| May 2, 2012 14:37:25 GMT -5 |
Post by Alina "Bern" Zinsli on May 2, 2012 14:37:25 GMT -5
Alina Bern Zinsli
You'll never take me alive
Do what it takes to survive
And I'm still here
You'll never take me alive
Do what it takes to survive
And I'm still here
I Feel Like We're Summoning The Devil
Nickname/Alias: Allie, Lina, Bern
Gender: Female
Character Type: Capital
Country or Country of Origin: Switzerland
Canon or Original: Original
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When I look into all of your stupid faces
I think how fun it will be to pound them into dust
Hair: Platinum blonde
Height and Weight: 5'6, 120lbs
Other Distinguishing Features: She tends to wear a large, often navy coloured, bow in her mop of platinum hair, straightened to perfection the majority of the time
Overall Appearance:
A slight, petite woman, Alina is easily overlooked in a crowd due to her outer appearance and reclusive attitude. Preferring to wear light clothing of a range of neutral tones that won't stand out in a crowd, alongside unusually youthful features, she easily retains the appearance of a child despite her age, as opposed to her mature outlook on life in general, thus adding to a certain air of implied innocence that seems to surround her despite the subtle, leather bound blades that she favours of all accessories, possibly even moree so than that bow of hers. That said, she is no stereotypical damsel in distress, as they are not simply for show, being a surprisingly skilled fighter in long and short range combat, when the situation demands it of her. Still, she has become somewhat attached to them over the years, and despite not having any use for them, (her country having been neutral for many years) she couldn't bear to be without them, much like Vash with his guns, although she carries them on her person also for a form of reassurance, in a sense, that her lack of confidence in herself won't otherwise allow her.
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Man up or I'll beat you with my peace prize!
-Her twin blades
-Politics; after all, what could be more interesting than current affairs?
-Solitude, to an extent
-The Visual Arts; namely portraiture or simply paintings in general, albeit one of her own ameteur attempts, or a masterpiece in a galllery
-Reading
-Gardening; something of a hobby of hers. It isn't unusual to catch her up in the mountains, collecting, or simply admiring, wildflowers on a summer's day
-Vash; she has a sort of overwhelming sense of respect and devotion to the man
-Work, and generally being of as much use to her beloved nation as possible
-Generally spending time with Vash and Lili, whenever she can
Dislikes:
-Loud, obnoxious individuals
-Being interrupted from her work/whatever she might be doing
-Jokes, or childish references to, her height, timid behaviour or anything else about her that could be considered to be unusual
-Finding herself unable to speak to people without avoiding eye contact or speaking so quietly that she is barely coherent
-Ignorance
-Being without work; there's always something that needs to be done, after all...
-Her inability to play any form of instrument
Strengths:
-Skilled tactician
-The ability to appear to keep her temper, although she still has her occassional outbursts
-
-Gardening
-Creativity; in terms of art and whatnot
-Extreme punctuality
Weaknesses:
-Fixation with cleanliness; There's a reason thst her city contributes to keeping the nation spotlessly clean, this being the fact that she will more often than not be found vigerously cleaning her home and the neighbouring area, liking to keep everything arranged just so.
-A habit partly taken on by France during the occupation of French troops in 1798, she seems to have a problem with saving money herself, although she understands how essential it is that people in general are frugal with money.
-Rules orientated; Tends to find those who stray from said rules to be irritating, or at times insufferable. She will initially look down upon a person, if only from a small height, if she believes them to have contrasting beliefs to her own on the matter.
-Her generally shy behaviour
-Lack of ability to speak to strangers with confidence
-Can be seen as reclusive, despite her attempts to 'mingle.'
Fears:
-Conflict; Switzerland being a neutral nation, and despite her surprising skill with her twin blades, Alina strongly believes that, "every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed," and as a result sees it as, if Switzerland was to once again go to war, the potential downfall of her beloved nation.
-Cuckoo clocks; A rather irrational fear, she knows, although the constant ticking tends to keep her on edge, the loud "cuc-koo" that sounds every hour never ceasing to make her jump.
-Solitude; She acknowledges that her reclusive behaviour is a problem, although due to her shy attitude finds it difficult to interact with others, and ultimately to make new friends. She feels a certain sense of urgency to do so, however, in order to avoid people thinking that she is unsociable, and to therefore let her be, leaving her alone for the rest of her prolonged life.
