006. Seeing Red (In which South Korea finds that his floors need cleaning)
Blood seems to be a recurring motif. For one, blood was what ran in the river, it was what millions of Koreans bled each day under Japan, and it was what Japan himself was hacking up right now. Pleasant day.
South Korea took a step back from the stains all over the wooden floor. It didn't matter, especially considering how he was already grimy and filthy. But South Korea didn't want any trace of his tyrant on him.
Even so, the sight of said tyrant ruining the shiny wooden floor with his insides was a little disturbing.
South Korea couldn't even laugh harshly like he had fantasized about constantly for the last few decades. Instead, he could only blankly look down at the former 'great' empire, trying to even his breath. He slowly turned to glance at his twin.
At least one of them, still had the capacity to express their shared feelings of disgust and grim triumph. North sneered at the mess on the ground, despite he himself not looking much better.
South thought back. In their youth, North had always been the timid one, shy and not terribly expressive. It took a lot to push him across the line to genuine hatred.
And Japan had shoved him over that line to off the cliff. North had become much more vocal and expressive than South had (and could) ever been about the detestation he had for the island nation. Even if it meant hours of torturous punishment, no one (much to South Korea's dismay and worry) could silence North.
That was just another reason on the mountain of hatred South kept inside of him.
"You've fallen from your gods' favor, I suppose. Where are your fellow Axis members?" North gave pause, with an almost sadistic smile.
"Shut it you savages. You degenerates are all the same, staring at me like fish staring into nothing!" Japan was obviously in a lot a pain as he hissed out these words. Still so, so proud, even in obvious defeat. "Leave me to be before I chop off your limbs again!"
Japan's face had always been emotionlessly haughty and contemptful, but it was melting into a grotesque amalgamation of fury and vehemence before them. It was ugly, no doubt about it, but South couldn't lie. He enjoyed seeing the exterior of the man finally matching his interior: heinous, vile, and filthy.
North leaned in close to the face of the shorter man. "I hope when your American devils come to you, they kill you before you can kill yourself, you disgrace of a nation."
A deafening slap echoed through the room.
North's nose was bleeding profusely but other than quick swipe of his had, he paid no heed to his injury. This was far from the worst thing he'd suffered.
"Your empire's 'light' will be nothing but a stain on our history." He spat out. "I will never let you rest easy, even in death."
He gave Japan a final look, before he grabbed South's hand and strode off, away from the monster that had made their lives hell.
007. Health and Healing (In which Seychelles ends up knowing more about than anyone)
"Why don't you smile often?"
Cameroon looked up, a surprised expression on his typically stoic face. "What do you mean?" He frowned, only proving Seychelles's point further.
Seychelles huffed a little bit, looking accidentally adorable. "Don't give me that. I may be young compared to you, but I'm not stupid. Tell me, why do you never smile?"
Cameroon had to take a moment to mull the question over. She had a point. He distinctly remembered several nations being shocked when he first smiled around them.
It wasn't that he didn't like smiling, it was just that... well, there wasn't very much to smile about. He was lucky, of course. He wasn't embroiled in a civil war, suffering from an epidemic, etc. But he had his own issues as well, corruption, terrorists, and AIDS.
He inhaled.
"Seychelles... to be honest, I don't know if I can or even should smile. You know that I have many problems. But you're an island nation, you don't have to worry about attacks or clashes because everyone will leave you alone. That isn't the same for me." His eyes dimmed a little bit as he remembered.
"I'm not sure if I can smile without my nagging worries and guilt when there's so much that I have to figure out. Maybe I can finally rest and grin easily when you and I live in the better tomorrow."
"Whenever that'll be." He leaned back and couldn't help a scowl. "I don't deserve to grin easy when people are suffering and I can't do enough about it."
She blinked at him, then shook her head.
She pinched the edges of his mouth with her petite fingers and lifted the edges into an odd looking smile.
"...You dumb old lion. I've had my fair share of wars too. But I think smiling in the darkest of times is when you need it the most. Don't wait for tomorrow. Enjoy your happiness before it's gone, you know."
And Cameroon couldn't help gently smiling because he knew she was right in the end.
008. A Moment in Time (In which the perfect thing to say was said a little too late)
It was nice night, Bangladesh decided. One of the best things about world meetings was the scenic locales they often took place at. No one could deny the beauty of the city currently hosting the conference.
No one could deny the spasming of Bangladesh's muscles when hotel roommate, India, violently kicked off his blanket, sat up, and screamed, "Oh yeah!? If you're so busy getting laid maybe you should stop touching yourself every night then!" either. India blinked before squinting at Bangladesh.
"What was that all about?!" Bangladesh managed to screech to him.
India blinked again, before he looked around, and then proceeded to slap his forehead loudly.
"I just came up with the perfect comeback."
Bangladesh raised an eyebrow.
"To someone who's been dead for millennia."
Bangladesh sighed irritably. "I think you're going senile, old man."
009. Innocence (In which a girl talks to a seagull)
"Hey Seychelles!" The seagull waved a wing at the skipping human. "How was your trip to the mainland?"
"Hey there!" She hugged her animal companion tightly. "It was fantastic! Besides the whole tourism promotion thing, I got to hang out with everybody! That was the best part."
She took a seat next to the avian, swinging her feet back and forth.
"I ran with Kenya, cooked with Uganda, read with Cameroon, and lots more! I always love visiting them." She sighed contentedly. "It seemed like they all really needed a break from their work and I was just what the doctor ordered!"
