I suppose this was inspired by Sunny-Blue-Sky. I was searching for something that described them, because if you look at my other fics, there's always one word that the stories revolve around. I decided on "illumination," and searched up some photography references that I thought made very good metaphors ^_^
Reviews, as always, are appreciated.
If his life was a portrait, Lithuania mused, in photographic terms; it would have a four-point setup. The concept was simple – to give depth to a subject, four lights were placed in strategic positions around it – a key light, a background light, a fill light, and a back light. It was so symbolic, Lithuania thought. It was obvious to him; each of the lights stood for a person in his life. Russia – even in his mind, Lithuania spat the word out like it was poisonous – was the background light, a constant worry in the back of his mind, looming over him venomously, never quite disappearing. Russia off-set the fragile balance of the picture, bringing in elements that the viewer would never have noticed otherwise, drawing the focus away from Lithuania – covering him up, like he always did. Estonia was the back light – with the addition of a reflector, he could challenge even Russia's brightness, bringing depth and meaning to the portrait. Estonia's light mixed with Latvia's, the fill light. Though small, he still illuminated so much, brightening their portrait so much – the boy could still find innocent happiness in the world, and Estonia and Lithuania tried to make sure it stayed that way, taking the beatings for him and shielding him from Russia, with mixed results.
Then of course, there was the key light.
The key light, Lithuania mused, was Poland. Akin to a spotlight, Poland's light made sure that Lithuania was noticed, speaking up for him when no one else dared. Poland always illuminated a room so beautifully, both mentally and physically. When Poland talked, the atmosphere in a room always seemed to lighten – of course, most of what he said was nonsense, so Lithuania never paid much attention to it – but maybe, that clueless expression he always put on was just a mask. Poland was a phoenix, rising from the ashes. Partition after partition, Poland had always recovered and struck back, not caring who he was up against. Poland had more scars than Lithuania, and sometimes, Poland woke in the middle of the night to nightmares that rivaled Lithuania's. But most importantly, Lithuania loved him, as illogical as it sounded. Lithuania knew though, Poland, on the inside was smart and cunning – the ditzy mask was just a barrier put up – for what purpose, though, Lithuania didn't know. What he did know, however, was that under all the masks and lies and barriers was a past even darker that Lithuania's – and maybe, Lithuania could illuminate it.
Just maybe.