Secrets:
-She seems to have a fondness for Vash that far exceeds the boundaries of 'friendship,' or so to speak.
-Despite her fear of it, a small part of her does miss the days in which she would set off to battle, sword in hand, alongside her nation and his allies.
-Likes to think of Vash and Lili as members of her little 'family,'
Any Quirks/Habits:
-When stressed or worried, she has a tendency to eat considerable amounts of chocolate, and at times large quantities of Swiss cheese
-She will almost never fail to carry her fairly small blades around on her back, as although she has little or no intention of using them against others, she finds that in terms of building her confidence, they provide her with a sense of reassurance that she wouldn't otherwise feel that she has
Overall Personality:
If you're looking for the girl whose going to jump into action at a moment's notice, you might want to go and look for someone else. Alina certainly isn't going to be the girl you want to find. She isn't exactly the type of girl whose comfortable with every single person she meets, and certainly won't be the one jumping up to speak to you immediately. No, she's more the type to hang back in a crowd, the one who is normally off on her own and seemingly prefers to just keep away from people, whereas in reality, she will often find herself standing on the outskirts of a crowd, willing somebody to acknowledge and come speak to her, as she finds herself the majority of the time without the confidence to approach them herself. Yes, Alina is the quiet, awkward, shy girl that many people often don't bother with. But that's perfectly fine with her, because she isn't one to care all to much about people ignoring her the majority of the time, and she prefers to be on her own as it is.
Under the shell she hides in though, she is a rather sweet girl. She's kind, caring for others and has learned over the years to appreciate what one has. After all, you never know when you could lose it. She'd be the friend that, if one needed support, she would be there right along with them, a shoulder to cry on. But the people she'd do this for are few due to her shy nature. She doesn't seem to think that she has many friends, for often times she is found as strange, and there even a few people that will, at times, make fun of her for her apparent disability to speak to acquaintances. And it is for these reasons that she isn't always particularly trusting of others, either.
She very successfully seems able to be the most polite thing alive, whilst simultaneously being an almost regally proud figure, due to her possessing a maturity that isn't uncommon consaidering her age, although surprises most as a result of her youthful appearance. She seems to have the ability to remain calm and somewhat above the shenanigans going on around her, simply rejecting it from existence where possible, and when not, depending on the situation, she has been known to attempt to join in. This does tend to make her seem as if she has a stick up her ass though, which in effect tends to put people off wanting to be particularly close to her.
People would think that because she's shy, Alina would be no threat to anyone, no matter what the circumstances were. But in truth, she can become an entirely different person when angered or upset. When she trains herself she almost goes into this state where, well, she's not exactly herself anymore. She becomes more of a calculated person, quiet and composed, dangerous even. She has a way of making others feel badly about themselves without her initially intending them to, more often than not showing again without intending to that she knows how to charm and persuade others in a way that could be considered as borderline passive-agressive. Alina often displays a form of non-verbal aggression when angry or upset that, without intending to, manifests into negative behavior. Such as when she is angry with someone but do not or cannot tell them. Instead of communicating honestly when she feels upset, annoyed, irritated or disappointed she may instead bottle the feelings up, shut off verbally, give angry looks, make obvious changes in behaviour, be obstructive, sulky or put up a stone wall. IN such circumstances, she will indirectly resist requests from others by evading or creating confusion around the issue. Not going along with things. It can either be concealed and hidden, or blatant and obvious, depending on the situation.
But anger, well, that isn't something that shows itself too much. It takes a lot to get her angry since she tends to be extremely level-headed, although whenever she does become angry, it's not always a nice scene, and she will, a lot of the time, feel ashamed of herself afterwards.
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I'm the hero!
EARLY HISTORY
The earliest evidence of human settlements in the Aare valley dates back to the Neolithic period. However, the earliest known settlement in the area of the city of Bern was on the Engehalbinsel to the north of the later city. This late La Tène culture settlement was founded around 300 to 200 BCE and fortified in the 2nd century BCE. It is thought to have been one of the twelve oppida of the Helvetii mentioned by Caesar. In addition to the Engehalbinsel there were La Tène settlements in the Breitenrain, Kirchenfeld and Mattenhof districts as well as at Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, some 4 km (2.5 mi) from the medieval city.