"That's only because you have barely any work compared to theirs." The seagull pecked at her elbow and Seychelles sheepishly flicked the bird's beak away.
"Mmmm… They really do see you as family, huh?" Seychelles nodded happily, and the bird rubbed its head on her hand.
"But I wonder…" The seagull trailed off. "Do they only treat you so warmly because they don't even see you as a nation?"
Seychelles' bright smile dropped off immediately, and it was like the sun had disappeared from the sky.
"O-oh! Sorry, was that rude?" The seagull nervously flapped its wings.
"No, no, you got a point." Seychelles's eyes trailed down to the ground as she traced circles in the sand. "You do, after all, represent my thoughts and doubts. It is what you're supposed to do."
She took a breath in, looking gloomy. "I… know that the main reason so many countries treat me like a little sibling is because of my 'innocence.' Or rather, my weakness."
Her eyes lost any remaining light at this.
"They know I pose little threat. I hate that fact quite a bit." She chuckled at this, sounding a bit bitter, "Of course I want to be treated as an equal. Yet at the same time…"
She closed her eyes as she mournfully smiled. "They see me as someone who has no self interest. To them, I am the closest they can get to real, unconditional human love. For that, I am glad that I can be just a little sister to them. Because I know that so many of us wish only for the mundane things in human lives. I am glad that I can at least give them this simple act of love and be reciprocated. Even if I wish I was more, the least I can do is give thanks for what I can do now."
The seagull stared. "That was deep."
A tiny grin appeared on Seychelles's face. "Thanks, I like to think that I get it from Ethiopia."
010. Future (In which a street urchin finds out what's in store for him)
Israel was born from the crowded streets and alleys of early 20th century Jerusalem. He was little more than a particularly aggressive street child. Nobody knew how he got here, who got him here, and how long he had been there, but that didn't matter. What did matter was his strange aptitude for the happenings of Israel, his unusual strength, his eternally youthful looks as those around him changed.
Judaism didn't believe in evil spirits, but he was quite sure several rabbis he met were willing to make an exception for him.
By the time he met another nation besides him, he was quite used to people poking at him and declaring him deviant. So when England and Palestine did pretty much that, he did what life had trained him to do. He turned, and ran the fuck away.
England behaved like most who found themselves eating his dust. He swore angrily, shaking his fist. What he did do that was out of place for most of Israel's pursuers was catch up to him.
He grabbed him by the collar, holding the furious child, who was trying to spit on him. Palestine, ironically, played the gentle parent, speaking to him in soft words. They were confused by his aura, one that only nations possessed, and brought him into a house with more luxury and comfort than Israel had ever seen.
Palestine loved kids. He started to stroke Israel's hair, before stopping, realizing his mistake. "O-oh, sorry, it's a habit, I'll stop that-"
"No. Keep doing it." Israel petulantly leaned his head back on Palestine's chest, as timid fingers began combing through his messy locks again. As much as Israel wanted out of the strange house and back to the outside, he couldn't deny that the sensation was nice.
England was pacing, murmuring about auras and whatnot. As much as Palestine didn't want to agree with the frighteningly thick-browed man, he too felt an unusual air around these two men. Something akin to kinship, but also hesitation. Potential.
But as England told Palestine that the child was possibly the personification of the Jewish settlers, Israel couldn't help but become uneasy at how the nation's face twisted and contorted.
But it faded and the country swallowed something in his throat, looking in pain. He continued moving his hand across Israel's knotted hair and quietly murmured, "In another life, we could have been friends, family. If that is his true identity, then this child and I are doomed to be enemies for eternity."
Six: I am referring towards the Japanese Occupation of Korea, quite possibly one of the most brutal and oppressive periods in Korea. Not only was there use of Korean women as sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers, executions and kidnappings of the Korean people were common. They also banned the Korean language and forced many Koreans to take on japanese names. In the date of here, the atomic bombs had not yet dropped, but victory in Europe was already achieved. Japan is pretty roughed up here, thanks to malnutrition and the fire bombings of Japan.
Nine: Seychelles relatively young compared to her East African and French African siblings. Most of them were just representations of local groups or city states until they suddenly got catapulted into representing the colony. Seychelles didn't even exist until France decided to take up shop in the islands. There's also the fact that she is relatively stunted in physical growth due to lack of political or economic power.
I headcanon that the animal companions nations tend to keep around them are just physical manifestations of their thoughts, etc, since being a nation could be very discordant and chaotic at times, with all those people rattling about in your head.
Ten: This is how Israel was discovered as a nation. Before the whole thing, Arthur tells Palestine that with all the Jewish patriotism and settlements, some baby nation is bound to pop up, representing the rebirthed Israel. Palestine doesn't really find this assuring, considering how some Zionist leaders could be very... impolite about the fate of Palestinian Arabs under the state of Israel. (Read: Assimilation and absorption in Jewish culture) Anyway, sometime later, Arthur decides to go walking with Palestine around Jerusalem so he could scope out the area before he took it from the Ottomans and somehow they end up finding the new baby nation. I think this takes place a wee bit after the Second Aliyah, or the second mass migration of Jews, like 1904 ish. Oh yea, it is true abt the Judaism and evil spirits. While there have been Jews who believed in evil spirits, this belief tends to be very peripheral.
I think "frighteningly thick browed" is the most accurate thing I have written about Arthur, the nation of England