Application for MD

[dzintars]

CHARACTER INFORMATION

SERIES: Axis Powers Hetalia

NAME: Latvijas Republika (Republic of Latvia). His human name is Raivis Galante.

RACE: Personified nation.

AGE:
Centuries old or not, he remains 15 in looks and behavior. I understand that I will be unable to have this character engage in sexual acts within the game while he is underage.

CANON POINT: Hetalia Bloodbath 2010

REFERENCES: A wiki + a short profile + a look at modern Latvia

GENDER: Male, physically and mentally.

APPEARANCE:
Raivis is essentially a human-bodied landmass. He has a young, round face, and tends to have a flush in his cheeks over a thought he wishes he could rid himself of. At only a little over 4'5" tall, he's the shortest and youngest of the three Baltics. His hair is a sandy blonde with messy curls that behave enough not to sweep in his eyes, generally a violet color that fades into blue. His military uniform is maroon with epaulettes and boots that may slightly improve his height. In informal settings he continues to dress nicely. He has a number of sweaters, collared shirts often tied by a ribbon, and button vests that he'll wear comfortably. Recently he's taken a liking to hoodies with simple greetings on them. Though despite this welcoming attire he's often called a “shrinking violet” for a reason, as he's not fond of drawing unneeded attention to himself. He tends to shiver, and sometimes has bouts of nervous tremors severe enough to make him faint. Coupled with his overall smallness he's at once difficult and easy to overlook, depending on how attentive his company is.

PERSONALITY & HOUSE REQUESTS:
From what little of him in seen in canon, a number of things lie beneath Latvia's shivering surface. Particularly that, though Raivis Galante may not look it, he's not a boy without goals. As a nation, to do well in his efforts is essential for his stability and continued independence. But multiple times in his life, he's been taken under the control of older-bodied Nations before getting the opportunity to "grow up" himself, particularly in the 40's. At present he remains tiny, but he'd seem much taller if he hadn't had his growth literally repressed for so long at Russia's hand while they lived together. Losing control of his own home for many, sometimes difficult years at a time has left him anxious, sometimes even despondent. Mainly towards others who feel free to ignore him or continue to order him around. These feelings float beneath the surface of a nervous expression, and may manifest in unusual behavior, such as trying to stab an over-confident acquaintance with a flower, or in a quipped slip of his tongue towards a superior.

He's simply too little for his words to hold much weight, or rather that's the impression those who have taken him under their charge have had. He's an emotional young man, but seldom finds the opportunity to express what he really feels without being disregarded (or worse). Saying the wrong thing around Ivan in particular tends to result in something unfortunate, and Raivis has tried and failed to keep out of his reach, to live his own life. Raivis does his best to keep an agreeable face on as a precaution, though it's not always successful.

He's yet to abandon a sense of conviction that given the opportunity, he can do anything and have anything he wants. There's a competitiveness he harbors, as if he'd gladly see his obstacles gone. Not that he'd tell said obstacles. When his secrets get out he tends to react with sheer terror on his face. This withholding of his real thoughts on matters has developed into a slight stutter from his constant hesitation, and he's known to cry and shiver in his distress.

Latvia values traditions and his heritage, as many Slytherins may. His people continue to blend the old with the new in ways he speaks of with pride. He's celebrated centuries of festivals, many based on his land's natural beauty that remains largely intact. He enjoys beautiful things, especially if it's something of his own. Latvia's music culture is particularly strong, and he enjoys literature, happy to immerse himself in poetry or a good romance novel. It's noteworthy that without significant natural resources to fall back on, Latvia relies more on his intellectual strength than physical power. His choices are seldom devil-may-care, handled with much thought (even if what he comes up with is completely off the mark). Granted, his thoughts may get so deep he'll make himself nervous over the possibilities. He gets frightened most by what he remembers of prior knowledge, and his memory goes back hundreds of years. It's the difference that makes Slytherin supersede Ravenclaw in him, as Eagles less distracted by the old. And while he likes a good escape, whether literally or in a story, being shut off from those he cares about for long will not bring him peace.

He's the youngest after Eduard and Toris (Estonia and Lithuania). Moments of togetherness bring the trio comfort and security. Lithuania is the nurturer, supportive and responsible. Estonia is the levelheaded one, wise and fast to get to the bottom of things. It's no secret that Raivis is dependent on them both, easily bullied by Russia and still too shy to stand up for himself. But his relationship with his brothers has its share of communication barriers, after being split apart many years ago lead to the three of them to developing different cultures, interests, and ideas of what's best. He's wanted a closer relationship with Toris, but with so much of his attention and time held elsewhere, they've had to support each other in smaller ways. And though Eduard is usually the first to notice when Raivis is in peril, the real loyalty held between them sometimes appears strongest out of mutual benefit more than affection.

Raivis is capable of displaying much of what Hufflepuff may have greeted warmly as well. Though he has had the occasional break in this, he's got patience to see things through as long as he can, and he does his best to avoid conflict. He possesses traits of politeness and tolerance, without being overly formal or cold. As mentioned earlier, most of his aggression comes out Freudian slips, in line with a more Hufflepuff-like art of passive-aggressive methods to deal with anger. Raivis tries to keep things optimistic and peaceful, though given his luck he’s more likely to end up fretted over himself.