Medieval foundation of Bern
The history of the city of Bern proper begins when Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen founded the city in the late 12th century - 1191 being the official date. At that time, much of today's Switzerland (then considered part of southern Burgundy) was under the authority of the house of Zähringen. The Zähringer leaders, although with no actual duchy of their own, were styled dukes by decree of the German king and exercised imperial power south of the Rhine. To establish their position there, they founded or expanded numerous settlements, including Fribourg (in 1157), Bern, Burgdorf and Morat.
During the second half of the 12th century, Berchtold IV of Zähringen built a small castle at Nydegg on the eastern part of the peninsula to guard the Aare river. The castle stood on the border between the German-speaking Alamannians and the French-speaking Burgundians. Whether there was already a settlement there when the castle was built or if the town was first founded near the castle in 1191 by Berthold V and the extent of the first town are all debated.
Old Swiss Confederacy
In 1323 Bern entered an alliance with the Forest Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. As Bern continued to expand during the early 14th century, they came into conflict with the Burgundian and Habsburg supported feudal lords and the neighboring city of Fribourg. In 1339 the feudal lords, in league with Fribourg, created a combined force of 17,000 men, including 1000 feudal heavy cavalry under the command of Rudolf von Nidau and Gérard de Valengin. While the cavalry were a powerful force, much of the infantry, with the exception of the Fribourg contingent, were poorly equipped and motivated. Bern requested support from their Swiss Confederation allies and was able to raise a force of 6,000 from Bern, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, and other allies.
At its founding, the city is estimated to have had some 400 to 600 inhabitants, which grew to 3,000 by about 1300. During the city's rapid growth in the 13th century, the older castle of Nydegg around which the early settlement was built, was demolished, the Aare slopes fortified and the layout of today's Old Town established. The strong Neustadt fortifications, which closed off the peninsula, formed the limit for the city's growth up until the 19th century.
The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare. Initially, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345, which, in turn, was then succeeded by the Christoffelturm (located close to today's train station) until 1622. During the time of the Thirty Years' War two new fortifications, the so-called big and small Schanze (entrenchment), were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula.
After a major blaze in 1405, the original wooden buildings were gradually replaced by half-timbered houses and later the sandstone buildings that came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite the waves of pestilence that hit Europe in the 14th century, the city continued to grow mainly due to immigration from the surrounding countryside.[2]
As Bern was not situated at any of the major trading routes, agriculture quickly became of principal economic importance and remained so throughout Bernese history. Tannery also became an important industry, and leather goods one of Bern's main exports. In the 14th century, as the importance of European commerce began to rise, numerous wealthy trading families emerged as the city's aristocracy. They mainly turned to government and mercenary service in the 15th century, though, and trade stagnated as the city's autocratic rule over the countryside strengthened. Bernese commerce and crafts, organised in guilds, bloomed in the 16th and 17th century, with Bernese glass paintings being especially in demand across Europe.
Modern history
Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. The Bernese Oberland was stripped away to become the Canton of Oberland. Within the new canton, historic borders and traditional rights were not considered. As there had been no previous separatist feeling amongst the conservative population, there was little enthusiasm for the new order. The 1801 Malmaison Constitution proposed reuniting the Oberland with Bern, but it was not until the Act of Mediation, two years later, with the abolition of the Helvetic Republic and the partial restoration of the ancien régime, that the two cantons were reunited.
Following the Congress of Vienna of 1814 newly acquired the Bernese Jura, once again becoming the largest canton of the confederacy as it stood during the Restoration, and further until the secession of the canton of Jura in 1979. In 1848 Bern was made the Federal City (seat of the Federal Assembly) of the new Swiss federal state.
A number of congresses of the socialist First and Second Internationals were held in Bern, particularly during World War I when Switzerland was neutral; see Bern International.
The city's population rose from about 5,000 in the 15th century to about 12,000 by 1800 and to above 60,000 by 1900, passing the 100,000 mark during the 1920s. Population peaked during the 1960s at 165,000, and has since decreased slightly, to below 130,000 by 2000. As of 31 December 2009, resident population was at 130,289 of which 101,627 were Swiss citizens and 28,662 (22%) resident foreigners. Another estimated 350,000 people live in the immediate urban agglomeration.
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You've got it backwards! Backwards!
Hurry up and throw it! If you don't hurry up and throw it, you'll go "boom"!
Check out my homies, yo! They're awesome!
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I Summon thee from far away lands, come forth!
You called?
Timezone: GMT+0
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