Italia Veneziano - one shot
Blank space. A chibi version of the teen Italia in his iconic attire pops up in the middle of the frame. "Hello there Italy" the narrator says sweetly. "Uh, a pretty female voice. Ciao, ciao disembodied lady" Italy replies delighted.
"Thank you" the narrator continues. "Italy was so kind to play a guessing game with us today" she says to which Italy does the 'okay' gesture with his hands.
"Okay then, let's start. What is the most influential conqueror from Italy?" The little boy opens his mouth excited. "And no. Romans don't count" she interrupts to which he starts to ponder.
"Is it Napoléon Bonaparte? He's from Corsica so..." he starts. "Um, no. The answer is not that straightforward. Try again" the narrator replies.
The teen crosses his arms. A light-bulb appears above his head. "I know. Chirtopho Columbo. He discovered Central and South America which lead to their colonization, so technically..."
"I'm sorry, but you are on the wrong track. I'll give you a hint. It doesn't have to be a person" the narrator continues.
Italy sits down in the Thinking Man pose. He suddenly gasps: "Maybe my merchants who travelled all over the world..."
"No"
"The nobility who through marriages influenced most European monarchies?"
"Not even close."
Italy is becoming irritated: "In that case, the artists of the Renaissance! All the painters, sculptors and poets like Leonardo Da Vinci..."
"Nope" the narrator interrupts.
"Then it must be religion! Yes, that must be it. All the Italian Popes, like Pope Innocent III that shaped the history of Europe and the World" the teen start frantically shaking his arms excited.
The narrator is quiet. Th teen nervously stares as the frame zooms in on his tense expression.
"Sorry but no." The narrator's words, although spoken in a normal tone, strike the young nation like a wave and he falls down with his tiny feet in the air.
"Alright, I give up. What is the greatest conqueror from Italy" he stands up with a giant vein popping from his temple making the WTF gesture with his hands*. {The name of all gestures is typed above in the moment of use}
The narrator is quiet. After a few seconds a giant theatre stage with closed curtains falls in the background.
Italy turns, looking at it confused. The curtain opens and we see his little face light up. He makes an 'I can't believe it' gesture while smiling.
Next scene: The frame shows us the stage. We see a pair of house open-toed slippers. As the frame moves up, we see a long dress, apron and a pair of hands holding a wooden spoon. The frame stops at an elder pleasant looking woman's with her hair tied in a bun.
"I present to you the typical Italian mama. She and many many Italian women throughout history have conquered our hearts and stomachs with their ingenious cuisine. Using only simple ingredients they had in the house, they created some iconic dishes that are made world-wide on a daily bases.
The Chibi teen smiles as the mama hugs him. She makes the 'are you hungry?' gesture to which he replies 'starving'. They leave the frame together. The frame is empty for a second before Italy returns to send a kiss and say goodbye.
Well guess who had fun learning Italian hand-gestures today. They are hilarious!
End of 19th century
We see a few still-shots of the rooms in the Austro-Hungarian palace. Czechia, Galicia and Hungary are in one of the rooms. Hungary, in an luxurious day dress, reads a book while the other two clean and chat.
"...So Germany left and I was told to clean the room he stayed in. To my surprise there was nothing to clean. Everything was the same as before his arrival. Odd" Czechia says wiping the bookshelves.
"Mhm... He's such a weird child" Galicia responds wiping the table. "Hey, aren't the three of us supposed to be on duty today? Where's..."
"Oh, she took a day off. Some reunion or whatever" Czechia replies. She checks to see if Hungary is listening. "Look at her lounging around. Ever since she got married she has done nothing but change from one dress to another" she whispers to her smaller companion who shushes her. "What? She can't hear me. Probably too busy following the plot of a cheap romance novel" she quietly mocks.
Hungary closes the book and stands up. Hearing her footsteps the two girls gulp and stop talking. Hungary puts the book titled 'Basics or Industrialisation' and takes out a heavy book simple named 'Economics'. She looks at the empty space where the book was and sees dust. "You haven't cleaned this properly. Do it again and this time wipe beneath the books too" she says to Czechia in a stern manner. Czechia nods and wipes the spot.
"For your information, I have been doing plenty. You think it's easy supervising all the house chores? With help like you, I have to open four eyes just so the work gets done right" she says calmly while staring at Czechia crossed.
"Oh, I was just joking around. As we did in the old days, remember? When we all..." the girl tries to lighten the mood but Hungary's expression remains serious.
Hungary then turns to Galicia who shrugs her head into her shoulders. "He may be a weird child, as you put it, but he is immensely powerful. He can tear you to pieces in a manner of second. I strongly advize that you not talk about him like that" she says in a cold manner. Galicia nods a few times. They continue working and Hungary returns to her spot to read.