Raivis is a mighty stressed-out young man who tends to feel small as he looks. Finding himself unsuccessful in his efforts is a blow to his confidence, preventing him from trying again very quickly. Luck is not often on his side during his spontaneous decisions, so his trust and interest is sometimes difficult to gain. He's not always first to someone's rescue if he feels he’s better off staying away. He can give the impression that he's naive or even spineless, rare to disagree with someone bigger than himself, whether he believes in their words or not. Despite it all, he holds an underestimated amount of determination, and has had his share of accomplishments, if very quiet ones. He expresses personal victories with a smile rather than boastfulness. A quiet sort of satisfaction that suits someone in green and silver, or yellow and black alike.

He's observant and mindful of people and the circumstances around him, if the conclusions he makes are not always spot on. Being helpful is something he truly tries, such as when he offers to mentor Sealand as a "big brother", willing to console and listen to the boy during his zealous cries over the phone. If he feels he can comfort and share any happiness with his friends, he will. His family is even closer to his heart, and while their situation has looked miserable at times, he's never been one to turn his back to them. Though sometimes it means keeping an eye on his brothers from a safe distance. He has a careful brand of affection.

A combination of mainly Slytherin and Hufflepuff traits is one of delicate actions. At once Raivis is careful not to expose his true intentions without very good reason to, while wishing he needn't be so introverted in the first place. He'd hate to hurt anyone's feelings, because he also wants to be a good person in their eyes. Feeling both safe and appreciated are what he seeks most of all. It's his active perusal of it that brings Slytherin to the forefront for me, with Hufflepuff as the next best thing.

COMMUTER DETAILS: His commuter will be untapped.

POSITION: Student. He'd have difficulty being taken seriously otherwise.

ABILITIES & POWERS:
He's not indestructible, but just plain not dying counts as ability, hopefully. Along with exceeding human age by a few hundred years, he's been stretched beyond his limits, found his head caught in the mouth of a sheep, and he's been scared enough for his spirit to fly away, just to name a few unfortunate scenarios he's somehow been revived from.

He's also very good at holding his liquor despite his appearance, which could imply he has very strong tolerance for it. Rumor has it he can down forty cups of alcohol without a care, and it's referenced that he drinks often behind the scenes. Butterbeer might not cut it for the little guy, since it's possible drinking is Raivis' way of keeping his shivering under control.

WAND:
Little Latvija's wand is a pliant 10 inches long, made of Willow with a unicorn hair core. Hopefully the pairing will be to his benefit, as he does hold insecurities (and often injuries) the wood is known to gravitate to and heal. Latvia has clean rivers, and is a long-time "keystone" of the Baltic sea, his ports remaining an important link to others. Sorrow, dreams, intuition, romance; all are further attributes often associated with both Willow and water.  Returning to the core, unicorn hair will likely accept any ups and downs in his skill, and he can use a wand he can trust.

MISC.: Nothing!

WRITING SAMPLES

FIRST PERSON:
[Latvia is doing his best to practice a spell, and by the looks of it he's a little shaky. Trying to change the color of a piece of parchment, he's able to get it a few shades lighter... if you squint. He doesn't want to give up yet, apparently at this for a while, but he looks like he could burst into tears at any moment.]

I don't know why I get so nervous - i-it's only color changing! [Finally he does have to place his wand down, wringing his trembling hands as he addresses his commuter properly.] I'm still not used to any of these spells, really. And I c-can't always get the movements right... if I'm not careful I'm going to set something on fire, I know it.

[He hides his face in his hands, not about to cry over charms. Visibly.]

I could use some help....

THIRD PERSON:

As much as he wants to write a wonderful essay for Professor Snape, Raivis is having difficulty expression it well with a quill.

No matter how detailed or eloquent his description of Regerminating Potion is, here and there he's written so illegibly he has to strike lines through a good portion of what he's got, only to write it again.

He doesn't dare to count the blots of ink that litter the page the further down he goes. The first few were simply the result of him jotting so many thoughts down at speed. Finally, an essay on a draft he understands! But more and more the parchment grows messy and, after finally giving himself pause to read over what he's done so far, the less it satisfies him.

After he thinks he's made enough corrections in the margins to fix later, he does his best to write with more steadiness.

Difficult, when so worried about appearances. It begins to get his whole body shivering. He takes a deep breath after a second pause, wishing for a pot of tea and his older brother's computer. With handwriting as his only writing option, he's come to realize how little he's appreciated a good word processor the past few years.

His eldest brother may remind him how seldom he actually did use a computer at home... what he wouldn't do for Lietuva's encouragement.

There's an essay still left to write. To fail could lead to a bad grade. Or detention, which will mean a difficult night's sleep, he's sure. And if he doesn't get enough sleep, will it put a dent in his ability to study? What if he can't absorb something important? It could be dangerous in application, in need, it could alter his chances of surviving long enough to get out of here terribly -

No. No, no, no. He can't let fear tactics get to him now, especially when they've emerged from his own thoughts. He realizes he's cupped his face in his hands at some point in this inner turmoil, and he removes them to place his palms flat on his desk.

It's only an essay. He knows what he's talking about. He takes a clean sheet of parchment out of his bag, and begins to write a second draft, as carefully as his hand allows.