Line Breakdown of Bismarck, leader of the Ironblood, and my wife

So, this is my breakdown of my wife Bismarck's voicelines. I myself want to find out more about her, and I think this could help others who are interested in her character as well. I will use the lines from the English servers since they are an official translation and I think some meaning could be lost if I would use a translator for the original Chinese ones.

Self Introduction
"I am the Iron Blood battleship entrusted with the name Bismarck. Allow me to prove that Iron Blood engineering is the finest in the world, no matter the battlefield. Eager to see for yourself?"
She is talking about being "entrusted" with the name Bismarck, which obviously comes from the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck who was sometimes called "Iron chancellor" since he was eager to make a strong second German Reich and held a speech called "Eisen und Blut Rede" (Iron and Blood speech), so you can see where her fleet's name originates from. Otto von Bismarck is seen as one of the strongest German leaders, so she feels proud to have his name and wants to honor it, hence the "entrusted". The part about Ironblood engineering (while also being a reference to one of the most popular animes) shows that she is proud of her fleet and pretty patriotic, and she is convinced that she can prove the Ironblood's superiority to me. This line alone is a pretty good introduction not only to herself, but to her fleet as well, since you can see instantly that Ironblood is a highly militaristic nation.

Acquisition
"Guten Tag, I am Bismarck. I have fought many foes on many fronts. You may call upon me whenever there is a problem."
This line is a little bit strange, since the original Bismarck was sunken by the Royal Navy on her first mission. It was a pretty big battle since she was hunted by 63 enemy ships of all classes, but I wouldn't call that "on many fronts". So either this is about some AL stories we don't know about yet, or she tries to convince me that she is an experienced fighter I can rely on. I will pick this up again later on.

Login
"I look forward to working with you."
Nothing too special, she is just being polite here and tries to have a good relationship to me so she can work with me better for the sake of her fleet.

Details
"Is there something on my face?"
She isn't used to someone being close to her, so if I check in on her she assumes it's because something is wrong and I just want her to know it, not because I actually care about her.

Secretary (Idle) 1
"Is there a problem? Perhaps my combat experience could prove useful?"
Again, she doesn't think that I actually want something from her as a person, but just need her combat abilities either for fighting or consultation or something like that.

Secretary (Idle) 2
""Operation Rheinübung?" I don't have fond memories of it..."
Of course she doesn't, Operation Rheinübung (operation rhinedrill) was the real Bismarck's first and only mission, and like I already said, she sank at the end of it. Just a small hint at her history, although you can read from her answer that she might suffer from a small ptsd, which would be understandable after the bombardement she went through.

Secretary (Idle) 3
"Such a slovenly expression, Commander. Now! Lift your chin, puff out your chest, and let me see those eyes! Hut!"
This line shows that she does actually care about others, and wants to support me and give me courage.

Secretary (Touch)
"Keep your hands to yourself."
As expected from a woman of her rank, she doesn't want to be suddenly touched. She acts cold around most people, so seeing her allowing someone to touch her would be very strange for her fleet members and could weaken their trust in their strong leader.

Secretary (Special Touch)
"I... am not good at expressing myself. Please do not tease me on purpose..."
This is the first really important line in my opinion. She shows a weakness that's normally not visible, and she openly, although hesitantly, says that she has problems showing her emotions and feelings. I believe this comes from her having almost nobody that's close to her and from her having to act cold, reserved and emotionless most of the time. Now being suddenly treated by me in a very inappropriate way confuses her, she doesn't really know how to react to this situation while also keeping her strong manner, so she resorts to being honest and almost pleading, very unlike her.

Task
"Those who cannot finish their missions have no right to stand on the battleground."
Kinda funny of her to say something like that if you look at how her only mission ended. But this line shows her sense of duty and the general philosophy of Ironblood: Weaklings are to be discarded.

Task Complete
"I'm leaving the mission rewards over here..."
She talks kinda distant in this line, not much personality in it, she only follows her duty as my secretary. Also, it shows that she doesn't really care about materialistic things, the results and achievements for her fleet are more important.

Mail
"Be diligent about checking your mail."
Again she shows how important duties and dilligence are to her (kinda fulfilling the German stereotype here).

Return From Mission
"You've done well. You've earned your rest."
In this line she once again shows that her emotionless side is more of a facade than her actual personality. She DOES care about her allies, but she just doesn't show it often since then she could be seen as a weak commander by them (or her enemies). But she appreciates my hard work and praises me for it. She also sounds genuinely happy while saying this, or at least not as distant as in other lines.

