is perhaps somewhat lacking amongst most of the denizens of the spiritual factions, but in some ways it serves as an advantage as it keeps him on his toes.
✫ Poverty ✫ For most children, their parents would threaten them with stories of monsters under the bed or witches stealing naughty children away in the night. For Alarik though? naughty children were deprived of all the trappings of wealth and forced to fend for themselves. As a result, the idea of poverty still makes him uncomfortable to this day.
✫ Never falling in love ✫ As a Von Brandt, Alarik knows that one of his many responsibilities is to forge a political marriage with one of the other powerful families someday. It was this way for his parents and for the heirs of the vast majority of other noble families as well. This in and of itself doesn't bother him, but rather the vague fear that he may never get to experience the feeling of true love that he's often read about in his books. A marriage to strengthen his family is a necessary sacrifice, but he's seen and heard enough of such marriages that they are often loveless and he doesn't want that.
Goals:
✵ Uphold the Von Brandt reputation Everything that Alarik does reflects upon his family and so is number one goal is to never do anything that could tarnish their reputation or bring them misfortune.
✵ Maintain the Von Brandt legacy Alarik has been tasked with finding a suitable wife from among the ranks of the Vandenreich with the expectation that she will bear him heirs to carry on the Von Brandt name and allow it maintain its lofty position among the noble families.
✵ Make a name for himself Apart from the reputation of his family, Alarik does have a desire to be known as an individual as well. In an ideal world, he will someday known as Alarik who also happens to be a Von Brandt rather than a Von Brandt who happens to be named Alarik
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Overall Personality:
"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night"
When most think of the Vandeneich, they likely think of powerful warriors granted fearsome powers by their glorious emperor. Zealots, blinded by religious devotion to a being that those who are not of the Vandenreich may even go so far as to doubt the holy and uncompromising radiance of the Emperor who birthed them. Alarik does not fit that stereotype, though he is no less steadfast in his faith because of it. He does not crave bloodshed, nor does he delight in the act of combat despite having a tremendous gift for both. Alarik has grown up surrounded by the finer things in life thanks to his standing as the heir to the Von Brandt family and this is apparent to anyone who sees or hears him as he is the quintessential representation of a noble.
Refined of speech, elegant in poise and measured in composure- Alarik was raised to be perfect. The perfect son, the perfect student, the perfect representative, the perfect soldier in the Emperors army. it is strange though, how the notion of perfection can differ so vastly between any two people. Linking back once more to the stereotype that the Vandenreich's enemies hold of them, the notion of a 'perfect soldier' would likely encompass blind devotion and a quick trigger finger in any potential confrontation. The Von Brandt family however hold a different philosophy in how they serve their emperor. A war of knowledge, a battle of charisma, victory through conversion. Alarik was raised not to kill his enemies, but to inspire them and show them another way. A better way. The Vandenreich way.
"Shoot for the Moon, because even if you miss you'll land amongst the stars"
As a representative of not only his family but also the Vandenreich as a whole, Alarik possesses the diplomatic nous to mingle with the entire spectrum of his peers from the living embodiment of the worst stereotypes through to those who exist at the opposite extreme. This is a key component of his personality as it is one of the ideals of the Von Brandt family - Unity. By accepting those around him as they are, or rather as they perceive themselves to be, it becomes that much easier to shape or nudge them when required. Whether that be calling in a favor or changing someone's perspective on any given matter, the underlying foundations are the same - trust, loyalty, patience and time. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will the final form of the Vandenreich empire.
Despite his flair for diplomacy, it goes without saying that as someone who pitied those who grew up with only a silver spoon that is not a perfect individual, not devoid of flaws. His noble bearing allows him to fit in perfectly with his peers from the other noble families, but to those of more mundane origins his wealth and privilege can work against him when it comes to interactions. In theory, Alarik is aware of how commoners live, but he cannot truly relate to someone who grew up with nothing.
But growing up in such a privileged environment is not all sunshine and rainbows, as there is no such thing as a free lunch and by that same token, there is a price to be paid- a debt owed, one might say- to the Von brandt family for all of the time, money and resources that went into rearing him. In short, from as early as he can remember, Alarik was under intense pressure to not only succeed, but to excel. He was expected to be the best at anything and everything he applied himself to - or was made to apply himself to as the case often went.
“If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask... with nothing beneath it?”
From academics to presentation and even the Quincy arts, there was never any room for error and certainly no leniency for failure. Alarik learned at a very young age what- or rather, who- he was expected to be and so, consciously or otherwise, he soon built up a persona that could carry the immense burden that his young shoulders had to bear. A persona bursting with supreme confidence, unbridled exuberance and effortless success. A persona that somewhere along the line became inseparable to who truly was, or at this point... who Alarik could have been. For not once in over 15 years has a crack appeared in the facade of Alarik Von Brandt, which begs the question... which is the lie? The mask, or his face?
Speaking of 'Alarik the Boy' rather than 'Alarik Von Brandt', perhaps the only aspect that remains of him can be seen in his peculiar fascination with the stars and everything he considers 'beautiful'. In his curriculum, there were a great many subjects jammed into his routine from as early as he was deemed fit to begin his education. History, English, German and half a dozen other languages besides in addition to Politics, Public Speaking, Debating, Archery, Geography, Programming, Law, Business Studies, Science, Religious Studies and more. Even buried beneath the expectation that he would learn all of these subjects to the level befitting a member of the heir to the Von Brandt family, he took on the additional burden of art, music and theater. Alarik was never forbidden from taking on extra hobbies, but the expectation was always the same - he would excel in any and every activity he chose to pursue and they would never get in the way or conflict with his core studies or responsibilities. As a result, there were many hobbies and areas of interest that fell by the wayside over the years, but his fascination with the Arts was always a constant.
Thus, in his quietest and most private moments Alarik can be found gazing at the stars, contemplating thoughts known only to himself and the Emperor and enjoying the fleeting moments where he doesn't have to be the incarnation of perfection. The stars themselves hold a position of envy and adoration in Alarik's heart. Envy because they're so far removed from the happenings of their world and adoration because of the dazzling beauty and boundless power that they possess. This fascination with the stars may also have some correlation with his weakness for shiny things and general fascination with aesthetic and abstract beauty. From the stars Alarik draws strength, wisdom, inspiration and reassurance in equal measure.
“Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great”
When it comes to those times where Alarik must face down a situation or opponent that cannot be reasoned with or converted, he will not shy away from doing what must be done in the name of both the Emperor and the greater good. Alarik does not relish the act of destruction, nor does he enjoy snuffing out the starlight within any creatures soul, but he knows where his allegiances lie and he knows that not everyone can be - or wish to be- saved from their own ignorance. Whether this be Humans, Shinigami or any of the myriad other factions they are all the same in the eyes of the Emperor.
He will not prolong the suffering of even the most heinous sinner. Instead, he will be sure to make their passing a thing of great beauty so that their souls may pass on in peace and without regret... and if they are fortunate enough to receive the Emperors blessing in their next life, then so much the better for them.