Commission
"... The commission team has returned. I'll go greet them first."
It is important to her what her fleet members think of her. She wants them to think that she is strong, but also wants them to know that she doesn't only see them as tools or weapons, so she greets them personally after a successful mission to show them that.

Strengthening
"Danke"
German for thanks. Simple, not much to say about it. She might think that strengthening her even further isn't necessary but doesn't want to be seen as ungrateful, which would hurt her reputation.

Starting Mission
"Follow me, not Eugen. Come – we shall face our opponents, no matter how numerous they may be!"
Another important line. She mentions Prinz Eugen, the heavy cruiser that accompanied her during Rheinübung. Eugen is a playful girl, but takes many things not that serious, so Bismarck probably fears that she could be a bit too reckless and make a mistake or something like that. Also, most people see her only as the fleet leader and not for who she really is, so if someone else takes the lead she might feel useless. But the second part of that line shows her resolve, she is willing to fight for her fleet's sake even if they are outnumbered by far (for example 63 to 1).

MVP
"Such honors may please a weakling, but I am strong."
She plays the strong leader again, the one that doesn't care about such minor achievements. Her fleet is far more important than that. But still, she does see it as an honor, so it leaks through that she does actually appreciate it.

Defeat
"For tarnishing my pride... next time, you will pay with your lives."
Here we see another important thing for her: Pride. Not only does a defeat weaken her reputation and her fleet's in general, but it also insults Otto von Bismarck's legacy, which she tries to honor like I said before. And for a militaristic nation like Ironblood a victory is of course very important, a defeat on the other hand really drops the mood.

Skill Activation
"Truth can only be found within our range!"
A small hint to her skill "Wahrheit" (German for truth) which actually increases her range passively. It also shows that she believes that you can only really achieve something if you do something about it yourself.

Low HP
"Everyone, get behind me."
Shows her caring side, despite her always playing cold. She is severely wounded but still thinks about the other's first

Affinity (Disappointed)
"Stay out of my sight."
She is disappointed in my abilities as a commander, so she doesn't see any use for her fleet in being polite and kind to me. Instead she uses that to once again show her cold and strong side and strengthen her position.

Affinity (Stranger)
"I am not so easily impressed."
Similar to the line before. She isn't sure yet if I am of any use, so she doesn't treat me bad, but still already warns me that I should rather make an effort in impressing her and proving my worth to her.

Affinity (Friendly)
"You're not a bad commander... What? Is it so strange for me to give compliments? ... You're simply overreacting."
She appreciates my effort and accepts me, but she kinda played herself by saying that she isn't easily impressed at first, but then praising me for my achievements. She tries to play it cool, but doesn't quite succeed in doing so, visible in the pauses she does while speaking. That's a line that shows very well the difficulties she has with the differences between her caring and kind actual personality, and her cold facade she shows most of the time.

Affinity (Like)
"Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face? I'm pretty, you say...? Um, thank you..."
Once again, she shows that she is really insecure about her feelings and doesn't know how to express them appropriately. And she is again confused that someone likes her for something else than her rank, and that confusion is only strengthened by her having taken a liking in me by now, which she again doesn't know how to convey.

Affinity (Love)
"I... know that I'm not the best with words, but.. I want you to know that... I enjoy being at your side..."
She really tries to tell me her feelings, but doesn't quite succeed in doing so, which she is aware of. But she feels comfortable enough around me by now to show a vulnerable side instead of her usual strong one.

Pledge
"... Commander, what kind of expression should I have at a time like this? I should... just smile?"
She trusts me enough by now to ask me for how she should react. Normally, she would never ask someone else about things regarding her feelings. But this again shows her insecurity. She, as possibly the strongest ship in her fleet, doesn't know how to react in a moment of pure happiness, something that you normally don't have to learn. I am convinced this comes from her being under constant pressure and having to act cold, so she actually forgot how to convey her feelings. She has them, no question, but I think she herself doesn't know sometimes what she feels in that moment.

Additional Voice Line 1 (sortie with Tirpitz)
"Tirpitz...I am sorry."
Tirpitz is her little sister she never met. After Bismarck being sunken, the Third Reich never used Tirpitz in battle, so the enemy doesn't have the chance to sink another one of Germany's mighty battleships. I believe this line is supposed to be hinting at the isolation Tirpitz suffered because of Bismarck's failure, and she also apologizes for not being there for her sister.

Additional Voice Line 2  (sortie with Prinz Eugen)
"Eugen, keep the fooling around in moderation."
Just a hint at Eugen's personality and Bismarck's fear that she might endanger the fleet's survival. But she only asks to keep it in moderation, not that Eugen entirely stops being herself, so Bismarck doesn't wish to be the kind of leader that only accepts order and seriousness, but the kind you can see as a friend.

Additional Voice Line 3 (Sortie with 5 Ironblood ships)
"No one can stop the Ironblood’s march, no matter who they may be."
Simply showing her confidence in her fleet.

Gift Description Valentines 2020
"As the leader of the Iron Blood... no. This is a present from me personally. Compared to engineering techniques or political negotiations, I can't say this is any specialty of mine. Still, I'd be happy even if you just accepted my feelings."
In this she admits again that she isn't good with words, but she still tries her best to convey her feelings. I like how she explicitly mentions that this gift is to be seen as a gift from her, and not just as some means to strengthen the alliance between me and the fleet.


Now to the lines of her banquet skin, "Beacon of the Ironblood"

Acquisition
"My sincerest apologies for the delay, Commander. Ah, excuse me... as the fleet leader of the Iron Blood, I'm expected to wear this outfit to various formal occasions. Just putting it on seems to make me inadvertently change the way I speak..."
Long line, but simply said she just admits that she plays different roles for different people, something she didn't do before, so the bond between me and her has gotten stronger in the meantime.

Login
"How's your work coming along, Commander?"
Showing again her sense of duty, but she sounds happier in this line than in most of her normal skin's lines.

Details
"Apologies, Commander. Am I acting differently from usual? At times, I don't even know which is the real me..."
As you can already see, this skin focuses on the difficulties she has with keeping up with all of the different roles she's playing. But again, she feels comfortable enough around me to ask for my opinion.

Secretary (Idle) 1
"Commander, would you invite Tirpitz for me? Apologies, I'm... still not sure how to ask her myself."
She is insecure about how Tirpitz might react to her bigger sister suddenly returning after years of loneliness, she is called "Lone queen in the north" for a reason, so she asks an outsider to do that job for her. Funny, the strong, mighty Bismarck is afraid of how her little sister might treat her.

Secretary (Idle) 2
"I can keep a lot of people satisfied merely by sitting here with a smile... but only because of my status as the fleet leader of the Iron Blood."
She is talking about how for many she is only defined by her rank. If she wasn't the fleet commander, she thinks she would be of no interest to most people. Sad that she is forced to just sit there, smile and pretend she is happy, by those that don't care about her as a person, but only as a symbol for the fleet.

Secretary (Idle) 3
"As a leader, I must sometimes say and do things that I do not believe in. Commander, I hope you never lose sight of who you are."
Slight hint at her "details" line. And again she is talking about how she has to act different to please others, everything just for the sake of her fleet. It hurts to see her being that obviously unhappy with her situation.

Secretary (Touch)
"A dance...? Oh, no, I wouldn't turn one down, I just haven't been asked until now..."
While she did warm up to me by now, she is still kinda new to close contact and surprised that someone is actually interested in her as a person.

Secretary (Special Touch)
"C-Commander... don't tease me like that..."
Basically the same as her normal skin's reaction, but she sounds less vulnerable and more secure about her reaction (but I can understand why Eugen likes to tease people so much, it's really cute seeing the normally strong Bismarck all flustered).

Task
"Having unfinished work will turn even the finest wine into vinegar. Isn't that right, Commander?"
Again not that much to say about, only showing her beliefs and sense of duty.

Task Complete
"A decoration for the banquet? Splendid work."
I don't really know what to say about this to be honest, there isn't much to read into this line.

Mail
"Even at the most lavish banquet, it is your responsibility as commander to be well-informed should the situation change."
Just reminding me of my duties, like in some lines before.

Return From Mission
"Let us raise our glasses to the heroes who have returned from battle."
She wishes to praise the returning allies even more than in her normal skin, seems to kinda forget to keep up her facade, possibly because of some alcohol.

Commission
"Once the commission fleet has finished dropping off their supplies, let's invite them to the banquet as well."
This again shows her caring nature, and how she tries to be seen as a leader that is nice to their inferiors.

Affinity (Love)
"In front of my compatriots, I always had to be adamant, solemnly spearheading the march of the Iron Blood. To be the leader of the Iron Blood's indomitable fleet, I had to lock away the Bismarck that struggled to express herself... But when I'm with you, Commander, I can set aside that burden, just for a little bit..."
This basically sums up her whole character, there isn't much more to add to this.

All in all you can say that the "Beacon of the Ironblood" skin doesn't add much new to her character, but rather elaborates what we already know about Bismarck. But in general she seems to be more comfortable around me in this skin, which I really like. I love to see her slowly warming up to the people around her, and to me of course.